Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier had a difficult season last year, missing races due to injury, yet still clawing his way back to finish second in the 2024 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. This year, the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion is hoping for more, and it’s a case of “so far, so good” as Beaubier won the opening race of the series at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday.
But it was far from easy. The race was a Beaubier vs. Bobby Fong battle with Fong’s Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing teammate Jake Gagne watching the proceedings from third place. Beaubier led early, stalked by Fong, then Fong took over, stalked by Beaubier. It turns out that Beaubier was saving his best for last as he dropped the hammer with two laps remaining, turning the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.
At the finish line it was Beaubier over Fong by .833 of a second. Gagne held on for a lonely third, 6.5 seconds behind the battle in front of him and a similar distance to the rider behind him.
That rider was Vision Wheel M4 Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly. Kelly didn’t get off the start line very well, but he kept pushing until getting into fourth place, a position he would hold to the finish. It was a good result for the Floridian in what was his first Superbike race on a GSX-R1000R.
Defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Josh Herrin was a lonely fifth, well behind Kelly and some seven seconds ahead of Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim. FLO4LAW/SBU Racing’s Benjamin Smith was seventh with Superbike Cup winner JD Beach eighth on his Stock 1000-spec Real Steel Honda.
BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau and Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10.
Notables who failed to finish the race were Jones Honda’s Ashon Yates and Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante. Yates was taken out by a mechanical issue while Escalante crashed out of fourth on the third lap.
Superbike Race One
- Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
- Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Sean Dylan Kelly (Suzuki)
- Josh Herrin (Ducati)
- Hayden Gillim (Honda)
- Benjamin Smith (Yamaha)
- JD Beach (Honda)
- Bryce Kornbau (Yamaha)
- Danilo Lewis (BMW)
Cameron Beaubier – Winner
“Yeah, to be honest, at the beginning of the race I just put my head down. I saw half a second on the board. Kept my head down and the gap just started shrinking. I looked up at the tower and I saw there was a zero out. I saw five was the first number. I was like, ‘There’s Fong.’ Then slowly, maybe six laps into the race or something like that, he finally caught up to me. I heard the R1 down into Charlotte’s Web. I was like, ‘All right, here we go.’ I got into a pretty tough pace. We were going around pretty good. Then Bob (Fong) came by me and dropped the pace a couple of tenths. Then I saw Jake (Gagne), and my gap kept closing because Jake was catching us. So, it was a little tricky there in the beginning. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I should make a lunge on Bob or just settle in here.’ But he was having an awesome day. Jake and I were just talking about it. He was so fast out of (turn) two. I don’t know what he was doing. I don’t know what line he was taking or what he was doing out of there. It was kind of like we were yo-yo-ing pretty good. I had some good spots. He had some good spots. There at the end, I kept lining him up going into turn one, but didn’t quite get there. Finally, I did it with a couple of laps to go. Just put my head down those last couple of laps. I think he got hung up a little bit with a lapper going into turn one. But I’m super happy with how those last couple of laps went, my times, and how I felt. It’s going to be tough. This guy, he’s been ripping up at the Podium Club, hitting the gym. I’m stoked Jake is back and healthy again. Same with me. It was a pretty crappy middle of the year last year. I’m sure for both of us for different reasons. Awesome racing with these guys. It’s going to be a long year.”
Bobby Fong – Second Place
“I knew he’d pull something. He’s not a champion for nothing. Both of these guys. That’s why, in the middle of the race, I saw Jake (Gagne) was coming up. I’m like, I know Cam was just taking a breather for a second, because I knew he had a half second in the bag whenever he wanted. I’m like, ‘I got to go because Jake’s catching us!’ Then I knew he was going to make a move, for sure. These guys are riding so good. It’s good to get up here, for sure, to start the season off. The whole crew has been really good throughout theoff-season. Like I said, it’s cool to get some second-place points and roll into tomorrow.”
Jake Gagne – Third Place
“Yeah, I feel good. Obviously, like you said, I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve ridden for a full race at speed. Last year I was kind of just farting around out there. So, it feels good. I had a good off-season. I’ve been riding a lot. We tested a good amount. Rode my dirt bike a lot. Just tried to get my strength back and some intensity. Honestly, I felt a little bit better than I thought I would. Third place kind of feels like a win, to be honest with you. To be on the box and to kind of be smelling those guys for a little while there was cool. We just didn’t have it. There were times we were off a bit. I’m happy. It’s a good place to start. First race of the year, always bringing it home is number one. It’s sweet. It’s going to be a long year, a lot of races. Going up against these guys, they’re no joke. So, I’m happy.”
