MotoAmerica – Round 10 – Barber Motorsports Park
Leeds, AL – It’s Over. It’s Done. There’s nothing left. 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship has come to a close and for the Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda Squad, there’s an uneasy feeling. A feeling of things left undone. A feeling of potential that was just beginning to show through; not just with the machines but with the men who rode them. But in the end, there’s no going back, there’s no arguing over “What could’ve been”, there’s only what “Is”. And 2018 “Is” over and it has been an absolute roller coaster of a season and this past weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, three days of on-track action summed up the entire season.
There’s one thing that can be counted on when the paddock arrives at the Alabama track, it’ll be hot and muggy and there’s almost always a lingering chance of rain. This weekend would be no different. Arriving at the track on Thursday, the heat and humidity were omnipresent and they would not loosen their grip the entire weekend. As the team set up their little corner of the paddock and prepped their machines, the crew and riders tried their best to adapt to the conditions. They’d have to still perform at their peak come Friday morning because even though the championship has been decided, no-one was backing off for the final round.
Cameron and Bobby were ready and eager to get out on track on Friday morning for QP1. The crew had some new shiny bits to try for the guys and there was no sign of slacking off. Still trying parts, still doing all they can to wring every ounce of performance from the Honda CBR1000RR SP2’s, riders and crews attacked QP1 with an all-out assault. Despite the conditions, Cam and Bobby rode as hard as possible and provided their crews with as much feedback as they could handle. Bobby would need some adjustments ahead of QP2 to get him closer to Cam’s pace and so the time between sessions turned into a tuning fest. QP2, later in the afternoon, would be the final proving ground for those seeking a place in Superpole. That tuning session paid off as Bobby would get closer to Cam and make it to the Superpole show while Cam was less than a second off the leading time.
Saturday is the day when everything has to come together. With only a short morning warm-up both riders were prepared for Superpole. It’s been said many times before, but this is just simply put, the most intense 15 minutes of the weekend. The amount of energy that goes into getting the fastest possible laps in the shortest amount of time is incredible. With the heat sapping their energy, riders and crew worked at fever pitch to maximize those 15 minutes. Tires get changed and the second half of the session is where it all pays off. Getting a clean track or deciding who to follow is important, but not as important as just laying it all on the line. As the time was called, Cam would claim P9 and Bobby would be hot on his rear wheel (pun intended) in P10. So the final act was set, both Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda riders would be in the top ten and side by side for the final races of the season.
Race one on Saturday afternoon was to be a test of stamina and wills. Wrapped in leather suits and closed helmets, these warriors of the asphalt were set to battle it out for 21 laps. A 50 mile long fight in brutal heat and humidity for the sole purpose of putting on a show for the fans. And when the lights went out, there was nothing left on the table. Both Cam and Bobby made decent starts and found themselves in lock step with each other in the chase group. As the race wore on, Bobby would make the pass around his teammate and move into P8 after a crash ended Cam Beaubier’s race. The pair would end up racing each other to the line where Bobby would take eighth and Cam crossed the line in ninth. Ever the racers, neither one was particularly happy with their race, but both knew there was more in store for race two.
After a solid rest and some time to recover properly, the season finale was drawing closer. Sunday’s are typically a slow day with a quick 15 minute warm-up then a day of autographs and fan walks. When the fans are ushered off the grid however, it’s time to get to work. A short delay caused by a small rain shower prior to the Supersport race forced the start of the race back a bit but also brought a temperature shift. The temperature thankfully dropped by a few degrees, but it was enough to make the conditions almost ideal. For the final time in 2018, the men on Big Red machines took their starting positions. The revs went up and the final Superbike race got underway. Both riders made better starts and found themselves gaining a few positions through the first couple corners. Looking strong and making moves early on the goal of a strong finish to the season was within reach. However, for Cameron, the season would end as it started. Entering turn one, he low sided. This is one of the fastest corner entries on the circuit and a slide here is game over. While Cam was ok physically, he was gutted having to sit and watch the race from behind the barriers. This left Bobby to fly the colors. He would work to slowly crawl up the timing sheets and gain on the group ahead of him. But when he took the final checkered flag of the season, he would do so in seventh.
So that’s it! That’s how it ended. The season that was full of emotion and drama ended as it began. Racing is nothing if not about perseverance. No matter what happened throughout the season, no matter what, the team drew closer together, worked harder and persevered. Adversity has a way to reveal true character and this season showed everyone that the Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda team never gives up and never will. The team fought till the end and left nothing on the table.
Thank you to all our sponsors who have stuck with us throughout the season. Especially Genuine Broaster Chicken for providing much more than sponsorship. They provided the team with food all season and made the hospitality area always the place to be. American Honda for their technical support and faith in our efforts. Parts Unlimited, Akrapovic and Motorex USA for their contributions to our program that kept our bikes running and looking their best. We’d be remise to not give a huge personal “Thank you” to Steve Kroll of Evol Technology, our resident sponsor / on scene engineer. We kept pushing his designs to their limits, the products to their maximum durability and we even tested his resolve. To all of our sponsors, a sincere “Thank You” as we literally could not have done this season without you. Thank you all!
We’ll see you all in 2019….. ???
Quotes
Cameron Petersen – 45
“I went into the last round of the season with some high expectations. Once again I had a good Friday and was ready for Saturday. Qualifying didn’t go so great and I knew it was going to be hard work from 9th on the grid.
I ended up in P9 in race one, which definitely wasn’t the result I wanted. I went into the last race ready to enjoy my last ride on the Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda. We had made some changes and I felt good on the bike but unfortunately my race ended early. I crashed out on lap three going into turn one.
I’m sorry that we ended the season that way but I can’t thank the team enough for all they did throughout the season. It has been a pleasure working with a team of that caliber and I learned a ton from them. Thank you to everyone for their support!”
Bobby Fong – 50
“I’d like to give a big shout out to the boys for working so hard this weekend. We basically came a long ways from QP1 to Race One and Race Two. It really couldn’t have gone any better. Each time I got on the track we proved that we were working as a team and I was faster and faster. I felt like I rode really well in the races. I gave it my all each time out, I wish it could’ve gone better, but I’m happy as I know I gave that motorcycle all I could. I would’ve loved to have had more time with the team and the bike to help develop the Honda further. Three races were great, but I just wish there was more.
I want to thank the Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda guys again for giving me a shot and making me feel like a part of the family. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds. I hope that I get a chance to race for the guys again in 2019. Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible!”
Danny Walker – Team Principal
“Well, the weekend didn’t go the way we had hoped it would. In fact our season didn’t go the way we had hoped either. It’s hard to go back and say what could’ve been. But this weekend just pretty much summed up our season.
Cam got off to a pretty good start to the weekend having tested here in the pre-season. Bobby took a little time to get himself comfortable and kind of struggled on Friday. By the time Superpole came around I was pretty confident that we’d be able to really finish this season off with some strong showings. While qualifying 9th and 10th isn’t ideal, I saw that we had the pace in the races and we were at worst just a bit over a second off the pace. Race one went well but there were clearly areas that needed to be improved on both set-ups. Race two looked like those issues had been resolved but then Cam went down while pushing hard to stay with the leaders. Bobby did a good job but as his tires went out, he was doing all he could to bring it home.
Overall, this has just been a tough season. Everyone really put a ton of effort into this year and I know the guys worked their backsides off. I feel that we as a team turned a corner and things were on the upswing by Laguna. We were getting to the point where we should’ve been at the start of the season. But just as we got rolling, it was those little things that kept biting us. This was not an easy season. I tip my hat to the guys, Scotty, Danny, Evan, Phil and Kirk who just put forth a monumental effort this season. I know I have the best guys in the paddock and they deserve so much credit and respect. Cameron made massive strides and watching his development was a highlight. I really enjoyed having Bobby and Jayson be a part of the team for a few rounds each. That helped us develop the bikes much quicker than one rider can.
Now we go back to the shop and figure out what 2019 will hold for us. We have a lot in the air and I’m hoping to get things sorted out as soon as possible so we can hit the paddock at full speed next year.”
Scott Jensen – Crew Chief
“Barber was the final round of our 2018 season, and we went into the event feeling pretty confident since we had already been to this track at the Moto America test earlier this season. The test was positive and it also gave us a good starting point for the bike for the race event.
The weekend started off with QP1 and Cameron being 1.3 second off the fastest bike, and Bobby working methodically to get closer to the front. By the end of Superpole we were P9 on the grid with Cam and P10 with Bobby.
Race one brought a battle within the team as both our Genuine Boaster Chicken Honda CBR1000RR SP2s were battling with each other ending up with Bobby coming home in 8th and Cam coming home in 9th.
Unfortunately Race two ended for Cam with an early crash in Turn 1, but Bobby brought home a solid 7th place finish.
With this concludes our official 2018 season. Now we begin the off-season planning for 2019!! Looking forward to seeing you all at the races next year!!”
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