QUICK LINKS IN THE WIND 24 ARCHIVES 126 CROWNED! BEAUBIER

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1 QUICK LINKS IN THE WIND 24 ARCHIVES 126 CROWNED! BEAUBIER

2 VOL. 52 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 GRAND PRIX OF SAN MARINO MARQUEZ HANGS TOUGH DARYL BEATTIE S DESERT ADVENTURE GOING DEEP IN AUSTRALIA S OUTBACK PLUS HANCOCK S NOT DONE YET! COVINGTON WINS GP OF LEON IN MX2 NATIONAL HILLCLIMB AND OMA UPDATES RED BULL ROCKS AND LOGS HONDA FORZA QUICK SPIN

3 America s Motorcycle News Source Volume LII EDITORIAL KIT PALMER EDITOR kitpalmer@cyclenews.com ANDREA WILSON MANAGING EDITOR andrea.wilson@cyclenews.com RENNIE SCAYSBROOK ROAD TEST EDITOR rennie.scaysbrook@cyclenews.com CONTRIBUTORS LARRY LAWRENCE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR JASON ABBOTT CONTRIBUTING TEST EDITOR ALAN CATHCART EUROPEAN EDITOR Exclusive Racing Chain 520ERV3 Disp. c.c. Max. 750c.c. COPY EDITORS MICHELLE BAIRD COPY EDITOR JEAN TURNER COPY EDITOR ADVERTISING SALES SEAN FINLEY GM, AD SALES MANAGER sean.finley@digitalthrottle.com JESSE ZIEGLER SALES DIRECTOR jesse.ziegler@digitalthrottle.com ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN SUNJU KWON ART DIRECTOR/ART MANAGER sunny@cyclenews.com NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 15 Hammond Drive, Suite 308 Irvine, CA P.O. Box 16121, Irvine, CA The Road Racing Champion Light Weight, Low Friction X-Ring Low Economical Price Low Friction X-Ring Chains Greater Rigidity for Less Power Loss Long Wearing, High Mileage Chains VX Pro-Street Chain 428VX 520VX2 525VX 530VX Disp. c.c. Max. 350c.c. Max. 750c.c. Max. 900c.c. Max. 1,000c.c. Available in Gold or Unplated Call or visit for additional information.

4 FINAL ROUND/SEPTEMBER 11-13, 2015 NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK/MILLVILLE, NEW JERSEY SUPERBIKE/SUPERSTOCK 1000 Cameron Beaubier clinched his first Superbike Championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park. P44 MOTOAMERICA AMA/FIM NORTH AMERIC BY LARRY LAWRENCE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J NELSON THE NEW CHA Josh Hayes did everything he could, going out and sweeping both rounds of the MotoAmerica/ AMA Superbike Finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park, but his Monster Energy Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier had too great of a lead coming in (18 points) for even Hayes to make up. In the end Beaubier played things smartly and took a conservative approach finishing second and third among the Superbikes in the Sunday

5 AN ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 52 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 Briefly... P45 The Monster Energy/Graves Motorsports Yamaha team was perfect this season winning every round of the 2015 MotoAmerica/ AMA Superbike Championship. In the end Josh Hayes scored 10 victories while Cameron Beaubier earned eight. Hayes now has 58-career MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike wins, second on the all-time Superbike wins list. Cameron Beaubier becomes the 20 th rider to win the AMA Superbike Championship. At 22 (plus nine months) he becomes the fourthyoungest to win the title. The only riders to be younger when they first won the series were Nicky Hayden (the youngest ever at 21), Fred Merkel and Ben Spies. MP CAMERON Yoshimura Suzuki s Jake Lewis suffered a rare crash in Superbike race one. His fall brought out the red flag. It was a tough way to end the year, Lewis said after being checked out by a medical team. I had a really bad high-side. It started raining and I flicked the bike in and the rear end stepped out. I didn t land on my shoulder, but I guess the jarring from getting flicked off separated my shoulder. I landed pretty hard. Sedoubleheader of the combined Superbike/Superstock 1000 races at NJMP. That was all Beaubier needed to come away with the title of 2015 BEAUBIER PLAYS IT SMART IN NEW JERSEY TO EARN THE 2015 MOTOAMERICA SUPERBIKE TITLE MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike Champion. After 18 rounds Beaubier won the title by four points, It was the end of a remarkable Yamaha has now won seven AMA Superbike Championships, which places them fourth all-time among manufacturers behind Suzuki with 13, Kawasaki with nine and Honda with eight. Yamaha s current streak of six-consecutive AMA Superbike titles is the second-longest manufacturers winning streak behind only Suzuki s amazing 2003 to 2009 run of seven straight. continued on next page

6 FINAL ROUND/SEPTEMBER 11-13, 2015 NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK/MILLVILLE, NEW JERSEY SUPERBIKE/SUPERSTOCK 1000 Josh Hayes (1) did everything he could, but winning both races was still not enough to stop Beaubier (6) from taking his crown. P46 MOTOAMERICA AMA/FIM NORTH AMERIC BEAUBIER S FUTURE Regardless of how he got it done, the fact remains that Cameron Beaubier beat one of the elite riders in the history of AMA Superbike. It remains to be seen what Beaubier can do now. At 22 (he ll be 23 in December) the young Californian is at a critical stage in his career. Yamaha would surely like to keep him here to run the number one plate in the series next year, but many road racing pundits wonder where that path would lead Beaubier. If he comes back and wins the series again, it s something he s already done and probably won t add a great deal to his cache among World Championship teams. On the other hand, you need to look no further than the miserable season suffered last year by 2013 AMA Superbike champ Josh Herrin. Leaving too early can be detrimental as well. And so it remains. Beaubier looking into the future, trying to determine which path to take. Josh Hayes will be back next year. The 40-year-old, who bristles against his age, and rides with

7 AN ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 52 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 Briefly... P47 ries rookie Lewis ended the season ranked fourth in the standings. Aprilia HSBK rider Sheridan Morais missed the races at New Jersey after two crashes in qualifying and practice. He reportedly injured his ribs in the crash. The South African was slated to race in the Bol d Or 24- Hour Endurance race next week. With MotoGP announcing it will not return to Indianapolis, MotoAmerica has potentially lost one of its rounds for next season. Officials say they would like to have at least nine venues again in 2016, so that would likely mean replacing Indy with another venue. One of the possibilities being talked about is returning to NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans. It s known that MotoAmerica is also trying to find a track in the Pacific Northwest that could work for the series. year for Beaubier, who was able to take advantage of some crucial mistakes made by Hayes during the course of the season, to claim the title that many thought might be his last year, his rookie season in Superbike. And Yamaha s six-year domina- the vigor of riders 20 years younger, vows to come back next year to try to win a fifth Superbike crown. Some of Mladin s all-time records are within reach, even though Hayes claims his goals do not necessarily center on rewriting the record books. And who could blame him for coming back? He won a series-leading 10 races this year and showed no indication of slowing down. At New Jersey Beaubier was a bit elusive about his plans for He said most likely he would end up back in MotoAmerica, but said there was no talk of him racing any Grand Prix classes next year. When asked about World Superbike, Beaubier raised his eyebrows and said, I don t know. With him not definitively counting out World Superbike, it seems that would be the only other possibility for him in It would be good for that series. Popularity in the U.S. for World Superbike has waned since Ben Spies won the title with Yamaha in 2009.

8 FINAL ROUND/SEPTEMBER 11-13, 2015 NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK/MILLVILLE, NEW JERSEY SUPERBIKE/SUPERSTOCK 1000 P48 MOTOAMERICA AMA/FIM NORTH AMERIC Jake Gagne secured the Superstock 1000 Championship, his second title in a row after being crowned Daytona SportBike Champion last year. tion of the series was even more complete this year, with the two factory Yamaha riders winning all 18 rounds of the series with Hayes claiming 10 wins to Beaubier s eight. Reflecting on the race and his Championship, Beaubier said, I was riding so timid. I was doing everything I could to not risk crashing or anything. I was making sure I was staying off the inside curbs... I was definitely riding pretty timid. But it was pretty cool because I got to watch Taylor [Knapp] and Josh Day battle it out and it kind of distracted me from what I had to do so it was pretty cool. I started the race and I was like, Okay, if I have to stay behind Josh [Hayes] and Rog [Hayden] and just try to follow them around all race, I ll be good, But I got out there and I started making a couple of mistakes, got nervous and I was like, No, I m not going to follow these guys today. Hayes was as classy in defeat as he was in victory and credited his teammate for a great season. I m super-proud to win both races today, Hayes said. This was one of the hardest races I ve ever had here, and I gave it all I had. Congratulations to Cam [Beaubier]. My bad days were just a little worse than his bad days this season, and over the course of nine rounds and 18 races, those are the things that cost you the championship. Cam rode well all year long, and I m proud of what he accomplished. If someone other than me is going to win the championship, I m glad it s my teammate. BIG INCENTIVES TO WIN Hayes and Roger Hayden both had major motivation to win the final MotoAmerica Superbike race of Hayes needed to win to keep his slim hopes of defending his title alive, while Hayden was hoping to finally earn the victory that has eluded him all season. So it was no holds barred between those two as they swapped the lead several times in the season finale. I would have rather crashed

