MotoAmerica & WorldSBK at Laguna Seca
In an epic three days of racing, at one of the most epic race circuits on the planet, MotoAmerica and WorldSBK shared the track and the attention of the racing world at Laguna Seca last weekend.
Cameron Beaubier and Jonathan Rea extended their points leads in MotoAmerica and WorldSBK respectively over the long, hot weekend, both “doing the double” at the legendary circuit in their Superbike classes. The weekend also saw MotoAmerica’s Josh Herrin make headlines, by competing in both MotoAm and in WorldSBK as a wild card. This brought the total American riders participating in SBK Superbike to three, the others being former MotoAmerica Stock 1000 champ Jake Gagne and P.J. Jacobsen, formerly running in World Supersport 600.
Beaubier has now won the last 4 MotoAmerica Superbike rounds, taking both checkered flags at Road America before cleaning up at his home track in Monterey this weekend. The Californian now leads the series by 29 points. He is tied with former AMA and World Superbike champion Ben Spies for fourth on the all-time list with 28 total wins.
Herrin battled Beaubier both days for the top of the podium, the Georgia rider placing 2nd in race 1, yet crashing out in race 2. Herrin struggled in both SBK races, with a DNF and a 16th, while former MotoAmerica racer Gagne placed 10th and 9th respectively. Jacobsen crashed out both days.
Defending 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike champion Toni Elias “hit a rough patch” as of late (pun intended), crashing in race 1 yet battling back from crashes to a second-place finish in race 2, after two disappointing outings at Road America. Roger Hayden finally seemed to find his pace, the Kentuckian placing third both days at Laguna Seca.
In the single MotoAmerica Supersport race, JD Beach stretched his points lead after a heated contest with Frenchman Valentin Debise the entire race. Roger Hayden’s cousin, Hayden Gillim bested Cory West for the third spot on the podium and in the points chase.
Liqui Moly Junior Cup saw 13 crashes among the young riders across the vaunted circuit, finally culminating in an exciting final 5-lap sprint to the finish with points leader Alex Dumas, Sean Ungvarsky and Dallas Daniels filling the podium, in that order. Jamie Astudillo took a close fought fourth.
MotoAmerica Twins class ran on Saturday, with pole sitter Jason Madama taking the holeshot at the start, then running away from the field to win by a 9-second margin over the competition on his Altus Motorsports Yamaha FZ-07.
The temps, track, and racing were hot all weekend at Laguna Seca. Race fans certainly got more than their money’s worth, in MotoAmerica and WorldSBK races.
To watch both MotoAmerica Superbike races in their entirety, click here-
https://youtu.be/KxE4as2VdNk Race 1
https://youtu.be/o_HDgI8A_g4 Race 2
Be sure to tune in July 20-22 for the Championship of Utah.
Rob Brooks
Photos by MotoAmerica and Brian J. Nelson