Toni Elias, Josh Herrin, and Josh Hayes, all three of them have won titles. As we move into the second race of the championship at Circuit of the Americas, what will happen? We are about to find out. Herrin is Elias' Suzuki team mate. But there's no love lost between those two. In 2018, a lot of this rivalry was seen. What will we see in round two of the 2019 championship? Rivalry is a major talking point in the EBC Superbike Championship. Josh Herrin and Toni Elias say they are going to work together during this race. I wonder. Isn't it every bloke for himself? We shall find out, soon.
Circuit of the Americas is an incredible circuit. The esses from turns two through nine, they are incredible. The back straight is fast, and then, so are the corners in sector three, the stadium section. Start your turn early because you cannot see the elevation until you get there. The back straight will be key for slipstreaming past rivals. Don't get in trouble braking for turn 12. Some of the first gear corners can really catch the boys out if they are not careful. We are ready for race one. Garrett Gerloff won't start. Go! We are racing at COTA and J.D. Beach is into second already. the riders spread out. Toni Elias, J.D. Beach, and Cameron Beaubier are your top three riders so far as we begin this 15 lap contest.
To the bottom of the hill, look, Cameron Beaubier loses a spot and Herrin wants by, but no. Garrett Gerloff started from the pit lane. Jake Gagne had a massive wallop before the race began and it's game over for him. He won't take the start of this race. Herrin eats up both Beaubier and J.D. Beach, look. This is frantic action. Herrin's foot slips off the foot peg and Matt Scholz runs way off the road! Jake Lewis is also moving up behind J.D. Beach. Jake Gagne laid the bike down in the warmup, 40 minutes before this race began due to rain earlier in the day.
Trouble for Matt Scholz who has tipped his motorcycle and he is back in the saddle another time. Elias, Herrin, and Beaubier are the top three and are pulling away from the rest of the field, look. Bradley Ward and others are in the midfield. But we watch the lead scrap. Beaubier, your national champ, has won at COTA and did so in 2015, the first race of MotoAmerica. The Yamaha just does not have the top end power of the Suzuki's. Tire conservation and degradation are going to be a bear as well.
Depending on bike setup and tire compound, that will affect how the riders run this race. 1/3rd of the race is done and dusted. Now, Josh Herrin and Toni Elias can both get their individual bike setups to work. Beaubier has not been able to just dive past the leaders. He is keeping the motorcycle underneath him, taking no risks at this point. Elias wants to tip the motorcycle into the corner, and now, Beaubier is going to try and draft past Herrin on the Suzuki. He knows the Suzuki blokes are going to be all over him. Beaubier knows, "if I can park him, he won't nail me to the wall and have me begging for mercy here."
Ah. Beaubier tries to defend from Herrin, but no dice, look. He runs wide, and holds the position. Does Beaubier pull a gap on the two Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R's? Garrett Gerloff is coming in a hurry. He wants to join this party while the three at the front are playing follow the leader. Beaubier came from 11th on the grid at Road Atlanta and winning. Elias' bike was quite stable during qualifying, but he has a looser bike now. Oh my. Beaubier sweeps around the outside on Herrin who was trying hard to get the lead, but he couldn't quite make it!
Garrett Gerloff is watching the trio at the front, while Beaubier is pushing, pushing, pushing. So is Toni Elias. Elias now, is trying to get a draft but can't until he dive bombs in the apex of the turn! Yikes! Halfway home. Small mistakes in slow corners, can really make a big difference. A whole half of this race is left to go. Slow corners, you can take them at a certain speed. Even track day riders on relatively stock motorcycles, know this. Garrett Gerloff, Cameron Beaubier, and Toni Elias, not in that order, these are the three we want to watch.
