Superbikes: A day at the beach for winner

LAGUNA SECA — JD Beach enjoyed a relaxing summer day worthy of his name on track this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway, never trailing after lap one and sweeping the premier-class Superbike doubleheader at the MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest at Monterey.

The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha rider moved to the front of the 18-rider pack in short order during Saturday's 20-lap race and led every lap largely uncontested - before doing it all over again on Sunday to claim his third win in four races.

"It’s crazy," Beach said after Sunday's race. "Every win now, I don’t expect it. I just go out there every race and do what I can and ride as hard as I can. I’m speechless."

A similar story unfolded in the King of the Baggers class. There was no stopping Harley-Davidson Factory Racing's Bradley Smith after passing the Indian Factory Racing riders during Saturday's nine-lap race. While Smith couldn't manage the same commanding victory on Sunday, he and teammate Kyle Wyman gave Harley-Davidson their 1-2 finish of the season.

Beach had a day at the beach Saturday, moving on top within 90 seconds of the race start. After starting from second, Beach had Rahal Ducati Moto's PJ Jacobsen in his crosshairs through the first seven turns.

He built enough momentum through the Corkscrew and ensuing corners to make a brave pass in Turn 11 - the last and slowest corner of the track - to become leader for several closely-contested laps that followed.

Beach couldn't immediately shake off second-place Jacobsen and third-place Cameron Petersen of Wrench Motorcycles. But by lap 10, Beach was maintaining a pace that left the rest of the grid well in the rear view mirror.

"I just tried to ride as smooth as I could," said Beach after Saturday's race. "I just tried…to work my way ahead and gain a half a tenth here, half a tenth there, and let that add up throughout the ride and the race."

While Petersen trailed until crossing the finish line in second, Jacobsen's race ended early after a crash on lap 17 threw his bike into Turn 5's outside wall. OrangeCat Racing's Sean Dylan Kelly slid into third where he finished the race.

Beach followed the same formula during Sunday's race that unfolded in near-identical fashion. Jacobsen's initial lead lasted less than five turns before Beach swept around the outside of him, where he remained until the checkered flag 19 laps later. No other rider came near striking distance of Beach.

Jacobsen was again unable to convert his early lead to a podium, after a seventh-lap pass by Petersen moved him into third, and a daring lunge by Kelly lunged inside of Turn 5 pushed him into fourth.

"To win both races here is amazing," Beach said. "I’ve been…watching races here since before I raced here, so it’s really cool to (win) my first doubleheader weekend here."

The sweep moved Beach up to second in the Superbike championship, 11 points behind Kelly.

Smith's Saturday win in Baggers - his first in the class - was no less authoritative than Beach's. He stuck a bold overtake through the Corkscrew on Indian Factory Racing's Troy Herfoss, which only widened in the seven laps that followed. Wyman, meanwhile, fell down the order the moment the race began. His fifth-place finish allowed Herfoss' teammate Hayden Gillim to find the podium after clawing his way up from sixth.

"I really don’t know where (the win) came from," Smith said after Saturday's race. "I just put my head down, put the pace together that I had yesterday afternoon…picked off Troy at the beginning there, and then put together just some solid laps."

Wyman didn't let his first-place start slip through his fingers come Sunday, even with Smith sitting on his rear wheel. The former lapped significantly faster on Sunday after switching to his spare bike, and the Harley-Davidson duo slowly opened a gap ahead of the Indians of Gillim and Herfoss in third and fourth place, respectively.

Just as it seemed like they could chip away at the Harley-Davidsons' growing lead, Gillim fell out from under his bike in Turn 2 - immediately after he set the fastest lap ever recorded in a Laguna Seca Baggers race.

That moment effectively sealed a Harley-Davidson 1-2 finish, followed by Herfoss in third and Gillim in eighth.

"The area where I was struggling the most was just getting off the brake and onto the throttle in the exact area where he went down," Herfoss said. "… From that point on, I’m sure that bike had more potential in it but I wasn’t willing to push any further."

Nor was it worth it in the championship where Herfoss remained firmly in second behind Gillim, with Smith seven points behind in third.

Both Superbikes' and Baggers'championship fights will continue at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course from July 31-Aug. 2.

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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 12:03 PM.