Larry Lawrence | September 27, 2017
It was an historic season in many respects. Toni Elias became the first European to win the MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike Championship (depending on how you count Reg Pridmore, a British expat who’d been living in America for over a decade when he won the title) and Suzuki ended Yamaha’s recording-tying streak of championships.
It was a remarkable personal story for Elias, who 18 months earlier was sitting home in Spain considering retirement when he got the call to fill in at Yoshimura Suzuki for the injured Jake Lewis. Originally Elias was only slated to race a couple of rounds, but win he won three of the first four rounds of 2016, Suzuki was quick to get Elias signed for the rest of the season and then again for 2017.
It proved to be a wise decision by Suzuki.
This year Elias came out strong, once again winning three of the opening four rounds. It was Elias’ archrival Yamaha’s defending champ Cameron Beaubier who faltered early. By the time Beaubier found his rhythm and got a winning streak going, starting at Sonoma (CA) Raceway, it was too late. Elias, who ended up winning nine of the 20 rounds, was too far gone in the points. By that point the series title was a longshot at best for Beaubier, but when his Yamaha flicked violently while he was leading at Pittsburgh’s race two, it separated Beaubier’s shoulder and the championship was Elias’.
It was a dream season for Elias, in which in 20 races he only finished worse than second twice, once for a crash that was no fault of his own.
“I’m so happy, for many reasons, first of all because Suzuki gave me this important deal last year,” Elias said. “I found an incredible team (with) good bosses, the technicians, the mechanics, Suzuki from Japan, Yoshimura U.S., (they are) always the best. This year the new bike has been amazing. We could fight a lot with this new bike power. The last rounds the situation came better and better.
“I did some mistakes in the past, and this has been a big lesson I will remember for the rest of my life. I will continue doing my best. I will enjoy this moment, and congratulations to my rivals, Josh, Roger, Cameron (Beaubier), they have been so strong. We’ve had big battles. We enjoy, we suffer and they did an incredible job. They pushed me hard and in the end, we finish perfectly.”
It was an epic debut for the latest incarnation of Suzuki’s iconic GSX-R line of sportbikes. The 2017 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 came a year later than hoped, but the motorcycle was worth the wait. Yoshimura had essentially been campaigning the same machine since 2009 and it had fallen woefully behind Yamaha’s R1. The new Suzuki was lighter, more compact with more sophisticated electronics and the lap times fell and wins racked up quickly.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden, finished second in the championship, scored three wins and earned a series leading seven Superpoles along the way. He also set several track records in the process.
Suzuki took first and second in the championship for the first time since 2008 during the Mladin-Spies Era. It also marked the end of an amazing seven-consecutive championships for Yamaha (with three different riders – Josh Hayes, Josh Herrin and Cameron Beaubier).
Suzuki now owns 14 MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike Championships. Kawasaki is next with nine, followed by Honda and Yamaha with eight each, Ducati with two and BMW with one.
Beaubier’s five wins moved him past Fred Merkel on the all-time wins list. He’s now fifth all-time (behind Mladin, Hayes, Duhamel and Spies) with 24-career Superbike wins. Interestingly, Elias, in just two seasons, has moved into a tie with his childhood hero Wayne Rainey for eighth on the all-time list with 16.
There were five winners in the series this season – the four factory riders Elias, Hayden, Beaubier and Hayes and a remarkable win in the wet by Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz. It was the first time a rider on a Superstock 1000 machine won a Superbike race and helped prove the point that the two classes should be consolidated next year. It was the kind of parity MotoAmerica had hoped for and there were good signs that the other independent teams were closing the gap. Riders like Bobby Fong (Quicksilver Latus Motors Kawasaki) and Josh Herrin (HelmetSounds.com/Western Services/Meen Yamaha) also scored Superbike podium finishes.
Honda was back in the series in a serious way for the first time since 2014 when Chris Ulrich campaigned the GEICO Honda CBR1000RR in the championship. This year Jake Gagne showed flashes of brilliance aboard the Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda. The team is talking of an even bigger program in 2018, possibly with a two-rider program.
Kawasaki was represented with Fong on the Quicksilver/Latus squad, even though the factory was not directly involved with the effort.
MotoAmerica expanded the schedule to 10 events this season, adding back Sonoma and debuting at Pittsburgh. The series continues to have a TV package on BeIN Sports, the same network which broadcasts MotoGP and World Superbike.
The recovery from the depths of the Great Recession of American road racing continues at a slow, but steady rate. People still clearly remember the halcyon days for the series of the mid-1990s to mid-2000s. It feels like those times may never return, but the championship is finding a way to sustain itself even in a time when sportbike sales continue stagnant.
The passing of Nicky Hayden was not only a tragedy for the sport overall, it was especially a blow to MotoAmerica, where there had already been behind-the-scenes talks, which would have seen Hayden returning to race in America with Honda and possibly running a team after he hung up his leathers. Hayden back in the series might have been just the boost the series needed to win back the fans that came to the races 15 years ago.
One of the goals of MotoAmerica was to help foster talent in the country to once again see American riders in the world championships. To this point that objective still appears to be unfulfilled and still well into the future.
MotoAmerica graduate Joe Roberts found his way to Moto2 this year, at least giving America a presence in the world championships, but with the possible exception of some Moto2 teams possibly looking at Garrett Gerloff, there does not seem to be much in the way of upward mobility for riders in MotoAmerica. The hope that Cameron Beaubier would crossover seems to have passed. Part of that is that he can make more money racing here with factory Yamaha, than he could in World Superbike or on a lower-tier MotoGP squad.
While some fans may still be unsatisfied at the rate of progress, under MotoAmerica’s stewardship road racing in America is getting better and that’s the bottom line.