Josh Herrin is most definitely in control of the race and Gerloff is side by side. The battles in the back half of the top ten are getting tasty as well. Riders like Kyle Wyman, Cameron Petersen, and more, are back there. In replay, we see that Josh Herrin is running a clean, tight line with just five laps left in this race. We've focused on the leaders this whole time, and Garrett Gerloff is in the fight. Toni Elias has to go for it and poor old Herrin was blocked by Beaubier into the apex of the turn! Wow!
What can Gerloff do with Herrin? Herrin has the preferred line. Herrin ran a 2:12 dead the last lap by. The pace has dropped, which was at a 2:10.5 earlier. Toni Elias tries walking through the door, and well, Cameron Beaubier also said, "pardon me", and came right through. Now, Elias still leads and Beaubier, he wants the pass. These guys are the most recent EBC Superbike MotoAmerica champions. Four laps remain. No more, no less. Beaubier will have to take a really tight line to block against Toni Elias.
Gerloff and Herrin are still there. We have not seen any of the other 11 riders in this field, be able to catch the top four. Beaubier has the edge at the top of turn ten. Kyle Wyman on the Ducati, though, he's coming, and in the next few races, once he has the comfort zone, the sweet spot with that motorcycle, we could see another contender. Josh Herrin is losin g some time, but Gerloff, he could definitely score a podium here. J.D. Beach has gapped Jake Lewis, putting a good bit of daylight between himself and Lewis.
It's indeed Elias vs. Beaubier. Beaubier can score more points if he can win this race. He is nine points behind Elias, 70-61. Toni Elias does not use much engine braking on his Suzuki. Elias moves into the corner, and poor old Beaubier can't get the corner exit speed he wants as they fly down the back straight. Elias has that motorcycle dancing on a knife edge, look. Time is running out. It's go time, now. Just three laps left on the board before this race is done and dusted.
Two laps left now. Beaubier is still pushing, hard. He is a fighter, and is reeling in Elias. The Yamaha has great cornering ability. Elias is just pulling away a shade every time, and Garrett gerloff, too fast into the corner, it messes with his exit speed. Gerloff has to outbrake the two blokes in front of him. Elias can slow the bike down and stop it really well. If you've been chilling on your couch, open your eyes, prop the recliner up and watch this! This is good stuff! One lap to go. Beaubier has the brake marker. Garrett Gerloff is moving away from J.D. Beach.
Beaubier wants to move ahead. Gerloff is still in the race. Elias dives into the corner and fires it out off the exit. drafting time on the back straight abd Beaubier slingshots. To the apex, and Elias snookers him! Wow! Elias won't just open the door. Can Beaubier slingshot? This is for the win of the bike race. On the brakes, and Beaubier dives over, but Elias is there, and they touch! Elias gets it!
Elias says the weekend was odd with little practice. any tire he chose, was a tough one to work with. Keeping calm and just hanging in there, reading the situation was what Elias was doing. But he knew P3 was not good enough. He made a mistake, but corrected it. Elias and everyone else realizes they have to push like crazy if they want to win these motorcycle races. What a motorcycle race this one has been, ladies and gentlemen!
#24 Toni Elias ESP. Yoshimura Suzuki Suzuki GSXR1000
Cameron Beaubier will have to go back to the drawing board and emphasize the strengths of the Yamaha R1. The Yamaha and the Suzuki are two different bikes. The wind on the back straight, is tough to deal with. Don't catch any air pockets. The tail wind on the uphill back straight is tough. In race two, Elias got the jump, but Josh Herrin was right in it. J.D. Beach was third before he ran wide. The Suzuki boys were going for it and poor old Matt Scholz had a problem. The two Suzuki's battled each other, and Herrin took a shot with four laps left. Elias did the very same thing. Cameron Beaubier was going for it, and then, Josh Herrin got around Toni Elias when Elias had a mechanical issue!
#2 Josh Herrin USA Yoshimura Suzuki Suzuki GSXR1000
The next event for MotoAmerica is the Championship Races at Virginia International raceway, coming up the first weekend in May.
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