Page 26 - PULSE-3-RIDERS-BIKER-SUPPLY

VIR is truly a racer’s circuit through and through and it has always produced close, exciting racing throughout the last couple of seasons. Elias has yet to make it to the top step of the podium in Virginia throughout his short career racing in America, but he was determined to change that statistic this year. The defending champion has looked relatively untouchable as of late and he continued in the same direction at Virginia International Raceway, stamp- ing onward to his second double victory of the season.
Elias didn’t go unchallenged throughout the weekend as he came under heavy pressure from two-time MotoAmer- ica Superbike Champion, Cameron Beaubier, in both races. Saturday’s race quickly turned into a two horse race between both factory riders as a mistake from Garrett Gerloff in the opening laps collected both Roger Hayden and Bobby Fong, creating a sizeable gap in between the leaders and the ensuing pack. Beaubier commanded
the lead for the majority of the race with Elias nipping at his heels while the Yamalube Westby Racing Yamaha of Mathew Scholtz circulated in a distant third position. The battle at the front really began to heat up in the late stag- es of the race as Elias and Beaubier continually swapped positions on the brakes into turn one. The Yoshimura Suzuki rider was able to take advantage of the slipstream down the front straight and set himself up on the inside of the long right-hander, but Beaubier was eager to cut back underneath the GSXR-1000R and retake the posi- tion. The two riders continued to rehearse this same routine throughout the next couple few laps, but Elias eventu- ally found a way to get his Suzuki situated in the right line and block the Yamaha rider from regaining the lead. At that point, the two of them rode tit for tat with the checkered flag fast approaching and they eventually crossed the finish line with only a couple of bike lengths separating the pair. Elias took the first win of his career at VIR and the Yamaha duo of Beaubier and Scholtz rounded out the overall podium. Although it was Beaubier’s fourth consecu- tive podium of the season, he was visibly distraught as he crossed the finish line as he left everything on the track in an effort to take the win.
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26 THE PULSE • ISSUE THREE
MOTO AMERICA
2018