9 AN ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 52 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 P49 MCALLISTER SCORES KTM RC CUP TITLE The KTM RC 390 Cup Championship was decided on Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park with Gage McAllister nailing down the title by winning the race. McAllister was in a battle for the duration, however, though that tussle ended up whittling down to two riders by the end of the race. At that point it was McAllister vs. Anthony Mazziotto III, with McAllister drafting past for the lead at the finish line to take the victory by just.079 of a second. With McAllister s closest rival, the injured rival Braeden Ortt only able to finish sixth, the title was his with just Sunday s race remaining in the series. Going into the race, I knew that all I really had to do was finish ahead of Braeden Ortt and keep myself up on two wheels, McAllister said. So going in I really wasn t anticipating going for the win, but after the first lap I found myself in the lead, and from that point on I just tried to make sure I stayed up front, and until the last couple of laps I seemed to be able to stay in the lead. I knew if I could get a good drive and give myself just enough space that I could creep up on him and get a good drive on to the straightaway, I could draft by him. That was the plan and I made it Gage McAllister took home the number one plate in the KTM RC390 Cup. work. Local fans were happy when New Jersey rider Anthony Mazziotto III made up for Saturday s close loss by turning the tables on McAllister to win Sunday s race. Mazziotto and his Jimmy Winters Motorsportsbacked RC 390 beat McAllister to the finish line by just.029 of a second. than not get this win, Hayes said afterwards. PLAYING IT SAFE After finishing second to Hayes in race one, Beaubier was 13 points up and only needed to finish on the Superbike podium to secure the title. At first there was some confusion among the announcers at the track when Hayes led and Beaubier began falling back outside of the top three overall. The concern was for naught however, since they were forgetting that Beaubier needed only to finish third in Superbike. The Superstock 1000 riders passing him didn t matter to his series points. Beaubier was playing it very safe and dropped from third to sixth overall, but it was okay for him because the next Superbike in line was Chris Ulrich, who was running ninth overall, but fourth Superbike. So in other words Ulrich would be the only rider who could theoretically jeopardize Beaubier s chances. Still anything could happen and tension was high in the Beaubier camp until the checkered flag.

10 FINAL ROUND/SEPTEMBER 11-13, 2015 NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK/MILLVILLE, NEW JERSEY SUPERBIKE/SUPERSTOCK 1000 The Yamahas remained undefeated in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, with Hayes winning 10 and Beaubier 8. P52 MOTOAMERICA AMA/FIM NORTH AMERIC In the closing laps the drama was up front. Hayes and Hayden carried their battle to the flag with Hayes getting the victory. Beaubier was safely in third among Superbikes. The next Superbike in the field, Ulrich, was over 10 seconds back. SUZUKI SHUTOUT It was a tough season for Yoshimura Suzuki. The 2015 At New Jersey Hayden finished third in race one and then came up just short by ths of a second. And Hayden s teammate showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie season. But the fact remains Suzuki s GSX- R1000 hasn t had a significant redesign since Basically all bikes now are a little bit smaller, Hayden said when talking about where Superseason marked the first time the team was shut out with no Superbike wins since It s not like Suzuki wasn t competitive. Roger Hayden, who finished third in the series, was on the podium 15 times in 18 races and had so many second-place finishes by under a second it makes your head spin, realizing not once was he able to get across the finish line first.

11 AN ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 52 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 P53 lutely dominated the series, winning 13 of the 18 races with team riders Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates finishing first and second in the championship. LACK OF DEPTH A big problem with separating Superstock 1000 bikes from Superbike this year into two different classes was that the depth of Superbike was razor thin. The fact is historically there often have only been 10 or fewer true Superbikes in the series supplemented by less modified Superstock-type machines. But MotoAmerica s decision of making two classes out of what has traditionally been a single class had the consequence of many races this year featuring fewer than 10 Superbikes. It s an issue MotoAmerica knows it needs to address, but at the moment there seems to be no indication of any more factory Superbikes in the field next year than this season. As it stands McGraw Powersports Suzuki s Elena Myers ended 2015 rounding out the top five in the final Superbike standings. bike development stands. The Yamaha kind of fits more like the 600 model. That s what I would like to see, so it s not quite as hard changing directions. I know they re working really hard on it. I m excited to get a new machine, we need it. I just hope it doesn t take to the end of the season to develop it. I hope we get it early enough that we re ready when we show up for the first race. If history is any indication, Suzuki fans could have a lot to look forward to in When Suzuki was shut out in 2002, it came back with a redesigned GSX-R1000 in 2003 and Yoshimura abso- GAGNE WINS MOTOAMERICA SUPERSTOCK 1000 CHAMPIONSHIP On Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park Jake Gagne clinched the 2015 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Championship with his 13th win in 18 races this season aboard his RoadRace Factory/Yamaha R1. Following up the AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike Championship that he won in 2014, Gagne established from the very first round of the inaugural MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 season at the Circuit of The Americas when he won both races that he was the man to beat for the title. All told, the Californian notched five double wins out of nine rounds this season. We had an awesome year, Gagne said. And we ended up here with the number-one plate. That was the goal we set out to do at the beginning of the year and it feels amazing to get it done. Especially for the whole RoadRace

