Scout's Guide to MotoAmerica 2016

By Chris Martin and Evan Williams

Cameron Beaubier, Josh Hayes, Roger Hayden, and the rest of the superstars of the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Motorcycle Road Racing Championship are put under the microscope in this NFL-style scouting guide. Inside SCOUT'S GUIDE TO MOTOAMERICA 2016, the styles, strengths, and weaknesses of the United States' most gifted and dedicated motorcycle roadracers are broken down in excruciating detail.

Every ranking and scouting report is based upon information gleaned via exhaustive interviews with a number of foremost MotoAmerica experts and insiders, including multiple top riders, team managers, and journalists.

SGMA16 features in-depth analysis of the technique, talent, and tendencies of the sport's titans and would-be kings. Areas of advantage are celebrated and vulnerabilities are exposed.

SCOUT'S GUIDE TO MOTOAMERICA 2016 includes:

• The SGMA16 Top 25 and the associated scouting reports of the riders who made the cut, including full profiles covering the 15 best racers in the MotoAmerica paddock. The technical proficiency, physical traits, and mental characteristics of Cameron Beaubier, Josh Hayes, Jake Gagne, Roger Hayden, JD Beach, Danny Eslick, and the rest of the nation's leading roadracing heroes are dissected
• The 14 skills and traits most likely to determine the outcome in today's hyper-competitive landscape. Which rider is the best off the stripe? Who is the corner-speed king? Who is the most precise? Who has the best racecraft? Who is the best at setting up a bike?
• More than 40 pages of bonus materials, including the 10 greatest AMA Superbike champions ranked (with special scouting notes on Mat Mladin and Ben Spies), the Superbike World Cup, MotoAmerica's future prospects, and more.

Praise for SGMA16's sister publication, SCOUT'S GUIDE TO MOTOGP 2016:

"I am always a bit cynical about things like this, as they tend to be written with an ‘angle’ depending on who writes them. I intended to give the guide a quick look over but ended up reading it from cover to cover. The analysis, backed up with the comments from people in the paddock, make it incredibly engaging. I really enjoyed it and I’m a jaded PR person!" -- Ian Wheeler, Marketing & Communications Manager at Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS

"This digital book is awesome! Be the most knowledgeable MotoGP fan on your block!" -- Greg White, motorcycle racing television personality

"We've never had anything like this for MotoGP. It is an amazing read." -- Larry Lawrence, Cycle News Contributing Editor and one of the leading motorcycle racing historians in America

"You won't find a better guide to the 2016 MotoGP field than Chris Martin's Scout's Guide. Absolutely outstanding." -- Louis Suddaby, BikeLive presenter for Downforce Radio, MotoGP reporter for TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk

"Here's an interesting project. A Scout's Guide to MotoGP by Chris Martin. Very good and interesting read." -- David Emmett, MotoMatters.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris Martin
• Release date: Mar 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310289248

Chris Martin

Chris Martin is a screenwriter specializing in historical fiction, action, and romance. He graduated from Full Sail University with a BS in Film and is currently pursuing a BFA in Creative Writing. He has published works on Potato Soup Journal and Webtoon. He is a member of Full Sail's Creative Writing Club and also served as a member of the U.S. Army.

Book preview

Scout’s Guide to MotoAmerica 2016

Chris Martin

with

Evan Williams

https://twitter.com/ChrisMartinSBK

[e-mail]

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2016 Chris Martin

Cover Photo: Brian J Nelson

Also by Chris Martin

Scout’s Guide to MotoGP 2016

Scout’s Guide to Supercross 2016

Scout’s Guide to Motorcycle Racing 2016

(collects all three guides)

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Modern American Snipers: From The Legend to The Reaper – on the Battlefield with Special Operations Snipers (St. Martin’s Press)

Beyond Neptune Spear: The (Open) Secret History of SEAL Team Six, Post-9/11

Shaping the World from the Shadows: The (Open) Secret History of Delta Force, Post-9/11

