MotoAmerica: Beach’s Day In Dramatic Quad Lock Superbike Race 1 At Ridge
MotoAmerica: Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s JD Beach defied the odds at Ridge Motorsports Park in Race 1 on Saturday, charging from the third row of the grid to secure a commanding victory in the opening Quad Lock Superbike race of the weekend.
Beach, who qualified ninth earlier in the day, navigated a race defined by high-profile retirements and shifting championship fortunes, won by 4.501-seconds.
The victory was hard-earned on a day that saw the championship standings turned on their head. Entering today’s events, OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly held a scant one-point lead over Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, but Race 1 provided a significant swing in the South African’s favor.
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Scholtz, who had a big crash in the early stages of Free Practice 2, returned his Yamaha YZF-R1 to the paddock that required a complete rebuild before entering Final Qualifying. Joining the field with nearly nine minutes of the 15-minute session remaining, Scholtz put in a time that would start him from third on the grid.
When the lights went out in Race 1, Scholtz was calm and collected, and rode a consistent race to finish second, securing 20 points while Kelly, who had crashed on the outlap of the race, struggled to match his qualifying pace, ending in seventh. The result moves Scholtz back into the championship lead with 125 points, 10 ahead of Kelly’s 115 entering Sunday’s Race 2.
The race was one to forget for the front-row Ducati contingent. Pole-sitter PJ Jacobsen, who set a blistering 1:40.163 on his Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL in Final Qualifying to take the top spot, got off to an early lead, building his advantage to more than eight seconds over second place with seven laps to go. But the masterful performance ended as he entered The Ridge Complex, before losing control and finding himself out of the race.
Disaster also struck Cameron Petersen, who qualified second and looked to be a threat for the win until his Wrench Motorcycles Ducati Panigale V4 R closed to within 0.136 of Beach before losing the rear in Turn 15 ahead of the front straight, crashing out on the penultimate lap.
While Beach cruised at the front, the battle for the remaining podium spot was fierce. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante put on a masterclass of speed, clocking the fastest lap of the race with a 1:55.196 on his way to a third-place finish, and his first podium of the 2026 season.
Escalante was followed home by Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law’s Benjamin Smith, who crossed the line in fourth on his Panigale V4 R, and Brandon Paasch, who rounded out the top five on the second M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
Notable among the finishers was Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong, who took sixth place despite qualifying fifth earlier in the morning.
Andrew Lee (#14) continues to lead Superbike Cup field as he secured his fifth straight in the class-within-a-class. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
In the Superbike Cup “race within the race,” Andrew Lee spearheaded the 1000cc-spec contingent during Saturday’s opening round at Ridge Motorsports Park within the premier field. Piloting his Real Steel Honda, Lee secured his fifth consecutive class-leading finish, crossing the line in 10th place overall. He maintained a consistent pace throughout the 14-lap event, fending off challenges from fellow Honda riders Danilo Lewis and Carl Soltisz, who followed him home in 11th and 12th.
Lee’s performance was highlighted by a personal best race lap of 2:02.455, allowing him to lead the Cup group to the checkered flag as they navigated the high-attrition race. Lee leads the Superbike Cup Championship over Soltisz by a commanding 72 points into Sunday’s Race 2.
Superbike Race 1
- JD Beach (Yamaha)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
- Benjamin Smith (Ducati)
- Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
- Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
- Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
- Jayson Uribe (BMW)
- Ashton Yates (Honda)
- Andrew Lee (Honda) – Superbike Cup
The following quote is from Quad Lock Superbike Race 1 Winner JD Beach:
“Yeah, to get the race win here, I mean, it’s just, it feels amazing. It’s something that I wake up for every day and I work extremely hard. And the team, I know all the guys, they never stopped working. So, it feels great for me, but it’s nice to reward the team too. Racing will give you some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows. So I’m gonna enjoy this high and we still got to race tomorrow. The weather here has been crazy, so we’ll see what happens. It could be wet, it could be dry, and we’ve got data for wet and dry. If it’s dry tomorrow, we’re gonna have a fight on our hands, and we need to find some pace. But I know the team will keep working, and I’ll keep working, and we’ll see what we can pull out tomorrow. But yeah, to get the win today and for the 1st win in three years, it just, I mean, it feels really good.”
The following quote is from Superbike Cup Race 1, first finisher, Andrew Lee:
“Race 1 at The Ridge came with some challenges. Sitting on the grid debating on what tires to run, just typical PNW weather. I’ve lacked a little bit of confidence on the wet tires this weekend, but finishing 10th in SBK and 1st in Cup makes me happy. Looking forward to some dry conditions tomorrow! Big thank you to the whole Real Steel Honda Racing team, especially in these weird weather days. The rain and always changing weather adds so much stress to the team and I’m super thankful for them always pulling it off!”
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