It was a crazy weekend for the riders at the FIM Superbike World Championship. The Donnington round had already experience a thrilling qualifying session, and an on track explosion, but every American motorcycle racing fan was hanging on the edge of their seat for a completely different reason. Cameron Beaubier—the MotoAmerica Champion—debuted on the world stage!
Beaubier To WorldSBK For Donnington
It was a series of unfortunate events for the Yamaha World Superbike team. One month before the race at Donnington, Yamaha rider Sylvain Guintoli injured his ankle during the qualifying session at Imola. The injury was so severe that the Frenchman would not only miss racing at Imola, but he would also fail to start at Sepang, Malaysia and at Donnington Park, UK. Stuck up a creek without a paddle, the manufacturer decided to put a replacement rider on the bike while Guintoli convalesced, and they chose none other than America’s Cameron Beaubier to fill the seat.
How Did America’s Next Great Champ Fair?
Beaubier’s introduction to WorldSBK started off handsomely. The rider set a blistering pace during free practice, and he qualified 9th on the grid, but the race weekend was full of gremlins. During Free Practice 2, Ducati rider Chaz Davies was suddenly in the hot seat when his engine exploded into flames. Luckily, he was able to get the bike to a stop, and was able to get off before he was injured, but the explosion was just a preview of this weekend’s craziness.
In Race 1 on Saturday, tires and bumps plagued the entire field of riders. A series of bumps and wide turns took championship leader Jonathan Rea out of the fight for first. His Kawasaki teammate, Tom Sykes, would go on to win the race. In the end five riders crashed before the checkered flag was flown, and Cameron was one of them.
However, the MotoAmerica Champion remained undaunted. Cam returned for Race 2 and battled it out for a 10th place finish—not bad for only his second WorldSBK race. Tom Sykes went on to win the second race as well, narrowly fighting off his teammate for a spectacular win. That win also marked the eighth consecutive time Sykes has won at Donnington Park.
This update was brought to you by the motorcycling attorneys at the Metier Law Firm—reminding you to keep the fast stuff on the racetrack.