Press Release | October 26, 2020
Sunday
Superbike
Cameron Beaubier ended his MotoAmerica career in the best possible fashion on Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion adding two wins today to his one win from yesterday to bring his season total to 16 victories. Now the 27-year-old can focus his efforts on the next phase of his career – the Moto2 World Championship.
Beaubier’s two victories today in the MotoAmerica GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey were dominating. He won the first of the two in iffy conditions by 10.47 seconds and the second by 4.76 seconds. The two wins on Sunday were his 15th and 16th of the year and the 16th tied him with former teammate Josh Hayes for the most wins in a single season in AMA Superbike history.
“It’s been a whirlwind of a weekend emotionally and just everything,” Beaubier said on Sunday after his final MotoAmerica race on the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha. “It felt good just to get everything out of the way Friday and get the contract signed and have the press conference in here and let everyone know I’m moving on, just let Yamaha know how thankful I am. Truthfully, it’s bittersweet, like I’ve been saying all weekend. I’m leaving some great people behind here in MotoAmerica. I’m definitely going to look back and cherish these moments, all the good moments we’ve had in the past. I was sitting on the grid today and I was getting a little emotional. I was like, ‘What are you doing? You’ve got to go race. Come on. Pull yourself together.’ I just went out and abused my R1 for a little bit and that made me feel a little better. Came back in and the emotions started coming back, your throat starts getting heavy or whatever.
“Just this last year has been one of the most fun years of my life at home and at the track with all the guys, just having a good time. When you’re getting good results and you’re not crashing too much, the team is happy and that means the rider is happy. It’s been so fun with them. I’ve said it multiple times, but Yamaha truly is a family to me, and same with all you guys at MotoAmerica. I’m going to miss you guys so much. Everyone goes home and does their thing at home, but we’ll still keep in contact and all that stuff. Then we get to go racing all weekend. It’s sad that’s coming to an end, but it’s not the last time I’ll show my face at the track at MotoAmerica. I’m glad to cap it off with three wins this weekend. I just had pure fun riding my bike this weekend. I just was able to ride free; ride loose and really, really enjoyed this weekend on my bike after having a rough weekend at Indy. It put everything back into perspective for us. I’m not sure if it’s Toni’s (Elias) last race but hats off to Toni for an amazing career. We’ve had our battles on the track and we were at each other’s throat a couple times, but I respect you a lot as a racer and a person. You’re amazing, man. Amazing career. I’m grateful for you coming over here and kicking our butts and putting us in our place. He gave us something to chase. Just really looking forward to getting going next year and hope to make you guys proud.”
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Toni Elias also had an emotional weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the Spaniard telling Suzuki that he wouldn’t be returning to their team in 2021 and that he was looking for a brand change to recharge his career. He then went out and finished on the podium in all three races – finishing third in race two on Sunday and second in race three behind his long-time rival, Beaubier.
“Yes, very good weekend,” Elias said. “I really needed this. It’s been a difficult year for many reasons, not only racing, also personal side. Very nice to end this chapter. I had fun. Of course, it’s not a win, but tastes like a win coming from where we came from. Today, I think this bike is the best bike I ever ride here at Laguna, because my lap times were better than other years, just Cameron (Beaubier) another step he did. It’s incredible. Difficult to be at his level. It’s been amazing. But super happy because I had so much fun. I start to do what I wanted, not lose the initial part of the race, and then passed one rider, then another rider, in my style, in braking areas. I was riding so good, just in case this was the last one. I’m very happy. I feel I’m still very strong and I just need something else. I need fresh air. I need new motivation. I need something to work on, to develop things. We’ll see. As I said before, I let the universe, the destiny (decide). So, I hope come back with something good. But thanks to my team for all the season. Thanks to Suzuki for all these years, and to MotoAmerica to have me, to take me like home like another American. I think I’m half American now. Thanks to Suzuki and you guys I have a family here now, so I’m not going to go away. I’ll stay here forever.
