Superbike Race Two
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s JD Beach completed a perfect weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, repeating his Saturday masterclass, by leading all 20 laps to secure a commanding victory in Sunday’s Quad Lock Superbike Race 2.
Beach, starting second on the grid, again wasted no time at the start, seizing the lead before the close of the opening lap, and never looking back.
While Saturday’s victory was a career milestone for Beach in the dry, Sunday’s performance solidified his dominance as he displayed consistent pace that opened a comfortable gap from the rest of the field, ultimately crossing the finish line 3.437 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, for his fifth career Superbike victory.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Cameron Petersen, who started from pole, found himself in third by the close of the first lap, where he found himself in familiar territory, staring at the rear wheel of Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL’s PJ Jacobsen after Jacobsen slipped past him at the start. On Lap 7, Petersen made his move past Jacobsen to take second place, which he held until the checkered flag.
The battle for the final podium position developed as OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly capitalized on the closing laps. SDK, who remained a constant threat in the lead pack, moved past Jacobsen on Lap 15, securing his second third-place finish of the weekend.
Jacobsen, who led the chase behind Beach for much of the race, ultimately settled for fourth.
The championship race took a critical turn after completing 11 laps when points leader Mathew Scholtz of Strack Racing suffered a DNF. Scholtz, who had entered Sunday with a slim two-point lead, worked his way from 10th to seventh, before he was forced to pull off the track, opening the door for a significant shift in the title standings as the series sits at its halfway point. SDK (172 points) now leads Beach (161 points) and Scholtz (158 points), after Round 5.
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong rounded out the top five, finishing 8.264 seconds behind his teammate Beach.
Other notable finishers included Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law teammates Loris Baz in sixth and Benjamin Smith in seventh. OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe, Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim, and M4 Ecstar Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch completed the top 10.
In Superbike Cup, BPR Racing Yamaha’s Deion Campbell completed a weekend sweep, claiming his second victory of the weekend and finishing an impressive 11th overall. Real Steel Honda’s Andrew Lee recovered from his Saturday misfortunes to finish second in the Cup class and 13th overall.
Superbike Race 2 Results
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- JD Beach (Yamaha)
- Cameron Petersen (Ducati)
- Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
- PJ Jacobsen (Ducati)
- Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
- Loris Baz (Ducati)
- Benjamin Smith (Ducati)
- Jayson Uribe (BMW)
- Hayden Gillim (Honda)
- Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Supersport Race Two
Rahal Ducati Moto w/ Desnuda Organic Tequila’s Josh Herrin took the win in Sunday’s Supersport Race 2 by over eight seconds in Supersport Race 2 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Sunday, capitalizing on his rival’s misfortune and slashing the points deficit in the process.
The race immediately showed high intensity as Celtic/Economy Tire + Lube/Warhorse rider Darryn Binder and Herrin traded the lead aboard their Ducati Panigale V2s in a fierce opening-lap dogfight. The frontrunners quickly gapped Rahal Ducati Moto w/ Droplight rider Kayla Yaakov on her Ducati Panigale V2, four-time Superbike champion Josh Hayes on a BPR Racing Yamaha with Compact Octane YZF-R9, and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott on his Suzuki GSX-R750.
The polesitter, Binder, led the first eight laps with Herrin in tow as they built a two-second cushion over the tight battle for third between Yaakov and the veteran Hayes. Further back, BPR Racing Yamaha’s Brendan Ketelsen and Rahal Ducati Moto with Roller Die + Forming’s Alessandro Di Mario ran fifth and sixth.
The order shuffled quickly. On lap two, Scott pitted with an apparent mechanical issue. Two laps later, Yaakov low-sided her Ducati in the Andretti Hairpin, exiting the race holding her clutch hand after it became trapped between the handlebar and the pavement and Di Mario overtook Ketelsen.
The incident promoted Hayes to third, and the cross-country racer inherited another position on Lap 8 as the front-row battle peaked.
