ROAD RACE
MOTOAMERICA AMA/FIM NORTH AMERICAN ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 8 / JULY 10, 2016
LAGUNA SECA / MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA
P78
For Hayes, the race was turning out like
race one as he continued to lead the pack with
Beaubier and Elias snapping at his heels. Elias
ran himself out of contention with another out-
braking move gone bad at the start of the final
lap, leaving Beaubier to chase down Hayes out
front. He made his move on his veteran team-
mate at the final corner and looked to have
made the pass stick but he got on the gas too
soon, too hard, lighting the back of the Yamaha
up and losing the crucial drive to the flag.
"It's awesome to pull a win like this at La-
guna," Hayes said. "What a race, man! I was
holding on tight and had my eyes shut half the
time, waiting to see what the Spanish Scud
Missile here [Elias] was going to do—it was a
nerve-racking race."
For Beaubier, second place increased his
lead in the series standings to 29 points and
also netted his mom a brand-new Honda Civic
for winning the three-round Honda Superbike
Showdown, run concurrently in the MotoAmeri-
ca Superbike series.
"There's 50 points up for grabs in New Jersey
so the title isn't over yet," Beaubier said. "Rac-
ing here was awesome, though, I had a lot of
family and friends here, this is my home round
so it was great to get a win and a second to
increase the points lead."
Beaubier leads the standings with 298 to
Hayes' 269, with Elias six points back at 263.
It was just as intense in the Superstock 1000
category, running from fourth to 10th on the
track in race one. Tempers flared as Claudio
Corti (HSBK Aprilia), Josh Herrin (Meen/Wheels
In Motion Yamaha), Danny Eslick (TOBC Yama-
ha), Mathew Scholtz (Yamalube/Westby Racing
Yamaha), Bobby Fong (Latus Motors Racing
Kawasaki) and Sheridan Morias (Team Rabid
Transit Yamaha) swapped paint at an incredible
rate, with Eslick seemingly winning the battle
but later being docked two places, along with
a furious Corti, for passing under a yellow flag.
The win thus belonged to Herrin, who opened
Australian Brayden
Elliott made
another return to
the AMA paddock
for ADR Fly Racing
but suffered all
weekend with
suspension issues.