“The last part I want to, like he said to me, hats off to this guy (Beaubier). I have to say, I battled with many strong riders in World Championship, specialist in 125, specialist in 250, specialist in Moto2, MotoGP, Superbikes. Valentino (Rossi), I think was one of the toughest guys I ever battled but he (Beaubier) is not less than him. I think he (Beaubier) has that level, has level enough to do it. Now is the opportunity. I believe in him and I believe in his opportunity. This way will bring him to MotoGP because he’s good enough. Here you have a friend. We had big battles. We had so much fun. It’s been really cool. Sometimes we play back to each other, we play our cards, but this is racing. And after that we appreciate each other. If you need me, just have the phone and do it. Good luck, man. Thanks to my family. They’ve always been behind me, supporting me. The biggest supporter I have is Kristie (his wife). It’s been a big change in my life discovering new things in life. It’s amazing. I will try to continue some more years and having fun. My next goal would be one day I put Toni (his son) on the podium on the top of the box next time. That would be really good. Is my next goal, so I hope to make it happen.”
The same three men stood on the podium in all three races – Beaubier, Elias and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Lorenzo Zanetti. Zanetti ended up second in race two behind Beaubier and third in race three behind Beaubier and Elias. It was the Italian’s fourth, fifth and sixth podiums in his eight starts in the MotoAmerica Series.
“Thanks everybody from MotoAmerica,” Zanetti said. “I appreciate all your hospitality during these months. I had fun here. A good place to enjoy. The feeling is quite good. When I come here, I didn’t know what I can do. I believe in myself but not many believe in me. So, I know my level, but when you arrive in a new championship, you don’t know the real potential. Everybody knows the career of Toni (Elias), and everybody knows the championship of Cameron (Beaubier). So, I know the level is high. So, when I arrive in Indy and I see that I have the potential to fight with him (Beaubier), I’m happy. Just try to focus and every race work with the team, work together to make the best result. So happy to take six podiums. That’s amazing. Now I just want to be back home with my kids, my family. I enjoy a lot this moment.”
In race two, Beaubier’s teammate Jake Gagne was fourth with Stock 1000 Champion Cameron Petersen fifth on the Altus Suzuki GSX-R1000. Westby Racing fill-in rider Niccolo Canepa was sixth with Ducati Richmond/KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman a lonely seventh.
Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin, FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ Michael Gilbert and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong rounded out the top 10.
In the final race of the season, Fong was fourth ahead of Gagne with Canepa sixth for the second time on the day. Wyman was seventh again, ahead of Petersen, Gilbert and Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander.
Beaubier ended the season with a massive 135-point lead over Gagne, 437-301. Fong was third, 48 points behind Gagne and 31 ahead of Elias, who topped the injured Mathew Scholtz with his strong effort in the series finale by just a single point.
Superbike Race 2
- Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
- Lorenzo Zanetti (Ducati)
- Toni Elias (Suzuki)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Cameron Petersen (Suzuki)
- Niccolo Canepa (Yamaha)
- Kyle Wyman (Ducati)
- Josh Herrin (BMW)
- Michael Gilbert (Suzuki)
- Bobby Fong (Suzuki)
Superbike Race 3
- Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
- Toni Elias (Suzuki)
- Lorenzo Zanetti (Ducati)
- Bobby Fong (Suzuki)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Niccolo Canepa (Yamaha)
- Kyle Wyman (Ducati)
- Cameron Petersen (Suzuki)
- Michael Gilbert (Suzuki)
- Corey Alexander (Kawasaki)Supersport
After winning Saturday’s Supersport race one, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly said in the post-race press conference that he wanted to finish off the year strong and get the double win with a victory on Sunday’s race two. And that’s exactly what he did.
Starting from the pole, Kelly gave up the lead to HONOS Kawasaki rider Richie Escalante, who had already clinched the 2020 class championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weekends ago. But Kelly was far from satisfied with being in second. He and Escalante engaged in a race-long battle that continued all the way to the final corner of the final lap. Escalante ran a little wide in the turn and opened the door for Kelly to take the lead and then the win.
Escalante finished second and Celtic HSBK Racing’s JD Beach, who was racing in MotoAmerica for the first time all season and was aboard a Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha, finished third.
