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MotoAmerica: Just Five Points Between Herrin And Fong As The Superbikes Head To Mid-Ohio
MotoAmerica: Josh Herrin Leads Bobby Fong By Five Points, Cameron Beaubier Lurks In Third As Series Ventures To Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
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Josh Herrin (1) leads Bobby Fong (50), Sean Dylan Kelly, Jake Gagne, and Richie Escalante early in race two at VIR. Herrin crashed out shortly thereafter. Fong won and now Herrin’s lead in the title chase is just five points as the series heads to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Photo by Brian J. Nelson
MotoAmerica: Josh Herrin Leads Bobby Fong By Five Points, Cameron Beaubier Lurks In Third As Series Ventures To Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Herrin will arrive at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this week leading Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong by five points. At this point in the season, that’s basically nothing.
Herrin got himself in this position with a crash on the second lap of the second race at VIRginia International Raceway two weeks ago. It was the first mistake he had made since his crash at the Barber Motorsports Park round over a year ago, but this one changed everything.
Going into race two at VIR, Herrin was coming off a third-place finish in race one behind race-winner Fong and Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier. When the points were tallied after Saturday’s race, Herrin led Beaubier by 27 points and Fong by 28.
What a difference a day makes.
With Fong racing off to his fourth win in a row while Herrin managed to score just two points with a 14th-place finish, the points lead was for all intents and purposes… gone. And Herrin also tossed a bone to Beaubier, who, with his close fourth-place finish, is now only 16 points behind Herrin and 11 behind Fong.
The winning in the Superbike class this year goes in streaks. Herrin won five in a row from race one at Road America to race one at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Currently, Fong is the man with the hot hand as he has won four in a row and will be going for five in a row this weekend at Mid-Ohio.
Beaubier, meanwhile, is still hunting his 90th career AMA road race victory – a mark that will make him the winningest rider in AMA road racing history. Beaubier won two Superbike races in a row way back in May at Road Atlanta but is winless ever since. However, with five MotoAmerica Superbike Championships in his pocket, Beaubier isn’t a racer you should give too many free passes to. Herrin’s crash has brought Beaubier right back into this title fight.
Fong’s teammate Jake Gagne is technically still in the conversation. He trails Herrin by 55 points and desperately needs some victories. The problem remains Gagne’s effort to get the strength back in his arms, but his battles of late show that things are improving.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante is coming off a dramatic third-place finish in race two at VIR in what was arguably his best Superbike ride to date. He narrowly missed out on second place to his teammate Sean Dylan Kelly, with the Floridian turning around what has been a horrible case of bad luck. Kelly’s fourth -and second-place finishes vaulted him to sixth in the title chase, but the two Suzuki men are too far behind to make any sort of title challenge. The duo can certainly mix things up, however.
Real Steel Honda’s JD Beach is one point behind Kelly in the Superbike Championship, but more important to his pocketbook is the 66 points he holds over Jason Waters in the battle for the MotoAmerica Superbike Cup, which pays $25,000 to the rider who finishes the highest on their Stock 1000-spec motorcycle.
Beach’s teammate Hayden Gillim, BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau, and Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Danilo Lewis round out the top 10.
Pre-Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Notes…
Last year’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course round of the MotoAmerica Championship marked a return to the facility in Lexington after a 10-year hiatus.
A year ago, Josh Herrin was perfect in the two Superbike races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as he beat Cameron Beaubier and JD Beach in race one before topping Sean Dylan Kelly and Beaubier in race two. The doubleheader sweep was a first for Herrin in the Superbike class, and he would carry that momentum to his second-career AMA Superbike Championship.
Cameron Beaubier earned pole position for last year’s two Superbike races at Mid-Ohio with his 1:23.904 in Friday’s Q1 session. That was as close as anyone came to breaking the Superbike lap record of 1:23.639 set way back in 2008 by Ben Spies, who is now the team principal for Rahal Ducati Moto.
Cameron Beaubier comes to Mid-Ohio with 89 AMA road race wins, one shy of taking the all-time lead, which puts him in a tie with Josh Hayes for all-time AMA road race wins across all classes. When Beaubier won three of the first four MotoAmerica Superbike races to start the season, it seemed like his 90th was just around the corner.
Bobby Fong comes to Mid-Ohio riding a four-race win streak, bringing his total of Superbike wins to nine. That mark ties him with 1993 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz and four-time AMA champion (1996 750cc Supersport, 2002 Supersport, and 2005 and 2008 Superstock) Aaron Yates for 21st on the all-time win list. Fong’s next victory will put him in a tie for 20th with Mike Baldwin.
Four riders have won MotoAmerica Superbike races in 2025 – Josh Herrin (five), Bobby Fong (four), Cameron Beaubier (three), and Jake Gagne (one).
Australian Mat Mladin has more AMA Superbike wins at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course than any other racer. Mladin won 10 Superbike Nationals on the 2.4-mile road course, with his first victory coming in 2001 and his last coming in 2008. Mladin leads Josh Hayes in Superbike wins at the iconic track, 10-8.
The very first AMA Superbike race was held at Mid-Ohio in 1983, with motocrosser-turned-road-racer Steve Wise taking the win in the circuit’s debut.
Suzuki has the most Superbike wins with 20, followed by Yamaha with 12, Honda with 10, Kawasaki with 5, and Ducati with 4. Yamaha dominated from 2012 through 2014, winning all six Superbike races during that three-year stretch. Ducati doubled its Superbike wins tally last year, with Josh Herrin winning both Superbike races for the Italian marque.
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