Herrin executed a textbook pass-through Turn 5 to take the point. Binder countered three corners later with an inside dive at the Corkscrew entrance, but he overcooked the left-hander, ran through the gravel. Five turns later, the South African crashed entering Turn 2. Binder quickly remounted his damaged machine to salvage an 11th-place finish and five valuable championship points.
Binder’s crash elevated Hayes to second and Di Mario—who had dispatched Ketelsen—to third, but the spotlight belonged to Herrin. The Californian cruised to an eight-second victory over Hayes, while Di Mario secured his first career Supersport podium.
Binder retains the championship lead by nine points over Herrin, while Yaakov moves into third despite her Race 2 DNF.
Mission King Of The Baggers Challenge Race and Race Two
After oil cleanup in the Corkscrew delayed Saturday’s Bagger Challenge, the feature ran Sunday morning following Morning Warmups. Six qualified Baggers fought for a $5,000 top prize. Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing teammates Kyle Wyman and Bradley Smith jumped to the front immediately. The defending Mission King Of The Baggers champion and his British teammate ran nose-to-tail for the three-lap sprint, with Wyman leading every lap to win by 0.3 seconds over Smith, while J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Indian rider Hayden Gillim took third.
In Race 2, factory Harley riders Wyman and Smith launched into first and second. J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Indian rider Troy Herfoss held third ahead of his teammate, championship leader Gillim. By lap two, the lead quartet distanced themselves from Big Diehl x Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s James Rispoli in fifth.
On lap three, Gillim low-sided in Turn 2 to exit contention. Over the final five laps, the Harley-Davidson teammates dropped the third-place Australian. The order held to the stripe as Wyman secured his first Baggers feature win of the season over teammate Smith, while the Aussie Herfoss rounded out the podium in third.
The Mission King Of The Baggers series looks ahead to Round 5 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, July 31–Aug. 2. Hayden Gillim continues to lead the championship but now manages a 13-point gap to Herfoss in second and 20 points to Bradley Smith in third. Defending champion Kyle Wyman is fourth, 43 points adrift.
Talent Cup Race Two
Prior to Race 2 in the Morning Warmup session, Matsudaira completed only two laps before having engine troubles and had to bring the bike back to his team. The crew went to work replacing the fouled powerplant, including Matsudaira himself who was retrieving parts from their race rig and working alongside his crew to be ready for Race 2 approximately five hours later.
Race 2 left the line with Team Hammer’s Jake Paige leading the pack. But it was short lived as the typical rotation of Team Roberts’ Kensei Matsudaira and Quarterley Racing’s Nathan Gouker made their way past before Lap 1 was completed. Estenson BLU CRU Yamaha Racing’s Sam Drane and Real Steel Honda’s Derek Sanchez joined the leading trio in a five-rider breakaway at the front. Sanchez would suffer an unfortunate mechanical on Lap 2 however, dropping him from the race altogether.
With the lead group trimmed back to four, positions were shuffled constantly until Lap 9 when Gouker would start to fade uncharacteristically. The North Carolina native would ultimately finish fourth, leaving the podium battle up to Matsudaira, Paige and Drane for the final four laps.
Californian native Matsudaira held off his competition to secure a double victory at his home track, recapturing the points lead in the process. Drane and Paige rounded out the podium in second and third, respectively, with Gouker finishing fourth.
Matsudaira now leads Gouker by 23 points as the series takes a break until their next round at VIRginia International Raceway August 14-16.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship Race Two
BPR Racing Yamaha’s Andy DiBrino took the win by just one-tenth ahead of Race 1 winner and teammate Bryce Kornbau with ARCH Motorcycle Racing’s Corey Alexander rounding out the podium in third, eight-tenths behind the leader.
DiBrino jetted out of the gate aboard his Yamaha MT-09 SP and never relinquished the top spot in a flag-to-flag victory with his teammate Kornbau backing up his Race 1 win with a P2 finish and Alexander just a few bike lengths behind in third on the ARCH 2s-R machine.
