MILLVILLE, N.J. — Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong won his sixth MotoAmerica Superbike race of the season in the first of three races at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday.
More importantly for the Californian, the victory extended his points lead to 13 over Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier heading into tomorrow’s final two races of the season.
Although the championship is far from over, Fong is likely breathing a little easier on Saturday night.
Fong was in the mix from the get-go as he chased his teammate Jake Gagne in the early laps with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin behind the two Yamahas. Herrin had started 14th on the grid, but a great start and a heroic first corner saw him up to third right off the bat. Beaubier, who started the race eight points behind Fong, was also in the mix in fourth and working hard to latch on to the top three.
Fong took over at the front with a pass on Gagne on the fourth of 20 laps. Shortly thereafter, Herrin moved around Gagne and, at one point, got in front of Fong. Beaubier, meanwhile, had also passed Gagne. Beaubier kept going forward and passed Herrin with the two hoping that they could make a dent in Fong’s lead. A lapped rider played a role in not letting that happen, however, with Beaubier and Herrin badly balked.
Fong didn’t put a wheel wrong in crossing the finish line 3.326 seconds ahead of Beaubier and Herrin, with those two separated by just .051 of a second.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly was hot on the tail of the Beaubier/Herrin battle, finishing fourth and just .147 of a second behind at the finish line.
Gagne slipped down to fifth, some nine seconds ahead of OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe, who had his hands full in barely beating front-row starter Ashton Yates and his Jones Honda to the flag.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, OrangeCat Racing’s Andrew Lee and BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau rounded out the top 10.
Notable among the non-finishers were Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim, who crashed on the opening lap, and Flo4Law’s Benjamin Smith who exited with a mechanical issue.
With tomorrow’s two races closing the curtain on the 2025 season, Fong leads Beaubier by 13, 339-326. Herrin is third, 31 points behind Fong and 60 ahead of Gagne. Kelly is fifth with 176 points, 14 more than his teammate Escalante.
