P.J. Jacobsen raced his MOB Racing/K Tech/Orient Express Harley-Davidson XR1200 to the pole in qualifying for this weekend’s AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series doubleheader. Jacobsen, who raced two rounds of the XR1200 series in 2010, scoring a victory at New Jersey Motorsports Park, clocked a scorching lap of 1:54.984, nearly a second-and-a-half ahead of his nearest competitor Kyle Wyman, who tripped the lights at 1:56.396. Tyler O’Hara was third with a 1:56.767.
“It’s great to be here — Indy is a famous place,” Jacobsen said. “I just can’t thank my team enough and everyone who put me here. It’s good because I have a little break, being over from the BSB, so it’s good to be here with the AMA to just have some fun.
“I was surprised by the gap; I thought it was going to be a little bit closer than that. But Kyle, Tyler, and ‘Barney’ have been riding real hard all year — I’ve been watching the video — so I’m not counting them out at in the race tomorrow or Sunday. It’s going to be fun. “
The top 10 riders in the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series coming into Indianapolis will begin competition in the XR Showdown at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Aug. 17-19, racing for a $60,000 year-end prize fund.
“We are the quickest of the regulars,” Wyman said. “”P.J.’s riding really well, but this is really a points battle for the Vance & Hines XR1200 Showdown. P.J.’s not in that battle so he can race his own race. It really won’t affect us. If I have an opportunity to put some points between myself and some of the other Showdown competitors, I’m going to do that. I’m totally focused on earning that No. 1 plate at the end of the year.”
Points for each of the top 10 riders have been leveled to 1,000 each with five races remaining in the season. Two races will take place this weekend at IMS on the series for Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles with minor modifications allowed.
The XR Showdown features a $60,000 points fund, with the champion receiving $25,000 and the coveted No. 1 plate.
Riders competing in the XR Showdown are Tyler O’Hara, Kyle Wyman, Michael Barnes, Michael Corbino, David Estok, Travis Wyman, Gerry Signorelli, Darren James, Josh Chisum and Bennie Carlson.
1. P.J. Jacobsen 1:54.984
2. Kyle Wyman 1:56.396
3. Tyler O’Hara 1:56.767
4. Benjamin Carlson 1:56.962
5. Gerry Signorelli 1:57.252
6. Michael Barnes 1:57.272
7. Barrett Long 1:57.718
8. Travis Wyman 1:57.885
9. Michael Corbino 1:58.050
10. Michael Beck 1:58.403
