Millville, NJ - September 11, 2016 – As if the final-round showdown between defending MotoAmerica Superbike title-holder Cameron Beaubier and his teammate, four-time AMA Superbike Champ, Josh Hayes weren’t exciting enough, the Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Factory Racing team unintentionally added even more drama to the season-finale Superbike race, which was held on Sunday afternoon at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Josh started from the pole, and immediately went to the front, while Cameron slotted into the lead group and took a calculated assessment of the situation, in which he didn’t have to win the race in order to clinch the title.
What he didn’t calculate was that his #1 R1 would suffer an ultra-rare mechanical issue that caused him to have to pull off the race course and watch the race finish without him. The situation meant that, if Josh could win, he would also take the title instead of Cameron.
As the laps wound down, Josh was running in third position and only a very short distance behind Roger Hayden and Toni Elias. Things got even more interesting as Hayden and Elias jockeyed for position, with Elias eventually taking the lead for good. As the three riders crossed the finish line, with Josh in third, Cameron breathed a sigh of relief followed by an overwhelming feeling of happiness in winning his second MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in a row.
It was an exciting conclusion to a very exciting season in which Cameron won eight races and Josh won two, but it all wasn’t decided until the final checkered flag at New Jersey.
“When I had to pull off the track, I didn’t know how many laps were left,” Cameron said. “So, my heart sunk because I knew Josh had a chance to win the race, which was what he had to do to win the Championship. The last few laps seemed to last forever, but in this case, I’m obviously thrilled that Toni won instead of Josh! It feels weird to say that, but that was the situation. To win my second MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in a row, and in front of my whole family who flew from California, was so cool. My crew worked so hard this year, and we overcame a lot of obstacles--including what happened today--but we hung in there all season long, kept plugging away, got eight race wins, and this Championship. I’m so thankful to be racing for Yamaha, and to have such a great group of guys to work with.”
2016 MotoAmerica Superbike Final Standings 9/11/16
Pos. Rider Points
1 Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha 311
2 Josh Hayes – Yamaha 305
3 Toni Elias – Suzuki 304
4 Roger Hayden – Suzuki 284
5 Josh Herrin – Yamaha 163
PHOTO：Brian J. Nelson TEXT：Yamaha racing https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport/pages/racing-home
