Homestead Race Recap | AMA Road Racing

 

Coming into the weekend there was a good chance that champions would be crowned in both the Sportbike and Superbike classes. There was a huge storm that came into Miami that certainly mixed up the field and made for some exciting racing in both classes.

 

In the Sportbike class, Yamaha’s Jake Gagne was the best in the rain. He chased down the early leader Dane Westby and was able to make the pass on lap 10. Soon after that the race was delayed for almost 2 hours due to rain and lightning.  Once racing resumed, Gagne quickly pulled out a nice lead and won his first Daytona Sportbike race.  Westby had a great battle with Cameron Beaubier for second place, however Beaubier settled for third due to tire wear. Behind Beaubier, Martin Cardenas finished in fourth place and secured his second Sportbike title. He last won the title in 2010.

 

Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes continued his dominance in the Superbike class with a win and claimed the title before the race even started. Hayes still went out on the wet but drying track and won decisively after working his way through the field from a cautious start. This was his 14 win of the season.  Hayes became the sixth rider to win three Superbike crowns.

 

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Young was the only rider with a chance to beat Hayes, however opted not to start the race . There hasn’t been an official statement as of yet why he didn’t, but was likely due to the conditions.  Steve Rapp finished in second place and Jordan Suzuki’s Ben Bostrom came in third.

 

While speaking of his race win and championship, Hayes said, ” Today, there was a lot of talk about how to handle the wet conditions. I stuck to my plan of going out on the track so the fans could see the #1 R1 at speed. I pretty much rode around without a slip, and I started thinking that I could make it to the front on the setup we chose. It’s great to get a win in the same race that I won the championship. ”

 

The AMA Road Racing series continues in 2 weeks for the final round in New Orleans, LA. Be sure to check back at btosportsnews.com for a race recap.