Friday Superbike
The Quad Lock Superbike Championship completed day one at Road America under sunny blue skies and temps in the high-70s. With cooler conditions expected on Saturday and lap times reset ahead of qualifying, the starting grid could look considerably different before race one gets underway tomorrow afternoon.
Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law Ducati Panigale V4 R rider Cameron Beaubier spent the majority of the session atop the leaderboard. The six-time and defending Superbike Champion set the pace early and continued to whittle his lap time down to a 2:09.756 to lead the group into tomorrow’s qualifying.
Sean Dylan Kelly brought his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR in just one-tenth of a second off the leader to claim P2. The Floridian is racing this weekend with a fractured finger on his braking hand, but he looks unfazed by the injury, and he seems poised to be a contender for the pole position in tomorrow’s qualifying.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Cameron Petersen made a significant leap forward in timed practice, slicing nearly a second-and-a-half off his free practice benchmark to secure third on the timesheets aboard his Ducati Panigale V4 R. The South African was the last rider to break into the 2:09 range, completing an all-European-bike front row.
Rounding out the top five in timed practice are Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing teammates JD Beach (fourth) and Bobby Fong (fifth).
Championship leader Mathew Scholtz and his Strack Racing Yamaha team ended the session sixth-fastest, followed by PJ Jacobsen aboard his Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL entry in seventh. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante was eighth, with Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim ninth and Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law’s Benjamin Smith completing the top ten.
For tomorrow’s qualifying, the top 21 riders will take to the track for a 15-minute session that will set the final starting grid. With cooler temperatures forecast and a small window in which to lay down a heater, the pressure will be on to balance risk with the reward of a fast lap time.
Friday Supersport
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott earned the provisional pole from Friday’s Supersport qualifying 1 session. The Pennsylvanian turned in a 2:16.831 on lap eight of the 30-minute qualifying session and was the only rider to dip into “the 16’s” around America’s National Park of Speed.
Rahal Ducati Moto with Desnuda Organic Tequila rider Josh Herrin finished the session second-fastest and four-tenths of a second behind Scott with a 2:17.234 lap time. The Ducati Panigale V2 rider led the session early and will certainly come out swinging for the top spot tomorrow.
Supersport points leader and Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse rider Darryn Binder third-fastest four-tenths of a second off the lead, and just a tick behind Herrin in second. The South African’s ability to quickly adapt to the Ducati Panigale V2, as well as American tracks, kept him firmly in the hunt for pole position tomorrow.
3D Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750 rider Aiden Sneed continues to climb the ranks, logging a 2:17.604 lap time to grab fourth, provisionally, with Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight rider Kayla Yaakov completing the top five.
Friday Mission King of The Baggers
The Mission King Of The Baggers Championship resumed their series after a four-week break following Road Atlanta. J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Factory Indian rider Hayden Gillim looked like he never stopped riding after round one. Gillim took the provisional pole by almost a full second, setting a new outright lap record of 2:16.842 in the process. The Kentuckian continues to move the bar higher, pushing his Indian Challenger and himself further ahead of the competition.
Defending Mission King Of The Baggers Champion Kyle Wyman put his Harley-Davidson Road Glide in P2. The 36-year-old New Yorker turned in a 2:17.724 and is the top H-D in the field, marking the first time this season that a factory Harley is ahead of a factory Indian after provisional qualifying.
Big Diehl x Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s James Rispoli followed his teammate’s lead and parked himself in third before tomorrow’s final qualifying session. The outspoken Floridian recorded a 2:18.792 lap time and will be looking to close the nearly two-second gap to the leader Gillim.
Friday Twins Cup
Robem Engineering rider and local hero Hank Vossberg put his Aprilia RS 660 on provisional pole after the first qualifying session. The 17-year-old De Pere, Wisconsin, native is the only rider in the 2:23 range, and he was just two-tenths of a second of the class lap record.
One second behind Vossberg is another Wisconsin-based team, Righteous Racin’ and their Aprilia RS 660 ridden by Jody Barry. Barry returns to the team’s home track in a moving, one-race tribute to the late team owner Ray Hofman. Barry is aboard the same Aprilia that he raced to multiple Twins Cup victories in past seasons.
Rounding out the provisional front row is M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bodie Paige with a 2:25.002 lap time. The Aussie teenager is looking to bounce back after sitting out the Barber round due to a concussion, but he appears to be getting right back up to speed.
Friday Royal Enfield Build.Train.Race.
The female racers of the Royal Enfield Build.Train.Race. program began the second round of their four-round championship, completing free practice and provisional qualifying today. The top three riders ended the session separated by just three-tenths of a second, with Bryanna Everitt taking the temporary top spot. Everitt set a fast time of 3:01.035 aboard her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650.
Brianna Cutler’s improved results compared with last year are ongoing. She turned in a time of 3:01.171 on the eighth lap of the session, effectively keeping the pressure on the leader Everitt heading into tomorrow’s final qualifying.
Jasmine Noelle showed a solid jump in speed from round one, lapping within three-tenths of the leader to put herself in P3 at the end of the first qualifying session.
Based on the lap times in Q1, it is likely to be a close final qualifying battle among the top three fastest riders, as well as in both of the BTR races this weekend.
