Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/172722
VOL. 50 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 P77 Briefly... Josh Hayes said his bike would run in any gear at the start of Saturday's race. "I got through to the front straightaway, pulled over, got the bike in neutral, cycled the switch and got it back in gear and got it going," Hayes explained. "I just did it rolling instead of stopping on the side of the track." Jake Lewis (85) gave Cameron Beaubier (6) all he could in Saturday's Daytona SportBike final in New Jersey, but Beaubier still took the win and the championship. ing me such a great bike. Jake [Lewis] gave me a great race. He led most of the way." Beaubier overcame a spirited challenge by Meen Motorsports Yamaha's Jake Lewis. The two traded the lead back and forth numerous times for much of the race. Late in the race Beaubier finally got up front and made it stick. He gradually pulled away to In spite of Cameron Beaubier having a record setting season in Daytona SportBike, it seems that Martin Cardenas' class record of 24 wins will remain safe for the foreseeable future. The young up-and-comer Beaubier indicated at New Jersey that he'll most likely be moving up to Superbike next year. He moved from fourth to second on the all-time DSB wins list this year, passing Danny Eslick and Josh Herrin along the way. Beaubier leaves New Jersey with 18-career wins. If he wins at the Laguna Seca season finale that would mark his 19th, and presumably final DSB win. Beaubier's Daytona SportBike Championship marked the first DSB title for Yamaha. Suzuki owns four titles in the class with Martin Cardenas and Danny Eslick and Buell won the inaugural crown with Eslick riding. Bobby Fong had a strong showing in Sunday's Daytona SportBike race, taking third. It marked only his second podium of the season and the first on his D&D Cycles/Castrol Triumph. Fong's previous podium, a third in the Daytona 200 in March, was on a Triple Crown/RMR Yamaha YZF-R6. On the Triumph Fong has struggled at times just to get inside the top 10, but it was a different story at NJMP. "One, this track doesn't have many straightaways," Fong said, explaining why he felt he was able to podium on the Triumph in New Jersey. "We're down on power quite a bit and I've got to work a little harder in the infield to stay up [with the leaders]. But the team's worked really hard with bike set-up trying different things on the bike. We gained a few horsepower this weekend. We still have some horsepower to find, but it's working real well on the tight, small tracks like this." The AMA Pro SuperSport season is complete, but the top riders from the class are invited to race in the Daytona SportBike finale at Laguna Seca. In addition to racing for the normal SportBike purse, SuperSport riders will vie for an additional payout at Laguna Seca. As an example: If the top SuperSport competitor finishes 5th in the race, earning $1500 in Daytona SportBike purse. This rider will also be paid 1st place SuperSport purse earning an additional $1500 for a total of $3000. Newly crowned SuperSport East Champion Corey Alexander said he was looking forward to racing in the Daytona SportBike event at Laguna. "It's always interesting to see how the SuperSport pace is compared to the SportBike guys," Alexander said. "It is just a gauge to see, because those guys are the best in the country. You always want to see how you compare to them. It's going to be exciting for us to gauge ourselves for the future." SuperSport West and overall class champ Tomas Puerta had similar feelings. "I think that's going to be a big weekend for me this year," Puerta said. "We have to work a little bit more on the bike so we can get continued on next page