Contents

Title Page

About This Guide

The SGMA16 Top 25

1. Cameron Beaubier

2. Josh Hayes

3. Jake Gagne

4. Roger Hayden

5. JD Beach

6. Jake Lewis

7. Josh Herrin

8. Danny Eslick

9. Joe Roberts

10. Garrett Gerloff

11. Josh Day

12. Claudio Corti

13. Bobby Fong

14. Taylor Knapp

15. Chris Fillmore

#16-25: From Anthony to Alexander

On the Outside Looking In

Skills & Traits

Qualifying Speed

The Start

Immediate Pace

Precision

Corner Entrance

Corner Speed

Corner Exit

Aggressiveness

Confidence

Fighting for Position

Racecraft

Providing Feedback

Beyond the Limits

Inclement Weather

There Can Be Only One (1)

Ranking the AMA Superbike Champs

10. Reg Pridmore

9. Scott Russell

8. Nicky Hayden

7. Miguel DuHamel

6. Doug Chandler

5. Wayne Rainey

4. Fred Merkel

3. Josh Hayes

2. Mat Mladin

1. Ben Spies

The Best to Never Wear the Crown

The Road Ahead

The World Cup of Superbike

About This Guide

I’ve already covered the origins of this series in both Scout’s Guide to Supercross 2016 and Scout’s Guide to MotoGP 2016 so I won’t rehash it again here. But if you are at all interested, I’d certainly encourage you to pick up either title (or better yet, grab the complete Scout’s Guide to Motorcycle Racing 2016, which compiles all three guides for less than the price of two).

Instead, I’ll simply explain the manner in which Scout’s Guide to MotoAmerica 2016 was constructed and how it works.

Neither Evan Williams nor I played the role of scout. We did not rank the riders, nor did we make any judgments regarding their technique, strengths, or weaknesses. Rather, we collected the data and opinions of knowledgeable and well-connected MotoAmerica insiders in order to decipher a sort of paddock consensus.

While the insiders tended to see things the same way, there were some disagreements, including a few stark contradictions. Opinions that did not conform to the broader consensus were not included in the Scouting Report section of the rider profiles. However, those outliers were occasionally included as part of sections I called the Scout’s Notebook, which are collections of anonymous quotes from our experts intended to add another layer of insight to each entry.

As for the actual methodology, we asked MotoAmerica insiders numbering in the double digits to submit their combined class (Superbike, Superstock 1000, Supersport, Superstock 600, and KTM RC Cup) rider rankings.

As with the SX and MotoGP guides, we went 25 deep for our rankings, similar to the NCAA Football AP Top 25. As with that example, a first-place vote was good for 25 points, second was worth 24, and so on, all the way down to the single point awarded for 25th.

After all of the rankings were compiled and tallied, an in-depth interview was conducted with each panelist in order to generate the scouting reports.

Unlike the earlier guides, we decided it was prudent to restrict the complete reports to the top 15 riders (with partial reports for 16-25). The reason was simply due to a relative lack of depth in MotoAmerica compared to Monster Energy Supercross or MotoGP and less informed opinions down the order as a result. That’s more a statement of the shortage of top rides currently (un)available in a rebuilding series than it is of a dearth of promising talent. Our panel repeatedly emphasized how difficult it was to accurately gauge riders who have not yet gotten a shot to prove their caliber on decent equipment so we adjusted accordingly. To make up for it, I included a considerable amount of back-of-the-book bonus material. Hopefully you’ll find it to be a fair tradeoff.

We could not possibly have secured a more impressive cadre of panelists. They are an ideal mix of riders, managers, mechanics, and journalists, and each one ranks as among the most accomplished in their chosen profession. While I would love to list off the names of the participants (in bold, 48-point font), it was decided from the outset that all interviews would be anonymous. This was true whether the subjects requested it or not in order to secure the most honest critiques possible.

