VOLUME ISSUE JULY , P79
1:23.916—the only sub-1:24
lap of the session. Despite
his qualifying speed, Petersen
spent much of the race ha
-
rassing Jacobsen's rear wheel
before moving into second late
in the race. Petersen ultimately
finished 3.564 seconds behind
Beach at the line.
"I feel like that's a career first,"
Beach said. "I finally got one in
the dry. First off, heartfelt to all
the dirt track guys. They had two
horrible weeks, and this win is
for them. I grew up a dirt tracker.
I love road racing, though. Those
guys are in my heart.
"The race was amazing. I led
the first lap, and I led the whole
thing. After a few laps, my pit
board started saying plus three,
plus four. It was crazy. I was pull
-
ing away. I'm just speechless. I
got a win in the rain, and a win is
a win, but to come and do one in
the dry, it just feels so good."
The battle for the final podium
spot was a high-stakes affair
that unfolded in two phases. Ra
-
hal Ducati Moto's PJ Jacobsen
held second place for the first
16 laps, keeping Beach within
reach. However, Jacobsen's
race ended on lap 17, when he
crashed exiting turn five, open
-
J
D Beach claimed his fourth
and fifth MotoAmerica
Superbike victories after
a dominating performance at
WeatherTech Raceway. Beach
(Attack Performance Progres
-
sive Yamaha Racing) ran away
with a double victory, putting
him within sight of this year's
championship, which is now
led by OrangeCat Racing's Sean
Dylan Kelly. Previous leader
Strack Racing's Mathew Scholtz
suffered a heartbreaking me
-
chanical DNF on Sunday.
SUPERBIKE
Beach was flawless on Satur-
day, leading all 20 laps to claim
a dominant victory. Beach,
who qualified second with a
1:24.002, wasted no time at the
start, jumping ahead of Wrench
Motorcycles' polesitter Cameron
Petersen. Beach found himself
behind Rahal Ducati Moto's PJ
Jacobsen, who grabbed the
holeshot and led the pack into
turn 11 but not out of it. Beach
made the pass before pull
-
ing away from the field for the
remainder of the race.
Petersen had earlier set the
pace in qualifying, winning
pole position with a blistering
BY THE CN STAFF | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J. NELSON
JD Beach recorded
the double victory at
WeatherTech Raceway.