Off the start, the podium finishing trio wasted no time stretching out a gap over fourth place rider, Harley-Davidson x Factory Dynojet Racing’s James Rispoli and points leader Gus Rodio aboard his Ducati Streetfighter V2 in fifth, leaving them 1.5 seconds behind by the second lap, and growing the margin to almost three seconds by the finish.
Over the course of the race Kornbau made a few attempts to the inside of his BPR Racing Yamaha teammate in a bid for the lead but could not get to the apex first and fell back in line to take second. Alexander could only watch from a close third as he rode in to take his fourth podium in a row.
Rispoli and Rodio rounded out the top five in Race 2, with Rodio dropping the lead to points lead to DiBrino and allowing Kornbau up to second in points. The Pipe Dreams Podcast hosts, Rispoli and Alexander, round out the top five in points as the series looks forward to the next round at Mid-Ohio July 31–August 2.
Superbike Race One
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s JD Beach turned in a flawless performance on Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, leading all 20 laps to secure a dominant victory in the opening Quad Lock Superbike race of the weekend.
Beach, who qualified second with a 1:24.002, wasted no time at the start, jumping ahead of Wrench Motorcycles’ pole-sitter Cameron Petersen. Beach found himself behind Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL’s PJ Jacobsen who secured the holeshot and led the pack all the way into, but not out of, Turn 11, where Beach made the pass before pulling away from the field for the remainder of the race.
Petersen had earlier set the pace in qualifying, securing pole position with a blistering 1:23.916—the only sub-1:24 lap of the session. Despite his qualifying speed, Petersen spent much of the race harassing the rear wheel of Jacobsen before moving into second late in the race. Petersen ultimately finished 3.564 seconds behind Beach at the line.
The battle for the final podium spot was a high-stakes affair that unfolded in two phases. Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen held second place for the first 16 laps, keeping Beach within reach. Jacobsen’s race ended on lap 17, when he crashed exiting Turn 5, opening the door for Petersen and the chasing pack.
What then developed was another last-lap battle, with points leader Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz defending against OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly. Scholtz was precise, leading the closing laps until the final turn. SDK made a move in the final corner, which would hold until the line, claiming third place 8.858 seconds behind the winner. Scholtz finished a close fourth, just two-tenths of a second behind SDK, after climbing from eighth on the grid. Scholtz retains the championship lead, by just two points going into Sunday’s race.
Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law’s Loris Baz rounded out the top five, finishing 15.283 seconds behind Beach.
Other notable finishers included OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe in sixth and Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha’s Bobby Fong in seventh. Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law’s Benjamin Smith, M4 Ecstar Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, and Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim completed the top 10.
In Superbike Cup, Real Steel Honda’s Andrew Lee continued his season-long qualifying form by topping the class in Final Qualifying with a 1:25.463. BPR Racing Yamaha’s Deion Campbell (1:26.195), and Team Brasil’s Danilo Lewis (1:26.587), completed the top three times of the Superbike Cup class.
When the race got underway, Lee quickly worked his way toward the front of the overall field, challenging the Superbike riders as well, before his race unraveled, suffering an uncharacteristic pair of crashes. Lee went down on Lap 7 and again after remounting on Lap 10, the second crash ending his race.
Campbell capitalized on Lee’s misfortune after an early battle with Lewis and steadily emerged as the fastest rider in Superbike Cup in Race 1.
Superbike Race 1
- JD Beach (Yamaha)
- Cameron Petersen (Ducati)
- Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Loris Baz (Ducati)
- Jayson Uribe (BMW)
- Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
- Benjamin Smith (Ducati)
- Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
- Hayden Gillim (Honda)
Supersport Race One
In Supersport Q2, Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse rider Darryn Binder put his Ducati Panigale V2 on the pole with a 1:26.585, marginally faster than Friday’s Q1 times. Rahal Ducati Moto w/ Desnuda Organic Tequila’s Josh Herrin shadowed the South African by just 0.080 seconds. Rahal Ducati Moto w/ Droplight rider Kayla Yaakov clocked a 1:26.968 to round out the front row.
