MotoAmerica Rolls into IMS This Weekend with Six Classes of Exciting Action
October 09, 2020 | By Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Entry List | Event Schedule
America’s top motorcycle road racing series – MotoAmerica – will bring six classes of exciting action to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Oct. 9-11 at Superbikes at the Brickyard, with all eyes focused on one of the most impressive seasons by any racer anywhere in 2020.
California native Cameron Beaubier could clinch his fifth MotoAmerica Honos Superbike championship after the three races this weekend on the 16-turn, 2.591-mile motorcycle road course at IMS. Reigning series champion Beaubier has won an astonishing 13 of 14 races so far this season on his No. 1 Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha YZF-R1.
Beaubier leads teammate Jake Gagne by 103 points and Mathew Scholtz of Westby Racing by 104 points. With 25 points awarded to the race winner and only three races remaining after this weekend, Beaubier must exit IMS with a lead of 75 points or more to claim the title.
That shouldn’t be much of a problem for Beaubier, considering his dominance of this season. He also won both Superbike races at IMS the only other time MotoAmerica competed at the Racing Capital of the World, in 2015 as a support series for MotoGP.
“I’m excited to go to Indy again,” Beaubier said. “I have good memories there from 2015 with two great battles with Rog (Hayden) and Josh (Hayes). This has been a dream season for me and the team so far, and we plan on continuing this run at Indy and Laguna. Both of those are special racetracks with a lot of history, and it’s fun to be a part of that.”
The only other winner this season besides Beaubier in the premier class was Bobby Fong on the No. 50 M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000. He earned his first MotoAmerica Superbike victory June 28 at Road America when Beaubier hit a bump in Turn 1 and crashed.
While Beaubier appears to be on cruise control to the title, the battle for second is searing between Gagne and Scholtz.
California rider Gagne has finished on the podium in 10 of 14 races this season, with seven second-place finishes. South African rider Scholtz also has 10 podium finishes on his No. 11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, with six runner-up finishes.
Like Beaubier, Gagne has a winning heritage at IMS. He won both Superstock 1000 class races at IMS in 2015, and he also captured the Red Bull Rookies Cup race in 2008 at IMS during the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP, when he was just 15.
Fong has an outside shot of finishing second for the season, as he is 58 points behind Gagne and 57 behind Scholtz. Fong’s teammate Toni Elias is fifth in the standings. 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike champion Elias is a familiar name to bike fans at IMS, as he competed in both MotoGP and Moto2 during the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the Racing Capital of the World.
All three Superbike races also will have a Hoosier flavor, as Corey Heflin of Kokomo, Indiana, will ride the No. 21 Heflin Racing Yamaha YZF-R1. Heflin is doing double-duty this weekend, as he also will race the No. 21 Heflin Racing YZF-R1 in the Stock 1000 class.
Superbike races are scheduled for 3:10 p.m. (ET) Saturday, and 11:10 a.m. and 3:10 p.m. Sunday. All three races are 17 laps each.
Other MotoAmerica classes racing this weekend at IMS include Supersport, Twins Cup, Stock 1000, Liqui Moly Junior Cup and Heritage Cup for vintage machines. Supersport and Liqui Moly Junior Cup will have two races each, one apiece on Saturday and Sunday. Stock 1000 and Twins Cup each will race Saturday. An exhibition race for Heritage Cup will take place Saturday and Sunday.
A host of Indiana riders are competing in the Supersport and Stock 1000 classes. Nolan Lamkin of Indianapolis and William Sweeney of Plainfield are racing in Supersport. Heflin, Christian Guffy of Indianapolis, Jacob Whitham of Indianapolis and Josh Gerardot of Fort Wayne are riding in Stock 100.
Practice and qualifying are set for Friday at IMS. The race schedule for the weekend (all times Eastern):
SATURDAY, Oct. 10
12:30 p.m.: Stock 1000 Race (13 laps)
1:10 p.m.: Twins Cup Race (12 laps)
2:10 p.m.: Supersport Race 1 (16 laps)
3:10 p.m.: Honos Superbike Race 1 (17 laps)
4:10 p.m.: Liqui Moly Junior Cup Race 1 (11 laps)
5 p.m.: Heritage Cup Exhibition (10 minutes)
SUNDAY, Oct. 11
10 a.m.: Heritage Cup Exhibition (10 minutes)
11:10 a.m.: Honos Superbike Race 2 (17 laps)
1:10 p.m.: Supersport Race 2 (16 laps)
2:10 p.m.: Liqui Moly Junior Cup Race 1 (11 laps)
3:10 p.m.: Honos Superbike Race 1 (17 laps)
Visit IMS.com for ticket information. Fans 15 and younger are admitted free all weekend to general admission areas when accompanied by an adult general admission ticket holder.