JD Beach Scores His Second Career MotoAmerica Superbike Win
via www.motoamerica.com MILLVILLE, NJ (September 24, 2023) – JD Beach was the master of iffy track conditions on Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park with the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing rider controlling the final race of the season from the sixth of 16 laps to score the second MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike victory of his career and his first in four years.
JD Beach took over at the front on the sixth lap and led the rest of the way to earn his second-career MotoAmerica Superbike race. Photo by Brian J. Nelson
With a drying track throwing a bit of confusion into the mix prior to the start, Beach and the majority of the Medallia Superbike contingent went with Dunlop rain tires while two of them opted for slicks. As it turns out, rain tires were the right call and one that Beach and his team made just prior to the start of the race.
“Honestly, PJ (Jacobsen) thought I was going to be fast, but out on the grid I was crapping my pants. I was scared. I’m like, ‘I don't know what’s going to happen.’ When I went out for the warmup lap, as soon as I tipped it in, a few times the thing would slide. But the track didn’t look wet. So, I was nervous. Before the race started, I was going back and forth – slicks, rains, slicks, rains. Richard (Stanboli) came out on the grid. We talked about it. I was down to the last minute. I was like, only two guys went to slicks. Actually, (Josh) Herrin tried to trick me. I asked him if he switched and he said no, but I watched him do it. So, he’s not going to get no help anymore. So, then we just went with rains. PJ (Jacobsen) got a hell of a start. It was like a Jake (Gagne) start. The first lap, he was just gone. So, I was behind Jake (Gagne) and I was just like, I’m just going to match what he does. If he picks the bike up, I’m going to pick the bike up. So, I was just matching him, and I was making time on him, so I’m like, I guess I’ll just go by him. So, I went by Jake. PJ was out there, so I just put my head down and I started charging. I caught PJ and I tried to get by him as quick as I could. Just put my head down. I felt really good. I was just enjoying it. The bike was sliding around. I was spinning up. I just thought to myself, I wasn’t going to try to save the tire. I’d rather blow them off than have tires left at the end and not win. I just went for it. It feels really cool to get a win again after four years, and just getting on this bike for the last three rounds,” said Beach. It was Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen who led the race for the first five laps before Beach made his move on the New Yorker. Once past, Beach steadily pulled away before slowing his pace to cross the finish line 5.4 seconds ahead of Jacobsen.
With Jacobsen finishing second, it was his teammate Corey Alexander who finished third for the second straight day. On Sunday, however, the Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW-mounted Alexander was third on the track and it didn’t take Jacobsen’s two-spot penalty to move him to the position as it did the day prior. Alexander was happy with his first podium but was happier with his second.
Three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne finished fourth, the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha rider finishing off the podium for the first time all season in races that he finished. The Colorado resident had a DNF with a mechanical issue that was his only non-score in what was an 11-win season in which he scored 420 points.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch was fifth, three seconds behind Gagne and just .274 of a second ahead of his teammate Richie Escalante.
Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis had his best MotoAmerica Superbike finish in seventh with Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong eighth.
Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates and Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounded out the top 10. Notables missing from the results are Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Josh Herrin and Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz. Both Herrin and Scholtz opted for slicks, and both crashed early in the race. The final 2023 MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship point standings were led by Gagne’s 420 points with Herrin second and Jacobsen third. Scholtz ended up fourth, tied with Escalante. Sixth went to Cameron Beaubier with the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion missing the final four races of the season with injury. Superbike Race 2
JD Beach (Yamaha)
PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
Corey Alexander (BMW)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
Danilo Lewis (BMW)
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
Ashton Yates (BMW)
Max Flinders (Yamaha)
Beach Gets Medallia Superbike Victory At NJMP
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