AUSTIN, Texas — Cameron Beaubier marked his return to MotoAmerica Quad Lock Superbike competition with a dramatic victory on Saturday at Circuit of The Americas, capturing his first win of the season.
Beaubier, who had been sidelined for four months following a crash at Road America, capped off his comeback by reclaiming the lead on a jaw-dropping final lap of a hard-fought 12-lap battle in Texas.
After securing pole position in Final Qualifying with a lap time of 2:07.343, Beaubier launched his Warhorse HSBK Ducati FLo4Law machine from the front row. Points leader Sean Dylan Kelly (OrangeCat Racing) grabbed the initial lead on lap one before Beaubier swept past on lap two to control the pace. Beaubier led through lap seven until Wrench Motorcycles’ rider Cameron Petersen made his move on lap eight, taking over the top spot.
Petersen, who recorded the fastest lap of the race (2:08.284) on lap two, led for four laps before Beaubier mounted a decisive final-lap pass to take the win by 0.862 seconds. Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong completed the podium in third, 1.964 seconds back.
Sean Dylan Kelly placed fourth on his BMW (+2.914s), while Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL’s PJ Jacobsen finished fifth (+6.069s). Jayson Uribe placed sixth on his OrangeCat Racing BMW, while Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim crossed seventh, followed by Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law’s Benjamin Smith in eighth.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammates Brandon Paasch and Tyler Scott – who made his Quad Lock Superbike debut this weekend – rounded out the top 10 in ninth and tenth respectively.
The 12-lap contest saw notable early retirements, including title contender Mathew Scholtz (Strack Racing) on lap three and JD Beach (Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing) on lap four.
Kelly’s fourth-place finish extended his lead in the 2026 Quad Lock Superbike Championship standings to 263 points. Following his early DNF, Scholtz remains second in points at 233 (30 points back), while Fong’s third-place finish brings him to 228 points (35 points off the lead). With 100 points total left up for grabs across the four remaining races of the season – tomorrow’s Race 2 at COTA and a season-ending triple-header at New Jersey Motorsports Park – the title chase remains wide open with eyes on Sunday’s action.
In the Superbike Cup class, Real Steel Honda’s Andrew Lee delivered a championship-defining performance. Lee finished 11th overall in the Superbike field to take the Superbike Cup Race 1 victory over Danilo Lewis (Team Brazil Honda, 12th overall) and Deion Campbell (BPR Racing Yamaha, 13th overall). The victory officially locked down the 2026 MotoAmerica Superbike Cup Championship for Lee.
Andrew Lee adds to his literbike legend, securing his fourth championship in MotoAmerica: 2018 & 2019 Stock 1000 (Kawasaki), 2025 Stock 1000 (BMW), and 2026 Superbike Cup (Honda).
Darryn Binder topped the Supersport race.
