VOLUME 58 ISSUE 18 MAY 4, 2021 P125
His speed was
apparent in Qatar but
a crash in race two's
Doha Grand Prix was
a low point.
Beaubier's last experience of
life in grand prix couldn't have
been more different. Back in
2009, he was a rookie, thrown
in at the deep end in the 125cc
class with no base to speak of.
The then 16-year-old stayed on
colleagues' couches between
races and was apart from his
parents for long spells. They
were, he now recognizes, far
from ideal circumstances.
"It's so different from when
I was last here," Beaubier said
of the year in which he scored
just three championship points.
"I was just bumming a ride to
the hotel and back to the track.
Luckily, I was staying with a
couple of people here and there.
I guess I was never comfort-
able; I was just a kid, 16. The
most comfortable was when I
was at the track. And that wasn't
the case for who I was racing
against. I couldn't go home. My
parents have good jobs, but it's
not like they could just wrap up
what they were doing to come
over here. They couldn't afford it
recently told Cycle News. "I
thought my path was going to
be more of a World Superbike
route. I had been riding produc-
tion bikes for so long. But Eitan
(Butbul, American Racing Team
boss) and my manager (Bob
Moore) came up with this idea
to go Moto2 racing. I was like,
'Man, I never thought I'd get a
chance back in the MotoGP
paddock."
"It's so different from
when I was last here,"
Beaubier said of the
year in which he scored
just three championship
points. "I was just
bumming a ride to the
hotel and back to
the track."