12 FINAL ROUND/SEPTEMBER 11-13, 2015 NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK/MILLVILLE, NEW JERSEY SUPERBIKE/SUPERSTOCK 1000 MOTOAMERICA AMA/FIM NORTH AMERICAN ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP Roger Hayden (95) was once again just shy of the win. P54 Factory crew... they work really hard and just to see the smiles on their face and to celebrate, it feels really, really good. British native Mark Heckles rounded out the top three in the standings. He, too, earned a win in the series at Laguna Seca on his Ryders Alley Racing Yamaha. Josh Day and Tyler O Hara rounded out the top five in the championship, giving Yamaha a clean sweep of the top five in the final series standings. CN Superbike Race One 1. Josh Hayes (Yam) 2. Cameron Beaubier (Yam) 3. Roger Hayden (Suz) 4. Geoff May (Honda) 5. Chris Ulrich (Suz) 6. Elena Myers (Suz) 7. Chris Fillmore (KTM) 8. Jake Lewis (Suz) Superbike Race Two 1. Josh Hayes (Yam) 2. Roger Hayden (Suz) 3. Cameron Beaubier (Yam) 4. Chris Ulrich (Suz) 5. Chris Fillmore (KTM) 6. Geoff May (Honda) 7. Elena Myers (Suz) Superstock 1000 Race One 1. Jake Gagne (Yam) 2. Kyle Wyman (Yam) 3. Josh Day (Yam) 4. Taylor Knapp (Yam) 5. Danny Eslick (Apr) 6. Shane Narbonne (Yam) 7. Steve Rapp (BMW) 8. Mark Heckles (Yam) 9. Jordan Szoke (BMW) 10. Frankie Babuska (Yam) Superstock 1000 Race Two 1. Jake Gagne (Yam) 2. Taylor Knapp (Yam) 3. Josh Day (Yam) 4. Kyle Wyman (Yam) 5. Danny Eslick (Apr) 6. Steve Rapp (BMW) 7. Mark Heckles (Yam) 8. Anthony Kosinski (Yam) 9. Barrett Long (Yam)

13 IN THE WIND JASON THOMAS TOPS BIG LUMPY OMA XC P34 Jason Thomas claimed the overall win at the Big Lumpy OMA in Iowa. It was a cool, fall day in rural Dayton, Iowa, September 13, with perfect dirt and equally perfect race conditions, and KTM/ Maxxis/Klim s Jason Thomas appeared to be on a mission at the OMA Nationals Big Lumpy XC. The Dirt Wise KTM 250-mounted racer from England captured the FMF Holeshot Award money in both motos, and he took home the overall for the day with a victory in race one and he followed that up with second place in race two. I got two holeshots, said Thomas. I was able to win the first one. I led the last one until maybe a mile before the finish. I fell over in a rut; just a stupid mistake. I knew I had to get second for the overall if Jimmy [Jarrett] won. I was able to make a pass on Nick [Fahringer] right there at the finish line. I came away with the overall, and it s a good day. Jimmy Jarrett, on the JJR/ Pointview Cycles/Moose KTM, scored second overall by following up a third-place finish in the first race with a win in the second go-around. Third place on the podium was Nick Fahringer on the Kenda/Moose Husqvarna, with a disappointing fourthplace finish in race two, after scoring second in race number one. In the Pro 2 class, it was Alex Witkowski on the MX Parts Now Beta coming away with the class victory and sixth place overall following his race one victory and a secondplace showing in race two. Series points leader privateer Shane Klimek and his Suzuki RM250 two-stroke took second in race one, but ended race two with just one lap after tearing off a footpeg during an incident with a tree. The Husqvarna of Kyleer Vance pulled out a consistent 4-4 result, netting Vance second place in class as well as seventh overall. Rounding out the Pro 2 podium was KTM-mounted Nicholas Swenson from Greenfield, Minnesota. KTM rider Jojo Bowden, of Lockport, New York, came back to win moto two with a margin of 46 seconds on class winner Alex Witkowski after completing only two laps in race one. John Gasso PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN GASSO MISSION MOTORCYCLES FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY In a somewhat unsurprising twist of fate, Mission Motorcycles has filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, a move that will see the company liquidated in order to pay its outstanding creditors. The situation is so bad, according the Mission Motorcycles CEO, Mark Seeger, the company cannot even afford an attorney. The move puts an end to a company that had failed to deliver road-going machines for the select few who had put down deposits, which now look like they have vanished into thin air. Mission had been in financial hardship for some time, and was reliant on Mission Motors (a company that had earlier closed its doors) for design