VOL. 53 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 17, 2017 P81
EXPECTING
EXPECTED
NOT
THE
the season finale at New Jersey
Motorsports Park with a comfort-
able lead in the championship.
But then bad luck struck again.
Sitting helpless on the side of
the track with his ailing bike, he
nearly watched his champion-
ship lead completely evaporate.
"It was pretty crazy going into
the last round with a race under
my belt in points. I was like, 'I
got this,''' he said. "I think what
happened in the last race kind
of brought things back to reality
for me, showing me how bad I
wanted this championship and
how easy it can just slip out of
your fingers. Not saying it was
good for us, but it definitely put
things back into perspective."
Through those tough times, it
definitely helped having won the
championship before. Beaubier
was able to enjoy himself more
without the weight of trying to
win his first superbike crown.
"Honestly I think it was easier
for me [defending the title] be-
cause I feel like I proved to my-
self and to other people that I did
it [in 2015]. I won a superbike
title," he said. "I definitely think
retaining it is harder, but I felt like
I got that first one off my back.
Approaching the 2016 season I
"WE WERE SO FAR OUT OF IT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON
AND WE WERE ABLE TO CRAWL OUR WAY BACK INTO THINGS. I
THINK THAT'S SOMETHING TO BE REALLY PROUD OF."
Beaubier's bad luck returned
when he suffered a mechanical
in the final race of the year and
nearly watched his championship
lead disappear.
Beaubier was able
to get his season
back on track with
a win in race two
at Road Atlanta,
but the first three
races of 2016 were
a disaster for the
defending champ.
