We are set, to race for a second time in about a month, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, today. There will be another race, coming up tomorrow. Cameron Beaubier is the man who is being chased by the competition. Everyone has to go for it, and step up to the plate. It's time to race, now. Let's go motorcycle road racing! Next!
This is round two of the championship as the state of Wisconsin is in phase two of reopening, despite the Coronavirus. Social distancing, as always, is a major deal. In FP1 on Friday, Cameron Beaubier broke his own lap record. He dominates, but last time out, Toni Elia broke a chain in race one and had more worries in race two. Bobby Fong and Matthew Scholz crashed last time out and they are in a hole in the points standings right now. So, they will have a lot of work to do as we get set for another race today. It's going to be mega, ladies and gentlemen. You don't want to miss a moment. Stay tuned.
Cameron Beaubier has won this race at Road America eight times and in dozen events here in MotoAmerica, he has finished on the podium, and he has a new exercise and training program, that has really helped him become a much better rider. Beaubier says his knee is 100%. He has set a new track record. He's confident in himself and in his Yamaha R1 motorcycle. This track is four miles long with 14 corners, built back in 1955. Turns one, five, eight, nine (The Carousel), and 12 (Canada Corner), are the most vital spots for overtaking on this track. So is the uphill to the start/finish line. Matthew Scholz is one rider looking to go for the win today. Can he do it? We're about to find out. Hold on to your seats. This is going to be some motorcycle race.
The weather at Road America is beautiful. Travis Wyman broke his arm on a mountain bike. He has a chipped bone someplace. He'll have to get through this weekend. Now, the bikes are coming to the grid. Bobby Fong has had adjustments made to his motorcycle. He is running the Super Soft Dunlop front tire. We're set to race. Red lights, on. Red lights, out! Away we go! Bobby Fong has a launch and here comes Cameron Beaubier. Kyle Wyman also gets a jump and into turn one for the first time, the battles begin. Beaubier, Wyman, Fong, and Toni Elias. Ouch! Joe Gionato is down and out. He's trying to restart the motorcycle but to no avail.
Into turn six for the fiurst time, Bobby Fong goes by Kyle Wyman. Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati run 1-2-3. Toni Elias is beginning to move up. Jake Gagne is pushing Elias here and now, right away. As the tires begin to fade, and the fuel load decreases, Fong will be able to find out how his bike is handling. Toni Elias and Jake Gagne are starting to make their moves. Gagne dives inside for fourth on Toni Elias. The Spaniard makes the pass back on Gagne, look. Bobby Fong has Cameron Beaubier in sight. Toni Elias is turning early into the corner, and may not be as confident as he wants to be.
But under braking, Elias is bish bash boshing it at the moment, trying to go after Fong, his Suzuki Ecstar team mate. Through the Carousel they go. Into the chicane and now, Josh Herrin and Matthew Scholz are going at it hammer and tongs. Poor old Matt Scholz botched the start. He is not a happy bloke at the moment. A dozen laps scheduled in this race, working lap three as Josh Herrin on the BMW S1000RR for Scheibe Racing is fending off the challenge from Scholz. Gagne has a new Attack Performance swing arm on the bike, the same part Cameron Beaubier is using.
Josh Herrin has a Suter swingarm on his bike, and we have Jake Gagne is all sorts of trouble! He overshoots the chicane, but he had a smassive issue. He has a shift linkage that's gone bang. He's got trouble with the motorcycle. He's into thhe turn, but the bike isn't shifting. He's blipping the throttle, but poor old Jake Gagne will be headed for the pit lane? Maybe not. Is it game over for Gagne? Let's hope not. But Cameron Beaubier is whistling off into the distance. Elias, Wyman, Scholz, and more, chasing. Josh Herrin, Jake Gagne, P.J. Jacobsen, David Anthony, and Cameron Petersen, round out the top ten.
The Yamaha R1 has been improved in aerodynamics between 2019 and 2020. The Westby Racing Team has been working on aerodynamics. Former rider, Dane Westby, is the owner of the team. The best laps are in the 2:12-2:13 bracket right now. Cameron Beaubier is really going for it. The bike was refined at the team's shop, according to crew chief Richard Stamboli. The Monster Energy Attack Yamaha team has reduced the oil level inside the sump so the bike won't smoke under braking. The oil sloshes to the front of the tank, spraying oil into the air box. But the problem is solved. P.J. Jacobsen, on the Celtic HSVK bike on a Stock 1000 class Ducati Panigale, is going well, even with more weight on the Ducati motorcycle.
If you buy a Ducati street bike, HSVK can modify it for you. Meantime, David Anthony is on the Suzuki GSXR1000, after running for many years on a Kawasaki ZX10R. He has had a red, uncomfortable, watering eye in his left eye. That's troublesome for going racing, however, he's really fast. He wants more power out of the engine. He's been racing for a long time with his own program and has been doing it for years. Danilo Lewis, Max Flinders, and Bradley Ward are in a train, racing against each other. Bradley Ward used to race a motocross bike.
