Beaubier dominates ‘200’; Young eighth

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Cameron Beaubier won the 72nd DAYTONA 200 on Saturday as the 20-year-old dominated on board his Y.E.S Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 in the famous 200-mile race. Beaubier earned pole and led much of the race by a wide margin, putting his stamp on a GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing event that many racing legends have claimed for themselves over the years.

Beaubier was the fastest man in AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike over the three days, and managed to run a clean 57-lap race with two trouble-free pit stops. He lapped up to fifth place and won by 22.254 seconds in a race with no red flags. He led all but seven laps, taking the lead for the last time on lap 21 and never looking back.

“I’m pretty tired right now, but I’m just trying to soak everything in,” said Beaubier. “I rode as hard as I could the first stint and then be super-consistent. I had one little mess-up — I ran wide in turn one — and then after that I just calmed down and kept clicking off laps.

“My Yamaha Extended Service Monster Energy Graves Yamaha ran awesome. They gave me two awesome pit stops, and I just rode as hard as I could. I can’t thank them enough.”

His teammate Garrett Gerloff led early in the race before finishing second, ahead of Bobby Fong of the RMR/Triple Crown team. Gerloff was able to make his way clear of Fong, but was unable to run down Beaubier.

Gerloff had a tough crash at Daytona last year and left with a broken leg, but the Texan leaves this year having earned second place.

“(The race was) longer than I thought it would be, but it was awesome,” said Gerloff. “It was awesome to be in the front group at the beginning and then Cameron started pulling away and we started pulling him back. Every once in a while we’d pass him and then he made a run for it and kind of got away. I tried to catch up but I just couldn’t do it.

“Big thanks to my team for awesome pit stops and all the testing we do. That’s why we’re 1-2 on the podium. I think this is going to be an awesome year and I just want to keep it rolling.”

Fong had a solid race but wanted more. As one of the contenders in the GoPro Daytona SportBike class, Fong has shown he can be as aggressive as any rider in the series. On Saturday, he lost Beaubier’s draft.

“I made a mistake in the beginning of the race — the bike was hitting false neutrals, and I let Cameron get away. So I had to ride pretty much by myself the whole time. It was a long race but the training I did this off-season paid off. My bike worked great the whole time — I was just out there circulating, trying to maintain my position. It’s the best finish I’ve ever had at Daytona so thanks to everyone for helping me out.”

RoadRace Factory teammates Jake Gagne and J.D. Beach finished fourth and fifth in the race. The young teammates outlasted a pack of challengers that included Jake Zemke, who retired from the race after leading five laps and battling in the top 10.

Steve Rapp, filling in for Dane Westby on the GEICO Honda, earned sixth place with a strong ride. Rapp rode well as a substitute rider, hopping on the bike for the first time Friday morning.

Young rider James Rispoli on the National Guard/Celtic Racing Suzuki had a strong race before losing a bit of steam at the end and taking seventh ahead of Canadian Ben Young (Ben Young Racing).

Two women finished inside the top 10, with Elena Myers (Sturgess Cycle Triumph) getting the nod over Melissa Paris (MPH Racing.) Paris looked to have the position locked up but a pit stop infraction meant she had to serve a ride-through penalty that reversed their order.

Race Results

Race Time: 1:47:07.746
Margin of Victory: 22.254
Best Race Lap: Jake Gagne (1:50.087)

–From AMA Pro Racing

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