Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/879212
VOL. 54 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 P119 Yoshimura Suzuki's Roger Hayden, finished second in the championship, scored three wins and earned a series-leading seven Superpoles along the way. He also set several track records in the process. Suzuki took first and second in the championship for the first time since 2008 during the Mladin-Spies era. It also marked the end of an amazing seven- consecutive championships for Yamaha (with three different riders: Josh Hayes, Josh Herrin and Cam- eron Beaubier). Suzuki now owns 14 MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike Championships. Kawasaki is next with nine, followed by Honda and Yamaha with eight each, Ducati with two and BMW with one. Beaubier's five wins moved him past Fred Merkel on the all-time wins list. He's now fifth all-time (behind Mladin, Hayes, Duhamel and Spies) with 24-career Superbike wins. Interestingly, Elias, in just two sea- sons, has moved into a tie with his childhood hero Wayne Rainey for eighth on the all-time list with 16. There were five winners in the series this season— the four factory riders Elias, Hayden, Beaubier and Hayes and a remarkable win in the wet by Yamalube/ Westby Racing's Mathew Scholtz. It was the first time a rider on a Superstock 1000 machine won a Superbike race and helped prove the point that the two classes should be consolidated next year. It was the kind of parity MotoAmerica had hoped for and there were good signs that the other independent teams were closing the gap. Riders like Bobby Fong (Quicksilver Latus Motors Kawasaki) and Josh Herrin (HelmetSounds.com/Western Services/Meen Ya- maha) also scored Superbike podium finishes. Honda was back in the series in a serious way for the first time since 2014 when Chris Ulrich campaigned the Geico Honda CBR1000RR in the championship. This year Jake Gagne showed flashes of brilliance aboard the Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda. The team is talking of an even bigger program in 2018, possibly with a two-rider program. Kawasaki was represented with Fong on the Quick- silver/Latus squad, even though the factory was not directly involved with the effort. MotoAmerica expanded the schedule to 10 events this season, adding back Sonoma and debuting at Pittsburgh. The series continues to have a TV pack- age on BeIN Sports, the same network that broad- casts MotoGP and WorldSBK. The recovery from the depths of the Great Reces- sion of American road racing continues at a slow, but steady rate. People still clearly remember the halcyon days for the series of the mid-1990s to mid- 2000s. It feels like those times may never return, but the championship is finding a way to sustain itself even in a time when sport bike sales continue to stagnate. The passing of Nicky Hayden was not only a tragedy for the sport overall, it was especially a blow to MotoAmerica, where there had already been behind-the-scenes talks, which would have seen Hayden returning to race in America with Honda and possibly running a team after he hung up his leath- ers. Hayden back in the series might have been just the boost the series needed to win back the fans that came to the races 15 years ago. One of the goals of MotoAmerica was to help fos- ter talent in the country to once again see American riders in the world championships. To this point that objective still appears to be unfulfilled and still well into the future. MotoAmerica graduate Joe Roberts found his way to Moto2 this year, at least giving America a presence in the world championships, but with the possible exception of some Moto2 teams possibly looking at Garrett Gerloff, there does not seem to be much in the way of upward mobility for riders in MotoAmerica. The hope that Cameron Beaubier would crossover seems to have passed. Part of that is that he can make more money racing here with factory Yamaha than he could in world superbike or on a lower-tier MotoGP squad. While some fans may still be unsatisfied at the rate of progress, under MotoAmerica's stewardship road racing in America is getting better and that's the bottom line. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives