From a Press Release Issued by Yamaha:
Fontana, CA – April 27, 2014 – Round One of the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented By Yamaha was an absolute barnburner as the dynamic duo of Cameron Beaubier and Josh Hayes fought hard for the win in today’s Yamaha SoCal Nationals Pro Superbike Race at Auto Club Speedway. At the checkers, Cameron took second place while Josh finished third.
Josh led for the majority of the race, but he was balked in the closing laps by a couple of slower riders who not only forced the three-time Superbike Champion off his preferred racing line, but he and his #4 Yamaha YZF-R1 ended up literally off the track. The incident unfortunately pushed Josh back to fifth.
Meanwhile, Cameron was also in the lead pack and took up the cause for the Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha team, where he led the 20-lap race for part of lap 17 and all of lap 18. Cameron battled with his old Sportbike nemesis Martin Cardenas for the win, and Martin ultimately got the victory.
Josh got back up to fourth place and, right before the finish line, he managed to pass Roger Hayden for third.
After the race, Cameron said, “Martin and I had a great battle just like we used to in Sportbike. He was doing a good job blocking the inside line, so I tried to go on the outside and square him up. It was a fun race, and I wished I’d won, but I’m happy to get second today.”
“Overall, I feel pretty good about my day,” Josh commented. “I had about five guys come right up the back of me with only about three laps to go in the race, and I went off the track. I fought back and, on the last lap, got a really good drive coming onto the front straight. I passed Rog right at the stripe, so I’m really glad to get on the podium for my team.”
Tune In To MAVTV For The Yamaha SoCal Nationals Pro Superbike Race
Today’s Pro Superbike race was taped for airing later on MAVTV. Log on to www.MAVTV.com for the exact time and channel, and don’t miss it!
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