2015 Laguna Seca MotoAmerica Superbike Results

Following another round of impressive performances Sunday in MotoAmerica Superbike, the Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha duo of Josh Hayes and Cameron Beaubier are tied in points.

Four-time AMA SuperBike Champion Hayes won the opening race at Laguna Seca Mazda Raceway – his eighth win of the season aboard the  2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 – and Beaubier won race two – his sixth win of 2015 MotoAmerica Superbike.

Beaubier finished the day 2-1 and Josh 1-3. This allowed Beaubier to gain back the four points that he was behind in the Championship after Hayes’ race-one win at 2015 Laguna Seca MotoAmerica Superbike, and the two Yamaha YZF-R1 pilots are now tied in points for the title.

2015 Laguna Seca MotoAmerica Superbike Results, Race 1 Recap:

With the threat of rain in the forecast at the California circuit, many riders ran rain tires. But not Hayes – from experience at the 2.2-mile circuit containing the famed corkscrew, he went with slicks.

The pole man at 2015 Laguna Seca MotoAmerica led all 23 laps of race one of 2015 Laguna Seca MotoAmerica, lapping up to fourth place. He finished the race 18.872 seconds ahead of Beaubier, and 49.189 seconds ahead of Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Lee Hayden.

Hayden’s teammate Jake Lewis finished fourth, 59.751 seconds back, and GEICO Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich fifth, one lap down.

“I’ve been around for a little while, and I’ve raced here in conditions similar to what we had in this morning’s race” Josh Hayes says. “By turn four on the warmup lap, I knew that I wanted slick tires instead of rains. I had no questions about my decision. Plus, I’ve got a few AMA Championships under my belt, so I didn’t feel the pressure like Cam and Roger (Hayden) might have. We’re in Championship contention, and my crew says ‘go for it’ and win races, so that’s great for my confidence, as well. I’m really happy to get this win!”

Cameron Beaubier also commented: “It was tough. I was struggling out there on the first few laps with the drying race line…and Josh was on it. He was on a whole other track, it seemed like. I’ve got to thank my guys, though, for getting my bike put back together after my tipover during Superpole yesterday. They always give me a perfect R1 to race, no matter what.”

2015 Laguna Seca MotoAmerica Superbike Results, Race 2 Recap:

Hayes took the early lead at race two of 2015 MotoAmerica Laguna Seca, but Beaubier wasn’t going to let this one go.

Beaubier came up from fourth, making some skilled passes on Hayden and Hayes. The three battled, but Hayden looked like he would earn the win. But on the final pass, Beaubier made a daring pass and to take the win by a mere 0.084 of a second. Hayes finished third, 0.98 of a second behind.

Rounding out the top five were RoadRace Factory Yamaha’s Jake Gagne (-19.744) and Aprilia HSBK Racing’s Sheridan Morais (-29.269).

“I’m glad I redeemed myself after Race 1,” Cameron Beaubier said. “I definitely got schooled by Josh in that first race. But, I put it behind me and focused on Race 2. It was an exciting race with a lot of passing. I felt stronger as the race wore on, and I was able catch back up and take the lead. It’s hard to get around anyone here, so you have to make some pretty tough passes if you want to win…and I wanted to win!”

Josh Hayes also commented: “It was a long day, and the morning race was so much different than this one at the end of the day. I rode the best race I could, got to the front, and tried to hang on. When Cam got by me, I tried to pass him back, but I just didn’t have anything for him. And, when Roger and Cam got into their battle, I thought there might be something there for me to work with at the end, but I had to settle for third.”

The Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha team will return to action on the weekend of August 7-9, when the MotoAmerica series shares the world stage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.

2015 MotoAmerica Superbike Points:
1. Josh Hayes – Yamaha, 286
2. Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha, 286
3. Roger Hayden – Suzuki, 205
4. Jake Lewis – Suzuki, 197
5. Bernat Martinez – Yamaha, 127

Photos by Brian J. Nelson