It was a dismal afternoon for Americans in Spain today with both Italtrans Racing’s Joe Roberts and American Racing’s Cameron Beaubier crashing out of the Grand Prix of Catalunya. Beaubier’s teammate Sean Dylan Kelly was the bright spot with the series rookie finishing 21st.
Roberts’ crash was heartbreaking as he was leading the race on the 10th of 22 laps by some three seconds when he lost the front end and tumbled to a stop in the gravel trap.
Beaubier, meanwhile, lasted just four laps before crashing out of 18th place.
Roberts started today’s Grand Prix fourth in the World Championship point standings, but his miscue dropped him to sixth. Beaubier is currently 13th in the championship.
Today’s race was won by World Championship points leader Celestino Vietti, the Italian riding his Mooney VR46 Racing Kalex to a .081 of a second victory over Flexbox HP40’s Aron Canet. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Augusto Fernandez rounded out the podium.
“I am very sorry,” Roberts said in a team release. “Today I felt that victory was possible. The team did an amazing job all weekend and put an incredible bike at my disposal. I can’t wait for the next races because I know I can do really well.”