Toni Elias has his hands full with Kyle Wyman at the moment. Down the back straight, he will draft the Suzuki of Elias. This is the KWR Ducati. It's Kyle Wyman's own team. He is getting assistance from the folks at Ducati in Italy. We're past halfway. Wyman and his team have actually been getting assistance from the World Superbike Ducati team to figure out how the bike is working out. Wyman ditched the motorcycle yesterday and missed a whole session. But he's running very well at the moment. The M4 Ecstar Suzuki squad has gambled on their setup. They tried something in Super Pole, but it didn't work as well. He has a wobble in the bike and did so with another team he was with on a Suzuki, years ago, with the Yoshimura team.
Elias' bike is all over the shop as the fuel load decreases. He will have to be so, so careful to avoid a tank slapper. Dragging the brakes after a tank slapper, is a way to get out of it, but Elias will need to be very careful. Four laps left as Ashton Yates is in the pit lane on the lone Honda. His Honda CBR1000RR is busted at the moment. There's something mechanically wrong for Ashton Yates. It's game over. We have another Superbike race tomorrow and a race for Stock 1000. You will hear more about that Stock 1000 race, soon. Stay tuned. Four laps to go. Every pound is seven horsepower. Ballast will equalize the bike. The handling and getting the feel for the motorcycle is the big deal.
Elias and Wyman are fighting hammer and tongs for the final spot on the podium. Again, we just have four laps left in the motorcycle race. These two chaps have the extra soft Dunlop tires on both. We have an inline 4 cylinder for the Suzuki and V4 for the Ducati that Wyman rides compared to the Suzuki. Wyman is three miles an hour faster than the Spaniard. 183 miles an hour for Wyman, on a bike! Yikes! Has Toni Elias broken Kyle Wyman's resolve? The Ducati has a better turning radius than the Suzuki. Elias is using the wheelie control on the Suzuki to turn the bike.
Toni Elias admitted that he made mistakes in the most recent race here at Road America. Kyle Wyman is a whisker away from the podium. But Cameron Beaubier has dominated. He's just 4.7 seconds up the road, though. The last time we raced here, he won by 13 seconds. Bobby Fong has closed the gap which is giving him boatloads of confidence. The plot thickens in the scrap between Gagne and Herrin. Jake Gagne expected so much more out of this race than what he's received. It's got to be quite frustrating. Stay in the saddle. Keep going.
It's the final lap of the motorcycle race. Four miles to go for Cameron Beaubier who has cut consistent laps all day long. The third place scrap is on. What does Kyle Wyman have left in the locker to fight Toni Elias? Wyman has to push in sector three. Toni Elias runs wide. Here comes Wyman! He looks inside. No. Toni Elias goes early into the corner. His bike is loose in the Carousel. He knows he needs to work on the setup, and Kyle makes his move for third into the chicane. Toni Elias wants a run going into Canada Corner. Cameron Beaubier has dominated this race! He wins Road America, again! For third, it's Toni Elias taking third over Kyle Wyman. Matt Scholz, Jake Gagne, Josh Herrin, and David Anthony round out the place up to eighth.
P.J. Jacobsen and Cameron Petersen round out the top ten.
#1 Cameron Beaubier Yamaha YZF R1
We have race two coming up tomorrow, and there will be lots more racing action to talk about, when yours truly has the opportunity to take a look at it. So, look for more MotoAmerica content, more race reports, in the not too distant future. Cameron Beaubier, Toni Elias, and Bobby Fong are your podium finishers in race one at Road America. We will hear from our podium finishers, coming up. Once again, we have racing for Stock 1000 coming up tomorrow. Hoping to write about it when it's available. Stay tuned for plenty more MotoAmerica action here, on 2 Wheelin'.
Before we go, there's a penalty for something it seems. It's the Wyman and Elias scrap. Was there a yellow flag? Was their a bike off the road? It could have been. Cameron Beaubier says he is so, so happy about his motorcycle and being able to race in front of fans for a change. He's very thankful and very happy, as any racer would be. Bobby Fong explains that the track was greasy. He's happy with second spot, and he's adapting to the bike, looking forward to the race tomorrow. We await to hear from our third place finisher. Kyle Wyman has been moved to third. Toni Elias has been docked. He passed under a local yellow.
Kyle Wyman gets his first podium since 2017, and as a team owner and rider, he's over the moon! He beleives in the Ducati as a motorcycle and in his pit crew. He's extremely happy. So, we've heard from the top three. It's time for the racers to celebrate their achievement after today's contest. Cameron Beaubier increases his points lead. Go to www.motoamerica.com to take a look at the points standings. See your tomorrow, for more motorcycle racing at Road America, America's National Park of Speed. So long for now, everyone.
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