Page 17 - ISSUE2GRIDFINAL

CAMERON BEAUBIER : MOTUL SUPERBIKE
The two-time defending champion didn’t have an ideal start to the 2017
MotoAmerica season -- he experienced some misfortune during the opening round at Circuit of the Americas where he suffered a lowside in the first race. Nonetheless, Beaubier showed the heart and determination of a champion as he forced his way through the pack, climbing back up to eighth position in order to salvage some valuable points in the title chase. He turned it around in the second race and was able to challenge the Yoshimura Factory Suzuki squad for the race win, but he came up just short as Toni Elias managed to do the double in the opening round. Despite the setback at COTA, Beaubier still managed to leave the first round in a better position than last year heading to a track where he’s a proven winner.
Beaubier seemed determined from the very first practice session on Friday as he put his YZF-R1 on the top of the timesheets in both practice sessions. The Californian completed an impressive Superpole session on Saturday morning by clinching pole position and grabbing an advantage heading into the first race with a blazing fast 1:24.555 -- almost three tenths faster than his closest competitor. He wasn’t able to secure the best jump from pole position when the lights went out and he was shuffled back to fourth position on the opening lap.
>>
WWW.GRITMOTO.COM
17
ATLANTA!
ROAD ATLANTA
“MY R1’S ON RAILS AROUND HERE TODAY. I LOVE ROAD ATLANTA.”
“TONI’S REALLY STRONG ON THE BRAKES AND I WAS ABLE TO BRAKE WITH HIM TODAY, SO I WAS REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT.”