“It was my first double-win this year, and that was obviously the goal after winning yesterday,” commented Kelly. “I came really determined to Laguna saying that I definitely wasn’t going to leave this place without at least one win. After getting it yesterday I was like, this is my best opportunity to make it a double. So honestly really, really happy about today’s race. I gave everything I had. It was a really nice race, a long race up there with Richie. I know JD was close a few laps. It was kind of back and forth. At one point we had a little bit of a gap, but I think Richie and I, just after so many passes, he caught up again. I was honestly expecting JD to get by me at one point because I know how strong he is in the last sector which I saw yesterday. It was really nice to have JD here, as well. Clearly going very quick from the beginning. Just nice to be able to fight again from the start of the race to the end, which is what I think we were missing yesterday after his issue. Just really happy to give the fight that we did today and see a last-lap, last-corner win. One of the best feelings ever, especially to make it a double.”
Twins Cup
In Sunday’s Twins Cup race, class champion Rocco Landers had his work cut out for him. The com RoadracingWorld.com Suzuki rider started from fourth on the grid, didn’t get a good jump off the line, and was shuffled back to fifth. Meanwhile, Dominic Doyle got past polesitter Cooper McDonald and took the lead aboard his Robem Engineering/Plastic Surgery Racing Suzuki. Doyle swapped the lead with 1-833-CJKNOWS Accident & Injury Law Yamaha’s Kaleb De Keyrel. On lap eight of 13, Landers, who had been moving up through the pack, took the lead and maintained it till the checkered flag. Doyle moved into second place, and De Keyrel into third to complete the final Twins Cup podium of the year.
“It’s been an awesome year,” said Landers. “My SportBikeTrackGear.com RoadracingWorld.com Suzuki team worked hard all weekend and all year making a great bike. I think it’s the best bike on the grid, for sure. At the beginning of the race, I had a bit of a bad start, back in fifth or sixth, I think. In turn one, I was actually pretty far back. I was having trouble getting by Jackson (Blackmon). I eventually got by him. Then, I was having trouble getting by Cooper, then I got by him. I was on a bit of a struggle bus in the beginning of the race. I kind of waited for my tire to come in, and when it did, I was able to get by Cooper, catch up to (the leaders) and I think I put in the fastest lap of the race. Once I got by Dominic, I tried to hit my marks and do as well as I possibly could and run as clean laps as I could. Towards the end, I started running into a little bit of tire wear. Straight up, I didn’t expect to win that race. I thought one of them was going to come by me at any second going down the front straight into the last lap, the last turn. I’m stoked. This is awesome.”
Liqui Moly Junior Cup
In the final Liqui Moly Junior Cup race of the 2020 season. Rocco Landers completed another perfect weekend by adding a win on Sunday to his Twins Cup victory earlier in the day and his triumph in Junior Cup race two.
Starting from second on the grid, Landers got the holeshot aboard his Norton Motorsports/Ninja400R/Dr. Farr/WonderCBD Kawasaki and was never headed in the 13-lap event. He finished a little over three seconds ahead of BARTCON Racing Kawasaki’s Dominic Doyle, who moved into second place on lap two and stayed there all the way to the checkers. Finishing third was Celtic HSBK Racing Kawasaki’s Sam Lochoff, who overtook MotoAmerica newcomer Max Toth on the final lap to secure the final spot on the podium.
“It went great, perfectly, according to plan,” Landers said when asked to self-evaluate his race. “I was trying to get as good of a first lap as I possibly could. Unfortunately, Dominic made a couple errors on the first lap and fell back a little bit. I was looking forward to having a good race with him, but we’ll take what we can get. It was an awesome race. It’s been great racing with these guys.”
Saturday
Superbike
If this is the last weekend in Cameron Beaubier’s MotoAmerica career then he seems determined to make it one he won’t soon forget. Beaubier got his weekend off to a bang on Saturday, the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion turning in a perfect 20 laps to take victory in the first of three HONOS Superbike races at the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey.
Beaubier demolished the competition, leading from pole position over the hill and into turn two with the lead and he never looked back. The Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha rider slowed in the final corner, did a stand-up wheelie over the finish line and still won by 10.734 seconds for his 14th win of the season – just a day after announcing that he will be leaving the MotoAmerica Series to pursue the Moto2 World Championship.
“To be honest, when I was sitting on the grid all that stuff kind of goes away,” Beaubier said. “You’re just thinking about in the moment and you just want to go do the best you can in the race. Yesterday started off the weekend knowing that my time has come to an end with Yamaha here in the States and I’m starting a new adventure next year. Obviously, everything was going through my head. I’m nervous, excitement, just all this stuff. I’m glad I could give my guys a win today. My bike has been so good all weekend so far. Like I’ve kind of said all year, it’s just pretty exciting going to all these tracks because, yeah, I’ve been riding the R1 for the past five years or whatever, but it feels like I have a new bike every track we go to because of the electronics system, the way Richard (Stanboli, his team owner and crew chief) runs it. It’s so advanced. My bike’s just working so good. I’m just having pure fun on this thing. I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the weekend and hope to put in some strong racing again tomorrow.”
Beaubier topped the man he has battled for most of his Superbike career – Toni Elias. Elias, who announced this week that he will not race a Suzuki in next year’s championship, battled through after a rough start to finish second for just his second podium of the season.
“We are getting closer, but I can’t change the situation,” Elias said. “It is what it is. It’s not good, but in this case, I was struggling when we were battling. I’m very happy. I struggle a lot the first 10 laps. Then I saw Bobby (Fong) and Jake (Gagne) slow down little by little. Then, there was still seven laps. I just try for the last few laps. I could pass him (Gagne), but I didn’t want to. Tomorrow is going to be another two races.”
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Lorenzo Zanetti also struggled in the opening laps in his first race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but once the tires came in, he moved forward, passing Beaubier’s teammate Jake Gagne in the closing stages to finish third. Gagne looked to have second in the bag after M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong crashed out of their battle. But Gagne ran into fueling issues that ultimately dropped him to fourth.
“Obviously, the podium is unexpected today,” Zanetti said. “I come from the first row so it’s not bad, but the base is not really consistent. So, it’s difficult for me to be at the front. Yesterday I just see Cameron (Beaubier) and I think I learn some trick, but honestly the pace of Cameron is too fast.”
Gagne held on for fourth place, some four seconds clear of Ducati Richmond/KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman, with Wyman barely beating Westby Racing stand-in rider Niccolo Canepa at the finish line by just .054 of a second.
Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin bested Altus Motorsports’ Cameron Petersen, the South African wrapping up the MotoAmerica Superbike Cup with his eighth-place finish and will earn $25,000 for his efforts.
Rock and Sons Racing’s Jayson Uribe rode his Honda CBR1000RR to ninth with Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander rounding out the top 10.
The final two HONOS Superbike races will take place tomorrow at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. If Beaubier were to win both, he would match the 16-win season record set previously by his former teammate Josh Hayes.
2020 Laguna Seca MotoAmerica Results–Superbike Race One
- Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
- Toni Elias (Suzuki)
- Lorenzo Zanetti (Ducati)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Kyle Wyman (Ducati)
- Niccolo Canepa (Yamaha)
- Josh Herrin (BMW)
- Cameron Petersen (Suzuki)
- Jayson Uribe (Honda)
- Corey Alexander (Kawasaki)
Baggers
The debut of the Drag Specialties King of the Baggers event didn’t disappoint at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Saturday as those in attendance won’t soon forget the sight and sounds of the big V-twins scratching and clawing their way around the iconic racetrack on the Monterey Peninsula in a manner that most couldn’t have predicted.
The victory went to S&S Indian’s Tyler O’Hara, the pre-race favorite. But it was not without drama as the Challenger-mounted Californian battled back from an off-track excursion in turn two to beat Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim by 1.9 seconds in the eight-lap introduction to the class at Laguna. Third place went to Indian-mounted Frankie Garcia with the Roland Sands Design-backed rider bouncing back from a painful crash during practice on Friday.
“Three or four laps in, I was going into (turn) two and I didn’t have any moments going into turn two the whole weekend and just ended up tucking the front,” O’Hara said of the off-track excursion that allowed Gillim to take the lead. “I saved it and then actually went all the way off into turn two. Actually, at the start Frankie (Garcia) was telling me my bike was smoking and I was like, ‘You’re full of it. What are you trying to psych me out?’ But he was serious. I looked at the bike and looked down and I saw a little brake fluid on the pipe. I said, ‘Okay, well we can figure this out. Don’t pull me out of here. We’re just going to figure it out.’ We didn’t have any rear brakes at all either, so that was a little interesting. We just did our homework and I was very fortunate that I was able to keep it on two wheels in the sand. Hayden was riding really good, and same with Frankie. It’s just so fun, like you said, being able to be part of this whole King of the Baggers. I haven’t seen people that excited about motorcycle racing in a long time. People were jumping up and down and hooting and hollering. It was just fun to put on a show with these guys. My hats off to everybody who rode a bagger this weekend because some of the bikes out there didn’t look too fun to be on. So hats off to the team.”
