Beaubier Over Gagne And Fong In Road Atlanta Superbike Thriller

The Steel Commander Superbike Series Begins With A Race For The Ages At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

BRASELTON, GA – April 21, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – In a titanic battle that began with as many as seven riders fighting at the front and ended with three, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier came out on top with a pass on Attack Performance Yamaha’s Jake Gagne with two laps to go in a thrilling Steel Commander Superbike season-opening race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday.

The win was the 60^th Superbike victory of Beaubier’s career and it came with the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion biding his time and sitting behind Gagne and Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong for the last third of the race. Beaubier planned to make his move with three laps to go, but instead had to wait until the penultimate lap. He made the move and made it stick, beating three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Gagne to the line by .240 of a second in what was his comeback race from the injuries he suffered last year at Pittsburgh International Race Complex.

For many, Fong was the surprise of the weekend with the Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1-mounted Fong earning pole position in the morning Q2 session, then running at the front for the duration and ending up third and just .332 of a second from race-winner Beaubier.

TopPro Racing Team’s Sean Dylan Kelly was an impressive fourth in his MotoAmerica Superbike debut. The Floridian was quick from the get-go and didn’t put a foot wrong – even as he battled in the heated pack at the front in the first portion of the race. Kelly was just 3.5 seconds behind Beaubier and .7 of a second ahead of Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin.

Herrin was at the front of the Superbike pack early in the race, battling primarily with Fong for the top spot as the others hooked in behind the lead duo. Fong made a pass on the inside of Herrin early in the race, but it was the second time that he made the same move in the final corner that ended up going horribly wrong for Herrin. With the door open enough for his Yamaha to fit through, Fong made the move in the final corner and the result was Herrin running off the track on the exit.

By the time he rejoined the racetrack, Herrin was well back and forced to do an admirable job of moving forward again with passes on Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach, and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris…