INTERVIEW
MOTOAMERICA SUPERBIKE CHAMPION CAMERON BEAUBIER
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alleviate the arm pump issues that dogged him
during round one at Circuit of the Americas in
Texas. That operation signaled the comeback of
teammate Hayes, who took two dominant vic-
tories at Virginia International Raceway to close
right up in the points standings.
"Josh pretty much handed it to us all at VIR,"
Beaubier says. "The arm pump operation helped
a lot, but at the same time there was only two
weeks to VIR and I wasn't able to get out on my
bicycle or train and my arm was pretty weak. I
struggled pretty badly there, fitness-wise. It was
tough but we took second and third places, then
backed them up at Road America with a win and
a second place."
Some more advice from another former cham-
pion came Cameron's way following VIR, with Ben
Spies pitching in to do his bit to help the likeable
lad from Roseville, California.
"Ben was just telling me the basic stuff—how
to train during the week, what to eat during the
weekend, how to cool my body down," says
Beaubier. "It's little stuff but it really helped me
throughout the season. Going into the Barber
round, I felt good in the practice and qualifying
sessions and was really bummed I crashed in the
first race but was happy I got off safe, because
it could have been a lot worse than it was. Then
in the second race, Josh and I had a race-long
battle. It was cool to get the win there. I feel like
that got my momentum back rolling for the last
few rounds."
The final four rounds read 2-2 at Miller Motor-
sports Park, 2-1 at Laguna Seca, crucially, 1-1 at
Indy, and then 2-3 for the championship at New
Jersey.
Indy was indeed a turning point for Beaubier.
"It was a big weekend for me because I at least
knew which way the track went and I knew we
AMERICA NEEDS ITS
NEXT STAR ON THE
WORLD STAGE, AND
THE HOTTEST PROSPECT
IN U.S. RACING IS
DETERMINED HE WILL BE
JUST THAT.