With the exception of Richie Escalante, those who have won the most in 2020 won again at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on the opening day of the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey.
Supersport
Supersport race one had a somewhat familiar start and a surprise conclusion as 2020 class champion Richie Escalante survived some early skirmishes with M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly and Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha’s last-round replacement rider JD Beach, who got the holeshot in the race, but later crashed out of second place.
Escalante got into the lead on lap two and held onto it till lap eight when Kelly took the point and Escalante was shuffled back to second. And then, disaster struck for Escalante when his HONOS Kawasaki experienced a technical problem, which ended his day.
CV28 Racing’s Cory Ventura, competing in Supersport for the first time this season, moved up to second and battled for position with Escalante’s new-for-this-weekend HONOS teammate Brandon Paasch, who switched from a Yamaha to a Kawasaki for the final round of the season.
At the checkers, it was Kelly taking the win, with Paasch finishing second over Ventura in third.
“Every race weekend for me, I’m 100% determined to go out there and give it everything,” Kelly said. “I was especially determined this weekend to not leave this place without a win. Really happy to get a win today. Happy to have the opportunity to make it two wins tomorrow because of this. In general, the race was really good. It started with a couple passes back and forth. I think JD (Beach) and I passed five times just the first lap alone. It was impressive to see how fast he is in his first weekend back on a race bike after I don’t know how long. So really nice to be fighting up there. I was a bit worried about him (Richie Escalante) doing the same as always and being able to gap us, but I saw that wasn’t the case this time. I was able to get by after a few laps and had a little bit of a gap to Richie. I gave it 100 percent. I told myself that it was either win or end up in the gravel. If I ended up in the gravel it was okay. I wasn’t going to accept a second place behind Richie again. So, I gave it all I had. I realized I was catching up. It wasn’t easy to catch up. I was already destroying my rear tire with twelve laps to go, but I really didn’t care. I just wanted to get by the guy. I got by with maybe 12 laps to go or 10 laps to go. After that he just maintained behind me. It’s weird when someone is so close to you, especially being Richie, because you expect him to fight back really quick or if he’s sitting there it’s because he’s comfortable, and he knows that he’ll have it the last four laps. I just stayed with my own rhythm, gave it 100 percent. I was really happy with my lap times throughout the last half of the race, until I saw +12 on my board and I knew that something had to be a little bit off. So, I double-checked and made sure there was some gap behind me. After that it was just the longest four laps of my life, probably. Just really happy to finish off the race with P1, finish off already a weekend with another victory. I do hope that tomorrow everyone stays on board and we can give a big fight to the last lap, last corner.”
Liqui Moly Junior Cup
Two-time Liqui Moly Junior Cup Champion Rocco Landers kept his momentous season going strong on Saturday, winning his 14th race of the season. It was not easy for the Norton Motorsports/Ninja400R/Dr.Farr//Wonder CBD Kawasaki rider, though. He was hounded throughout the 13-lap event by BARTCON Racing’s Dominic Doyle, who moved up quickly from his fourth place starting position on the first lap, got into second place, and maintained his position all the way to the checkers.
Third place went to Celtic HSBK Racing Kawasaki rider Sam Lochoff, who was in a race-long battle with Liam Grant for the final step on the podium. Lochoff got by Grant on the final lap and made it stick to secure third place.
“After the first two laps, I knew it was going to be a fight between me and (Dominic),” said Landers. “I saw Sam and, I think, Liam behind us. So, I was just trying to push the whole race and see what would happen, maybe capitalize on any mistakes made. I knew that Dominic was going to make no mistakes. So, when I saw it was seven more riders, I assumed possibly they would trip each other up maybe and I could pull away. Dom rode a great race, though, and so did Sam, so I had to push the entire way.”
