STEAM CORNERS, Ohio — Plain and simple, Bobby Fong is starting to look a lot like a MotoAmerica Superbike champion.
On a sunny and hot day in central Ohio, Fong rode his Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing YZF-R1 to a fifth-straight victory and that victory, combined with Josh Herrin’s seventh-place finish, vaulted the Californian into the championship points lead.
The race was delayed after a red flag was thrown on the opening lap as oil had been dropped in the all-important turn six, the right-hander at the end of the backstraight. It’s important because it’s the place where many a pass is made. Not so after oil dry on the racing line was slippery when the race was restarted, forcing riders to either go inside or outside the oil dry.
The first to suffer from it was Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin. The championship points leader was demonstrative on the start line, waving his arms to try and get things stopped.
The race went on, and Herrin almost crashed in the problem area on the opening lap, which led to more arm-waving as he lost several positions and fell back to the bottom third of the results.
From there he would forge forward, ultimately finishing seventh to score nine points.
Turn six struck again on the final lap when Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier attempted to pass Fong and had to run off the track to avoid crashing. It took him a bit to navigate the gravel trap and by the time he’d rejoined, he’d dropped from a certain second place back to sixth.
Beaubier’s miscue slotted everyone back to Herrin up a spot with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly inheriting second place after fighting off the barrage of late-race attacks from Real Steel Honda’s J.D. Beach.
It was a magical day for Beach as he not only put his Stock 1000-spec Honda CBR1000RR-R SP on the podium, but in the process, he was the highest-finishing MotoAmerica Superbike Cup rider for the 13th time this season.
Beach also won the Stock 1000 race held earlier in the day to move into serious championship contention.
With Beaubier’s run-off, Fong crossed the finish line eight seconds ahead of Kelly with Beach, Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne, and Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim all crossing the finish line in close succession. Second to fifth were separated by .805 seconds.
After his extended run through the gravel, a disappointed Beaubier rejoined in sixth place, some four seconds ahead of an angry Herrin.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, FLO4LAW/SBU Racing’s Benjamin Smith and Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates rounded out the top 10.
With six races left to run, including race two at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course tomorrow, Fong now leads the title chase by 11 points over Herrin, 262-251.
