AUSTIN, Texas — Superbike races don’t get much better than the one that took place on Saturday in Texas, with the top three in the championship exchanging blows for all 12 laps of the 3.40-mile Circuit of The Americas.
After 12 frantic laps, the top three crossed the line with less than half a second separating race winner Josh Herrin from third-placed Bobby Fong, with Cameron Beaubier sandwiched between the two. To make things even more interesting, the top three were on different brands of motorcycles: Ducati (Herrin), BMW (Beaubier), and Yamaha (Fong).
With the 2026 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship reaching a boiling point with just four races left in the championship, including tomorrow’s race two at COTA, only 18 points separate the top three in the chase for the crown.
Of the three, Herrin needed the win the most as he came into the COTA round trailing Fong by 27 points. That deficit is now down to 18. With his second-place finish today, Beaubier also gained on Fong. The five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion is now just 13 points behind.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Herrin did most of the leading. Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Beaubier had a few shots at leading, but couldn’t make it stick, and Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Fong never led, but was always in earshot of whoever was leading.
It came down to the final couple of corners with Fong trying a desperation pass that didn’t work on Beaubier, who also made a last-ditch effort that saw him run off track, but he still had enough of a gap to beat Fong for second – by .031 seconds.
Late in the race it was Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante who was making the most noise as he was fourth and making inroads to the top three at a clip of half a second a lap. On the final lap, however, it all came apart as Escalante crashed out.
That left Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim in fourth place, some four seconds ahead of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly.
Gillim’s teammate J.D. Beach ended up sixth, which also gave him the victory and the Superbike Cup Championship – for those racing Stock 1000-spec motorcycles in the Superbike class.
