JD Beach Doubles Down at Laguna Seca
JD Beach adds a career milestone with a MotoAmerica Superbike sweep, while Andy DiBrino and Bryce Kornbau split Super Hooligan wins at Laguna Seca / Jul 15, 2026 /
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s JD Beach is on a hot streak. During the MotoAmerica West Coast swing, the roadracer with dirt track roots won three of the last four races, with his perfect score at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca putting him in the thick of the fight for the MotoAmerica Superbike crown.
“You know what, coming into the year, I wasn’t doubted, but I don't think people were thinking of me for the fighting,” said Beach. “I kind of like to compare it to a golden retriever when they show up at a dog park. They look all sweet, and then you get the ball out, and they just go for it. I got that ball finally, and I’m just fighting for it.”
Also making championship gains and continuing their strong West Coast run at the iconic circuit in Monterey, California, were BPR Racing Yamaha’s MT-09-mounted Andy DiBrino and Bryce Kornbau, who split wins and moved into the top of the standings in the Super Hooligan Championship. BLU CRU riders enjoyed a successful outing in Supersport, the Superbike Cup, and the MotoAmerica Talent Cup as well. BPR Racing Yamaha’s Josh Hayes put his YZF-R9 on the box in Supersport, while Deion Campbell won both Superbike Cup races. Then in the MotoAmerica Talent Cup, Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane earned a pair of podium finishes.
Aside from victories and podium finishes, it was also a weekend to celebrate Yamaha Motor Company’s seven decades of motorsports excellence, with the Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team sporting the iconic white-and-red speed block livery on race day.
Leading the way for the BLU CRU in Superbike, Beach qualified second and got great starts in both races from the front row of the grid. In Race 1, the Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing rider slotted into the runner-up spot and then took over the lead in the final corner on the opening lap. From there, he led every lap and built a gap up front to earn his first Superbike victory in dry conditions.
“I know I’ve got a couple of Superbike wins, but to finally get one in the dry, it just feels amazing,” said Beach. “The Attack Yamaha R1 was working so well at Laguna today. We got a great jump off the line and ran second for the first lap, and I was able to pass into the lead in the last turn. From there, I just put my head down and tried to run smooth laps. I’ve been wanting to get this dry win, and to lead it wire-to-wire like that just adds another layer to it. It was so cool to get the win running the 70th Anniversary design as well.”
Then in Race 2, Beach rode with authority. Once again starting in the runner-up spot, he wasted little time before making his move around the outside of PJ Jacobsen in Turn 5 to take the lead. From there, he threw down consistently fast laps to earn his fifth career Superbike victory by a 3.4-second margin.
“It’s hard to even have words for this weekend,” said Beach. “These types of weekends don’t come often, so I’m going to enjoy it. Being able to pick up my first Superbike double is simply amazing. The Attack team gave me such a great bike today, it made my job easy. I just felt like I was in the zone and could click off the laps. We still have a lot of races to go this year and a lot of points up for grabs, so I can’t rest on this, but I’ll enjoy it.”
It was an up-and-down weekend for Beach’s teammate Bobby Fong, but the rider from Stockton, California, rebounded on Sunday for a strong finish at his home race. After qualifying eighth, he had a good start to Race 1 in sixth, but dropped back to eighth in the opening laps, eventually regaining a spot and finishing seventh. In Race 2, Fong was eighth after the start and steadily made his way forward, making the pass for fifth in the latter half of the race and finishing the weekend with a top-five result.
Laguna Seca proved a difficult weekend for Strack Racing Yamaha's Mathew Scholtz, who arrived at the track leading the championship. The South African qualified 10th and had a good start in Race 1 from the fourth row of the grid, slotting into seventh behind Fong. After passing his fellow BLU CRU rider on Lap 3, Scholtz continued to work his way forward to fourth. When a rider ahead crashed with four laps remaining, Scholtz inherited third, but he was passed by his title rival in the final corner and finished fourth.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go better for the back-to-back Supersport champ on Sunday. Once again, Scholtz slotted in behind Fong after the start and was ninth. The duo made their way forward with Scholtz in seventh before a technical issue in the latter half of the race that ended his race early. The Strack Racing Yamaha rider looks to rebound at the next round in Ohio and sits third in the points standings, three back from Beach and 14 from the leader.
In the Super Hooligan Championship, the BPR Racing Yamaha team continued to build momentum at Laguna Seca and took over the championship lead. Team Owner Bryce Kornbau topped the timesheets in qualifying, with Andy DiBrino right behind in second. That set the stage for a memorable weekend, with the duo finishing in that order in Saturday’s Race 1. It started with DiBrino getting the holeshot and leading for the first half of the race. Although Kornbau was shuffled back early, it was a thrilling battle with four riders in the lead group. After Kornbau broke free of the competition, he chased down his teammate, who had begun to pull away, and passed him after the halfway mark, riding on to secure his first win in the class in front of the home crowd.
"What a race!” Said Kornbau. “That was crazy. I knew it was going to be tough, and Corey (Alexander) and (James) Rispoli kind of sent it under me on the first lap, and I just parked it back under them. For a brief moment, I thought it was going to be a repeat of The Ridge, and Andy was going to get a gap on us because we kept going back and forth. Finally, I’m like, 'I've got to get through here.' If not, I could see Andy starting to chip away and build that gap. I knew Andy was riding well, and I felt like I had enough pace to get back up to him while he was still close enough. Hats off to my whole BPR Racing team, all my family, my mom, my wife Savannah, and everyone who's been a part of this. It's awesome to do it at my home race. I'm just super excited."
On Sunday, it was DiBrino’s turn, with the Pacific Northwest rider getting another holeshot and keeping cool under pressure to earn his second win aboard the BPR Racing Yamaha MT-09 and move into the championship lead, with his teammate Kornbau five points back in the runner-up spot.
“It feels amazing to get a win at Laguna Seca!” said DiBrino. “It’s such an iconic track, and it’s always my favorite race of the year. Things have really come together for me lately, and I’m enjoying the success tremendously. I owe a lot of thanks to BPR Racing’s team owner, who happens to be my teammate, Bryce Kornbau. I also want to thank Josh Hayes for his mentorship. Working alongside Bryce and Josh, and on this Yamaha, has elevated me big time.”
In Supersport, BPR Racing Yamaha’s Josh Hayes had a strong weekend, finishing fourth in Race 1 and scoring a runner-up finish in Race 2 to secure his first podium of the season with the team. Also finishing the weekend on a high note was Liberty St. Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle, who earned a season-best result with a fifth-place finish in Race 2 and an eighth-place finish in Race 1. Strack Racing Yamaha’s Blake Davis concluded the weekend with a pair of top 10 finishes, crossing the line seventh in Race 1 and sixth in Race 2.
Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane capped off an impressive week of racing on two wheels at Laguna Seca. He started with a standout performance at the AMA Flat Track Grand National Championships in Du Quoin, Illinois, where he was named the Nicky Hayden AMA Flat Track Horizon Award winner and earned class championships in four different categories. Then the young Australian headed to Monterey, California, and took home a pair of podium finishes in MotoAmerica Talent Cup, finishing third on Saturday and improving to a runner-up finish in Sunday’s Race 2.
Racing resumes at the end of the month as MotoAmerica heads back east to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, for Round 6 of the Superbike Championship on July 31 - August 2.