I was still putting the finishing touches on Scout’s Guide to MotoGP 2016 while Evan attacked his duties for this guide with gusto. In his role, he arranged and conducted all of the interviews. After they had been completed, he passed the files along to me so that I could attempt to reflect that aforementioned paddock consensus in the individual scouting profiles.

I simply could not have completed this project in time without Evan’s help, and there’s no one better connected or able to draw out the unvarnished truth than he is. We’ve been working together as racing journalists since before we probably qualified as such, quite honestly, so it was fun to be able to work on this with him (even if I stole away some precious hours he could have spent studying prospective Titans draft picks or building guitars...).

We’d like to offer our deepest thanks and appreciation for our panelists’ honesty and expertise. They were all very generous with their time and insights, sitting down to discuss the intricacies of today’s leading MotoAmerica racers in exhaustive interviews that lasted as much as two hours to complete.

Anyway, let’s get to the profiles. We hope you all really dig this. And please, if you do, help spread the word so we’re in a position to not only repeat the process again in 2017, but create an even bigger and better edition.

Chris Martin

The SGMA16 Top 25

#1-2: Civil War

Photo: Brian J Nelson/MotoAmerica

1. Cameron Beaubier

#1 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Factory Racing (Superbike)

Birthdate: 12/6/92 (23)/Hometown: Roseville, CA/Measurables: 5’7", 135 lbs

Titles: AMA Superbike (‘15), Daytona SportBike (’13)

Career MotoAmerica stats: 32 wins (11 SBK), 63 podiums (24 SBK)

2015 Results: Champion (SBK), 7 wins, 7 runner-ups, 15 podiums

A heavy burden has been cast upon the shoulders of 23-year-old, 135-pound Cameron Beaubier. As if defending his AMA Superbike crown against the likes of Josh Hayes, Roger Hayden, and Jake Gagne wasn’t challenge enough, Beaubier is commonly looked to as the savior who can alter the global perception of the MotoAmerica series... despite being that perception’s latest and most wronged victim.

Scarily, a successful title defense may not be considered sufficiently impressive for observers – both inside and outside the MotoAmerica paddock. Indeed, last year’s maiden championship wasn’t enough. Despite his prodigious skills, vast potential, and undeniable results, Beaubier was unable to secure a top ride overseas in a year that Yamaha reintroduced its World Superbike program.

Even those who understand just how strong Hayes actually is desire to see more from the gifted Beaubier. Expectations are such that anything less than the one-sided demolition of a historically great champion will be written off as less than convincing.

Consider that the crucible for a series that desperately needs its next high-profile graduate to be decidedly more Ben Spies than Josh Herrin. Failure is not an option lest an obstructed pipeline become shut down altogether.

Despite his relatively young age, Beaubier has already found himself up against it more than once. And each time he’s come out the other side stronger, hardened rather than crushed by the experience.

A one-time factory GP rider in another racing life, Beaubier’s poor luck and results sent him back to the States to rebuild his career. (For the record, his more experienced KTM 125GP teammate fared only somewhat better and was less than inspiring on the machine himself. The disparity in results between the two may have been enough to seal the American’s fate as no one understood that Marc Márquez was ¡Marc Márquez! just yet.) After being unceremoniously shipped back home, the Californian was forced to prove himself on outgunned private equipment before finally earning his slot inside the paddock’s most powerful squad.

But once given the golden ticket by Yamaha, he has done nothing short of reign supreme, storming to Daytona SportBike and AMA Superbike crowns. And for the good of the series, the collective hopes of the paddock are that his meteoric rise is still no where near reaching its zenith.

Scouting Report:

Strengths: Possesses genuine world-class skills. Blessed with the talent to do things on a bike his rivals often find incomprehensible. Outstanding natural feel. Bike rarely looks out of shape even when he’s pushing past its limits.

Precision-based style that is both nuanced and analog. Linear and light with the controls and smooth in transition. Exploits the full spectrum of brake and throttle inputs and does so consistently despite the approach’s inherent complexity and extreme degree of difficulty. Hits tight and difficult marks lap after lap as a result.

