SUPERBIKE
AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUNDS 5-6/JUNE 21-22, 2014
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK/LEEDS, ALABAMA
P46
>>CRACK IN
CONFIDENCE?
Cameron Beaubier has been billed as
America's next great hope - the one
rider currently in AMA Pro Racing who
has the abilities to move on to World
Championship competition. Early in
this season Beaubier did nothing but
impress. Three podiums in his first
three races, including two wins and
the series lead. But then came rookie
mistakes. Crashes at Road America,
in both the dry and wet. And then
Beaubier pitched it away twice on
Saturday at Barber.
If you're keeping score that's four
crashes in two days of racing.
The once invincible Beaubier all of
a sudden looks like a rider in search of
answers. The expression on Beau-
bier's face after Sunday's race said it
all. He looked shaken. The front end
of his Yamaha R1 Superbike was doing
things he'd never experienced before
and in Sunday's race he was actually
passed at one point by privateer David
Anthony. He later rallied and scored
a distant third, 12.3 seconds behind
winner Hayes and over four seconds
behind Martin Cardenas, but the dam-
age was done.
Beaubier elaborated on his issues.
"I broke down into the lefthander
[turn five] like I thought I was every
other lap and the front tucked on
me and kind of chattered and came
back," Beaubier said. "It was really
strange and I rode around the next
two laps just terrified of the front end
because I crashed twice yesterday.
My confidence was pretty low at that
point. And then the same thing going
into turn one. The front end did some-
thing funny and I ran wide and went
across the grass and came back on
the track. And then from there I was
just trying to put steady laps in and not
riding over my head or nothing, just
kind of trying to bring it home really.
I slowly caught Rog [Hayden] and
Martin [Cardenas]. I almost ran into
the back of Martin, again because I've
just been struggling super bad with
that front end this weekend.
"I'm going to go back and talk with
