Press Release | September 11, 2016
Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier sat on the outside of New Jersey Motorsports Park’s turn four for eight agonizing laps in the second of two Superbike races at New Jersey Motorsports Park, hoping the hard work put in over the previous 17 races would be enough to earn him his second successive MotoAmerica Superbike crown. When Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias barely bested his teammate Roger Hayden by .104 of a second on Sunday afternoon and Beaubier’s teammate Josh Hayes crossed the line in third, he could finally lift his head. Ten minutes later, a relieved Beaubier was lifting the championship plate above his head.
Cameron Beaubier Wraps Up MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
And that was how the 2016 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Race Series concluded. Beaubier had finished fourth in race one to extend his lead to 22 points going into race two. When his bike coasted to a stop on the 17th lap, all Beaubier could do was watch. With Elias besting Hayden and Hayes, Beaubier was champion by just six points over Hayes and seven points over Elias after nine rounds and 18 races.
Until things settle down on Sunday night, a shell-shocked Beaubier will be more relieved than happy. The 23-year-old Californian won eight races on the season and finished on the podium a total of 13 times.
Race one was also a thriller with Hayden topping Hayes by just .104 of a second for his second win of the season. Elias was a charging third after a poor start left him lagging. A careful Beaubier was fourth, setting himself up for what should have been a relatively relaxing race two. But that wasn’t to be as his bike had a rare mechanical failure and he was left holding his breath on the sidelines.
Despite his best effort in the final corner of race two, Hayden lost out to his teammate Elias at the line. It was Elias’ sixth win in his rookie MotoAmerica season and the Spaniard vowed to be back for more in 2017.
The top Bazzaz Superstock 1000 in both races was Quicksilver/Latus Motors Racing’s Bobby Fong, the Californian winning both and finishing fifth and fourth overall in the two Superbike races in the process. Fong was scheduled to fly to Germany on Sunday night where he will compete next weekend in the World Superstock Cup round.
Fong topped Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz and TOBC Racing’s Danny Eslick in race one before beating Wheels In Motion/Meen Motorsports’ Josh Herrin and Aprilia HSBK Racing’s Claudio Corti in race two.
The first champion crowned on Sunday was Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff, the 21-year-old Texan taking the 2016 Supersport title by just four points over his teammate JD Beach after 16 races. Beach did all he could at NJMP, winning his eighth race of the season and his seventh in a row. But it wasn’t enough. Both riders had incredible seasons, but Gerloff, with 15 podiums and six race wins, was four points better to fulfill a near life-long dream of winning a professional road racing championship in what was his fifth season as a pro.
M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki’s Valentin Debise finished third in the Supersport race on Sunday with Galfer USA/Team H35 Honda’s Benny Solis Jr. and Debise’s teammate Cameron Petersen rounding out the top five.
Class champion Bryce Prince, won the Superstock 600 race on his Riders Discount/Tuned Racing Yamaha. The Californian was sixth overall on his Yamaha R6. HB Racing/Meen Yamaha’s Richie Escalante, Saturday’s winner, was second in class with Travis Wyman third on his Kyle Wyman Racing Yamaha. Escalante ended up second in the championship despite missing the first four races with a knee injury.
The second of two KTM RC Cup races was held on Sunday with Double B Racing’s Jody Barry beating AXcess Racing’s Brandon Paasch by just .178 of a second after 13 laps of the 2.250-mile NJMP racetrack. It was Barry’s second win of the season. Yates Racing’s Ashton Yates finished third.
Championship runner-up Anthony Mazziotto III, sixth on Sunday, and Yates will join MotoAmerica KTM RC Cup Champion Paasch in taking on the world in the KTM RC Cup World Final in Assen, Holland in three weeks, the trio being rewarded for taking the top three spots in the championship.
