Gagne was fifth at the start but quickly moved into fourth and then made the pass for third in Turn 8 on the first lap. With Beaubier well up front, the 27-year-old was trying to chase down second. By lap four he was able to close the two-second gap and advanced to second after his teammate’s error. Gagne stayed on the competition for the rest of the race but was unable to make the pass and crossed the line second for his third podium of the season. He leaves Road America second in the championship standings, trailing his teammate by nine points.
It was looking like another repeat performance for Beaubier who grabbed the holeshot and started to build a gap on the competition. On the third lap he set the fastest lap of the race with a 2’11.436 and was looking to keep expanding his lead when he went over the infamous bump in turn one and tucked the front. The four-time Superbike champ tried to rejoin the race, but ultimately had to pull in to the pits with the bike not 100% after the crash.
Next up for the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team is Round 3 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta, July 31 – August 2, in Braselton, Georgia.
