Four-time AMA Superbike champion Josh Hayes made history over the weekend, winning MotoAmerica’s first-ever Superbike race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Hayes put on a clinical performance, moving ahead of the back in remarkably easy fashion despite starting the race behind teammate Cameron Beaubier. But once the lights turned green, Hayes immediately took control of the lead and never looked back. Beaubier may have been steaming over losing out on the win despite sitting in pole position, but still made a good account of himself by finishing second, giving Monster Energy Graves Yamaha->ke301 a perfect one-two start to the season. Roger Hayden of Yoshimura Suzuki->ke371 rounded out the podium, giving his team some measure of good fortune after starting the race in fourth position.
Over in the Superstock 1000 class, Road Race Factory Yamaha’s Jake Gagne made a good account of himself, winning the class race and finishing fourth overall, sandwiched between the two Superbike racers who finished third and fifth overall, respectively.
Gagne pretty much cruised to victory in his class, finishing well ahead of Aprilia HSBK Racing’s Dustin Dominguez and Yamaha privateer Tyler O’Hara, both of whom scrapped and clawed their way into the Superstock 1000 class with an exciting back-and-forth that ended up with Dominguez edging out O’Hara for second place in his class.
Another Yamaha privateer, Mark Heckles came in fourth place with Aprilia HSBK rider and Dominguez’ teammate, Devon McDonough, rounding out the top five.
Yamaha Westby Racing rider Geoff May finished seventh in the Superstock 1000 class, an admirable finish for the rider who came in short notice to fill the seat vacated by the late Dane Westby.
All in all, it was a tremendous first race for MotoAmerica and from the looks of things, we could be in store for a lot more of these races this season and in other seasons to come.
Continue reading to read more about MotoAmerica's inaugural race at the Circuit of the Americas.
Why it matters
It was a history-making event for MotoAmerica and fans of the US motorcycle racing series. Not only did we get to see MotoGP action at its finest, but more importantly, we all witnessed the inaugural race of what we hope becomes one of the most important motorcycle racing series in the US and in the world.
MotoAmerica still has a long way to go before it reaches the level of MotoGP, but judging from the reaction and the reception of the race over the weekend, it appears that MotoAmerica already has its fans, ready to cheer for the riders and the series as it embarks in a season’s worth of drama and high-stakes motorcycle racing.
It didn’t matter that a Texas rain shower made the Circuit of the Americas less than ideal to race in. What’s important is that we saw the race go on an scheduled, had its fair share of exciting incidents, and finished without any kind of drama and controversy.
Having Josh Hayes win the Superbike class also gave MotoAmerica some measure of credibility from moto racing fans, especially the skeptical ones who didn’t think too highly of the series when it was first announced late last year. MotoAmerica successfully pulled off the first of many races this year in its first of what we all hope will be many more seasons to come.
As far as first impressions go, MotoAmerica nailed it right out of the park.