MotoAmerica Championship
New Jersey Motorsports Park
Results: September 11, 2016
SUPERBIKE RACE 1: 1. Roger Hayden (Suzuki); 2. Josh Hayes (Yamaha); 3. Toni Elias (Suzuki); 4. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha); 5. Bobby Fong (Kawasaki); 6. Jake Gagne (Yamaha); 7. Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha); 8. Danny Eslick (Yamaha); 9. Taylor Knapp (Yamaha); 10. Hayden Gillim (Suzuki).
SUPERBIKE RACE 2: 1. Toni Elias (Suzuki); 2. Roger Hayden (Suzuki); 3. Josh Hayes (Yamaha); 4. Bobby Fong (Kawasaki); 5. Josh Herrin (Yamaha); 6. Claudio Corti (Aprilia); 7. Kyle Wyman (Yamaha); 8. Danny Eslick (Yamaha); 9. Taylor Knapp (Yamaha); 10. Hayden Gillim (Suzuki).
SUPERSPORT RACE 2: JD Beach (Yamaha); 2. Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha); 3. Valentin Debise (Suzuki); 4. Benny Solis (Honda); 5. Cameron Petersen (Suzuki); 6. Bryce Prince (Yamaha); 7. Richie Escalante (Yamaha); 8. Travis Wyman (Yamaha); 9. Dakota Mamola (Yamaha); 10. JC Camacho (Yamaha).
SUPERSTOCK 600 RACE 2: 1. Bryce Prince (Yamaha); 2. Richie Escalante (Yamaha); 3. Travis Wyman (Yamaha); 4. Dakota Mamola (Yamaha); 5. JC Camacho (Yamaha); 6. Anthony Mazziotto III (Yamaha); 7. Nick McFadden (Yamaha); 8. Rigo Salazar (Yamaha); 9. Michael Gilbert (Yamaha); 10. Conner Blevins (Kawasaki).
KTM CUP RACE 2: 1. Jody Barry; 2. Brandon Paasch; 3. Ashton Yates; 4. Benjamin Smith; 5. Jackson Blackmon; 6. Anthony Mazziotto III; 7. Renzo Ferreira; 8. Dominic Doyle; 9. Cory Ventura; 10. Draik Beauchamp.
FINAL SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Cameron Beaubier (311); 2. Josh Hayes (305); 3. Toni Elias (304); 4. Roger Hayden (284); 5. Josh Herrin (163); 6. Claudio Corti (146); 7. Bobby Fong (144); 8. Danny Eslick (110); 9. Hayden Gillim (105); 10. Jake Gagne (84).
FINAL BAZZAZ SUPERSTOCK 1000 CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Josh Herrin (335); 2. Bobby Fong (287); 3. Claudio Corti (272); 4. Danny Eslick (214); 5. Hayden Gillim (192); 6. Taylor Knapp (143); 7. Mathew Scholtz (139); 8. Max Flinders (113); 9. Jake Lewis (111); 10. Sheridan Morais (85).
FINAL SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Garrett Gerloff (326); 2. JD Beach (322); 3. Valentin Debise (246); 4. Cameron Petersen (189); 5. Benny Solis Jr. (147); 6. Joe Roberts (142); 7. Bryce Prince (141); 8. Dakota Mamola (94); 10. Richie Escalante (86).
FINAL SUPERSTOCK 600 CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Bryce Prince (332); 2. Richie Escalante (200); 3. Travis Wyman (185); 4. Dakota Mamola (177); 5. JC Camacho (159); 6. Conner Blevins (145); 7. Michael Gilbert (128); 8. Andy DiBrino (106); 9. Nick McFadden (98); 10. Deion Campbell (93).
FINAL KTM RC CUP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brandon Paasch (311); 2. Anthony Mazziotto III (266); 3. Ashton Yates (239); 4. Jody Barry (195); 5. Alejandro Gutierrez (142); 6. Josh Serne (116); 7. Jackson Blackmon (113); 8. Benjamin Smith (90); 9. Renzo Ferreira (79); 10. Brandon Altmeyer (77).
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