The MotoAmerica Superbike leaders round a turn at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday. CREDIT: MotoAmerica/Next Level Sports
Marc Marquez isn’t the only Spanish rider who owns Circuit of the Americas.
Toni Elias has the Austin race track locked down, as well. The 34-year-old from Manresa, Spain, won his fourth consecutive race at COTA on Sunday in the MotoAmerica Superbike series. Marquez has won all five MotoGP events at the track.
Tthe Yoshimura Suzuki rider scored two victories here last year and duplicated that this year during Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas weekend, which was the season-opening event for MotoAmerica.
In the first race, Elias, a former MotoGP winner, held off teammate Roger Hayden. In the second, he beat Yamaha Factory Racing’s Cameron Beaubier.
Beaubier, 24, from Roseville, Calif., was the defending two-time MotoAmerica Superbike champion. He rebounded from Saturday’s crash-interrupted eighth-place finish to beat Hayden to the line for second place.
“Roger [Hayden] and I were pushing hard from the very start of the race since the conditions were much warmer today,” Elias said. “Pulling off the double win this weekend is really good for my confidence, however, I have my boots on the ground and am concentrated on continuing my season with strong results and staying consistent at each race. All of the guys are going quick right now and it will be a fight each weekend.”
Beaubier had the fastest lap of the race with a 2:09.173.
“A year ago I left COTA in bad shape, so I’m happy to walk away with decent points and carry the momentum into Atlanta,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bobby Fong of Stockton, Calif., who finished on the podium Saturday, had a fifth-place finish that put him on top of the simultaneous Bazzaz Superstock 1000 race for the second straight day.
“The pace was a lot faster today, and it was nice to walk away with the Superstock win,” said Fong. “I decided to make some changes after yesterday, specifically to the rear shock, and it ended up being for the worse. Today didn’t feel quite as rewarding as yesterday since we were a little bit behind the Superbike guys, but I think it is important to keep my focus on the Superstock class. Trying to keep up with the Superbike guys is awesome for me and has helped me elevate my game.”
Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz had a second straight runner-up finish in the Superstock 1000 class, with TOBC Racing’s Danny Eslick third.
Round two of the 2017 MotoAmerica Series is the Suzuki ECSTAR Championship at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., this coming weekend.
RESULTS
Motul Superbike
- Toni Elias (Suzuki)
- Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
- Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
- Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
- Bobby Fong (Kawasaki)
- Josh Herrin (Yamaha)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Danny Eslick (Yamaha)
- Kyle Wyman (Yamaha)
- Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
Bazzaz Superstock 1000
- Bobby Fong (Kawasaki)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Danny Eslick (Yamaha)
- Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
- Cameron Petersen (Kawasaki)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
- Bryce Prince (Yamaha)
- Tyler O’Hara (Yamaha)
- Max Flinders (Yamaha)
- Anthony Kosinski (Yamaha)