Stock 1000
In Saturday’s Stock 1000 race, which was the season-concluding event for the class, Altus Motorsports Suzuki rider Cam Petersen, who clinched the 2020 class championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weekends ago, added another victory to his resume with his eighth win of the season in another dominant performance for the South African rider.
Second place went to Ride HVMC Racing Kawasaki’s Corey Alexander, who recorded his 10th podium result on the year and completed what was a remarkably consistent season for the New Yorker. Procomps Racing BMW’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top three, and the Brazilian was overjoyed to notch the first MotoAmerica podium of his career.
“I think every racer’s goal is to put their head down the first few laps and make a break for it,” Petersen said. “If you can make a break for it, it makes your life quite a lot easier. It was definitely part of my strategy to put my head down and give it everything I had for the first two laps. Then I just kind of let the race play out from there.
“What a season. I’m super, super happy. I’ve been wanting this my whole life. We made it happen. It means a lot to me and my family. We’ve sacrificed our lives pretty much to come to America. I think this means a lot to us. I’m going to cherish this one for a little bit. Now it’s time to go focus on the Superbike races. Hopefully, I’ve got something for them. For right now, I’m just doing everything I can. Let’s go have some more fun.”
Friday
Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier earned the 28th and perhaps final pole position of his Superbike career on a sunny Friday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion signing a contract this week that will see him move to the Moto2 World Championship for the American Racing Team in 2021.
Beaubier’s best was a 1:23.194 and that put him 1.421 seconds clear of his teammate Jake Gagne, who in turn was just .001 of a second ahead of Warhorse HSBK Ducati New York’s Lorenzo Zanetti with the Italian set to fill the first row of the grid for this weekend’s three HONOS Superbike races.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong had a lap time that would have put him second on the grid, but that time was taken away from him when he was given an exceeding-track-limit penalty, which dropped him to fourth. Fong will be joined by his teammate Toni Elias and Ducati Richmond/KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman on the second row of the grid.
Westby Racing’s fill-in rider Niccolo Canepa ended the day seventh with Josh Herrin eighth, the Scheibe Racing BMW rider getting baulked by Zanetti on his fast lap and spending the cool-down lap letting the Italian know about it.
Rock and Sons Racing’s Jayson Uribe ended up ninth on his Honda CBR1000RR, just a tick quicker than 10th-placed Michael Gilbert on the FLY Racing ADR Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Times were tight as can be in Supersport Q1 on Friday with M4 ECSTAR Sean Dylan Kelly just .019 of a second ahead of newly crowned Supersport Champion Richie Escalante on the HONOS Kawasaki. Escalante, in turn, was just .028 of a second faster than JD Beach, who was road racing for the first time all season on the Celtic HSBK Yamaha YZF-R6. In total, nine riders ended the day on the same second.
Newcomer Max Toth rode his Floyd’s of Leadville T3 Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 to the best time in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup, the 14-year-old beating two-time class champion Rocco Landers. In Twins Cup action, BARTCON Racing’s Cooper McDonald was fastest on the day, topping newly crowned class champion Rocco Landers and Dominic Doyle.
Altus Motorsports’ Cameron Petersen ended up the quickest Stock 1000 rider on the day, the South African who recently clinched the 2020 MotoAmerica Stock 1000 title, lapped at 1:26.155 to top Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander and Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman.
The Drag Specialties King of the Baggers class made its debut on Friday with Tyler O’Hara leading all three sessions on the S&S Indian Challenger. O’Hara ended up 3.9 seconds quicker than Roland Sands Designs’ Frankie Garcia with Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim ending the day third fastest.
Superbike Qualifying
- Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha) 1:23.194
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha) 1:24.615
- Lorenzo Zanetti (Ducati) 1:24.616
- Bobby Fong (Suzuki) 1:24.699
- Toni Elias (Suzuki) 1:24.727
- Kyle Wyman (Ducati) 1:24.775
- Niccolo Canepa (Yamaha) 1:25.226
- Josh Herrin (BMW) 1:25.793
- Jayson Uribe (Honda) 1:26.005
- Michael Gilbert (Suzuki) 1:26.051
For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com