Unmatchable sheer speed when everything’s clicking. Capable of cracking open unusually large gaps on the timesheets.

Runs MotoGP-ready lines that few others dare attempt on a Superbike. Effortless, silky style and body positioning reminiscent of a Lorenzo-Pedrosa hybrid. Commits to the turn and uses the Dunlops’ side grip to rail through corners with best-in-class midcorner speed. Despite not braking as late or deep as Hayes, still somehow arrives at the apex quicker while putting less load on the motorcycle.

Almost no wasted time in the turns without some sort of productive input. Gets the bike back up and leaps out on exit, rolling the throttle on impossibly early.

Demonstrates tactical mastery and rare racecraft despite his relative inexperience. Dethroned consensus last-lap king Martin Cardenas in late-race shootouts while in Daytona SportBike and then did the same to the savvy and cagey Hayes in the premier class. Boasts nine wins to just three losses in final-lap shootouts since his graduation to Superbike. Won six races by less than a half-second in 2015 alone.

Unique ability to vary his pace throughout the contest. Can relax and turn it back on when required, tapping into another gear during the critical final sprint while others are struggling to simply manage their equipment to the flag. Equally comfortable leading or following.

Highly adaptable. Learns on the fly and instantly internalizes those lessons. Has figured out how to counterpunch versus the likes of Hayes and Hayden despite his more flowing lines seemingly not ideally suited to knife fighting with point-and-shoot riders of their ilk.

Armed with the most potent bike in the field and backed by the strongest team in the paddock. More than that, the current YZF-R1M is a weapon considerably better weighted for Beaubier’s particular style than it is Hayes’.

Confident on the bike and motivated to break through to another level. Humble, polite and a difficult read for his opposition.

Weaknesses: Merely beating one of the world’s elite Superbike riders in Josh Hayes was not viewed as sufficiently impressive by international talent scouts. Must take another mammoth step forward and regularly crush his competition in 2016 to assure himself an international berth in 2017.

Was instantly quick on a Superbike, but will at times demonstrate vastly superior speed in practice and qualifying only to get caught up in close fights during the races. Tends toward conservatism in his race approach.

Mental strength has been called into questioned. Considered overly deferential to teammate/mentor/friend Hayes by some insiders.

Not a phenomenally late braker nor an overly aggressive scrapper. While he makes it work with admirable regularity, his natural style isn’t the ideal approach in close-quarters combat.

Fitness has been an issue. There’s less opportunity to relax in Superbike, and the big bike demands more effort and concentration. Despite looking effortless on the bike, he was visibly exhausted at the end of some races last season.

Shy and withdrawn. Still becoming comfortable with his greatness and yet to fully embrace an ambassadorial role – a role that will be thrust upon him if he graduates to the next level.

Scout’s Notebook:

As far as talent goes, you know, he’s unbelievable. Sometimes when I get behind him, he does stuff on the bike that I didn’t know was possible. He’s just smooth, man – just so smooth it doesn’t look like he’s trying... so much corner speed it’s crazy. You get behind Cameron at the beginning of a race when the tires are brand new, and he gets on the gas so early it’s ridiculous. You’re still turning the bike, and you can hear him getting on the gas before the apex. – Racer

"His big weakness was fitness. You saw him get gassed after some of the races. Granted, he had arm-pump surgery, but still, dude. Look at Hayes and Rog – those guys are fit. Everybody is fit here. He did start working with Spies to improve that, but I don’t know if Spies is the best guy to work on that stuff. I think Spies knows what works for himself really well, but that doesn’t always translate. But Cameron did at least get some guidance, and being as motivated as he is, he was able to take that guidance and turn it into something useful… Cam is really quite good, and he might be the future of our sport. He’s probably the best guy the United States has to offer right now. If he has the fitness stuff all sorted out, he could come out swinging, all guns blazing, and then everybody