VOL. 53 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 17, 2017 P83
EXPECTING
EXPECTED
NOT
THE
favorite child, but Beaubier didn't
hesitate to say that this year's
title meant more to him.
"I think the 2016 one means
a little bit more to me just of the
fact we as a team dug deep,"
he explained. "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 re-
ally proud of. I feel like a couple
"TONI [ELIAS] COMING OVER HAS THROWN
A WHOLE NEW DYNAMIC TO EVERYTHING," HE SAID. "HE'S A
REALLY LATE BRAKER AND HE'S A SCRAPPER."
"I think the biggest thing that
I improved this year was being
able to communicate with my
team a little bit better," he said.
"That's something I've struggled
with a little bit in the past. Espe-
cially riding a superbike, every
practice, every time you're on
the track, every lap, you're trying
to get the most out of every lap
and get the most out of your
bike. Being able to communicate
races this year I was just on the
ragged edge. I shouldn't have
won a couple of the races that
I did. The race at VIR where I
barely got around Josh [Hayes]
the last lap. I felt like he was the
fastest guy that day but I was
able to somehow make some-
thing work on the last lap—or
maybe it was two laps to go or
something like that. But a couple
races I dug really deep. It's just a
season I'll always be really proud
of, for sure."
Beaubier feels that he's raised
his level, something that comes
with more time getting used to
the superbike and a couple of
titles to go with it, but also with
having a teammate like four-
time AMA Superbike Champion
Hayes to learn from.
with my team this year, I think
that helped me quite a bit. Also
having Josh [Hayes] as a team-
mate and kind of seeing the way
he talks to his team and just lis-
tening to his feedback and what
he's looking for when he goes
out and rides, I think that's been
really good for me too. I've never
been in the position where I'm
having to put in my two cents on
developing a bike, and in the last
two years I have been doing that
with the new R1. It's definitely
been tough, but I think it's been
really good for me and good for
the future."
Speaking of the future, every-
one's looking for an American
to go overseas and win a world
championship. Even before he
won a pair of superbike titles,
Beaubier's name has been
thrown in that hat for years—to
be "the guy." So does the ques-
tion of when he'll go overseas
get a bit old?
"Yeah, a little bit because not
everyone knows the circum-
stances," he answered with a
bit of a laugh. "When I go over
there I want the perfect opportu-
nity to go over there to give me a
reason to leave what I have here.
