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Cameron Beaubier did not put forth the title de- fense that he was hoping to achieve after earn-
ing the 2016 Motul Superbike Championship. He started the season with a crash in the very first race -- a mistake of his own doing that left him playing catch up for the entirety of the season. Although
a ten race series seems like it would offer plenty
of opportunities to make up the necessary points, it’s not an easy feat when those at the top of the championship rarely make mistakes. Nonetheless, Beaubier returned to winning ways in the first race of the second round at Road Atlanta, but he wasn’t able to put together consecutively consistent results at the crucial midway point of the season. Although he scored five victories throughout the course of the season, the damage had already been done by the time that he rattled off three wins in a row in the closing stages of the season. Once the Californian finally found the form that is expected of him as
a mult-champion, he suffered an injury during the second race in Pittsburgh that forced him out of the remainder of the season. The good new for Beaubi- er is that the season will be starting at Road Atlanta instead of Circuit of the Americas in 2018, provid- ing him with a solid opportunity to start the season off in victorious fashion if he’s able to replicate his performance from Road Atlanta in 2017.
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