In Race 1, Binder jumped to an early lead with Herrin in tow. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott held third aboard his GSX-R750 until running wide at the Andretti Hairpin. The mistake allowed the 19-year-old female flyer, Yaakov, to drop Scott to fourth, just ahead of BPR Racing Yamaha’s Josh Hayes in fifth on a Yamaha YZF-R9. On lap eight, the Pennsylvanian Scott crashed his Suzuki in Turn 2, exiting contention and promoting Hayes to fourth.
The lead duo of Binder and Herrin broke away, gapping Yaakov by over five seconds. The South African and Californian ran nose-to-tail until six laps to go when Herrin dropped off the leader’s pace. Binder stretched a 2.3-second lead by the checkers to secure his fifth win of the season and extend his points lead to 29 over his veteran rival.
Yaakov claimed the final podium spot after a spirited battle with Hayes. The four-time AMA Superbike champion passed the teenager briefly, but she retaliated into Turn 1 to retake third before the checkers.
Mission King Of The Baggers Race One
A red flag for oil in the Corkscrew halted the Mission King Of The Baggers Q2 session before riders could log a scored lap. Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing rider Kyle Wyman’s factory Road Glide deposited the fluid, forcing a lengthy cleanup that canceled the session. Grid positions defaulted to Friday’s Q1 times.
In Race 1, J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines rider Troy Herfoss grabbed the early lead, but he could not shake the chasing Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing Road Glide of Bradley Smith. The Englishman rocketed past the Australian to check out to a three-second lead.
Behind the breakaway leader, a trio of riders fought for the remaining podium spots over the final five laps. Herfoss settled into second, ahead of a charging Tyler O’Hara aboard his SDI Racing Indian Challenger. Points leader Hayden Gillim rounded out the group until the final lap, when defending class champion Wyman slashed a two-second deficit to join the four-way podium brawl.
Smith took a dominant maiden Mission King Of The Baggers victory by more than four seconds. At the Corkscrew on the final lap, California native O’Hara made a diving inside pass attempt on Herfoss for second. O’Hara ran wide at the exit, cutting over the inside downhill berm and dropping to fourth. The error shuffled J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Factory Indian teammates Herfoss and Gillim into second and third, respectively.
Talent Cup Race One
The Talent Cup Q2 pace lagged behind Q1, but Nathan Gouker bucked the trend to set the Talent Cup lap record in Q2. The Quarterley Racing rider set a 1:35.954 benchmark and was the only competitor under the 1:35 mark to secure pole for the weekend’s doubleheader. Team Hammer’s Jake Paige shaved 2.319 seconds off his Friday time to post a 1:36.086 for second with Team Roberts rider Kensei Matsudaira completing the front row.
At the Race 1 start, Paige swept in from the far outside to lead through Turn 2 and the infield. By the end of lap one, a clear top four broke out to a one-second lead.
Matsudaira took the point on lap two, leading a breakaway quartet of the American Paige, Quarterley Racing’s Gouker, and Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane. The four isolated themselves from the field.
By the halfway mark, Gouker led after a smooth pass on the pole-sitter at the Corkscrew entrance. Australians Paige and Drane remained in contention as the white flag waved. Gouker then crashed heavily while leading in Turn 6, taking a moment to recover.
Matsudaira inherited the lead and secured the victory under a final-lap red flag, reclaiming the points lead and setting a new race lap record of 1:36.009. The Aussie Paige finished second, with countryman Drane rounding out the podium.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship Race One
ARCH Racing’s Corey Alexander topped the final Q2 session at 1:28.698, though no one outpaced the BPR Racing Yamaha duo of Bryce Kornbau and Andy DiBrino from Q1. Combined times allowed Alexander to improve his starting spot to third.
Rodio Racing teammates Gus Rodio and Ben Gloddy qualified their Ducati Streetfighter V2s fourth and fifth, with Saddlemen Racing Development’s James Rispoli rounding out row two. OrangeCat Racing riders Josh Herrin and Kaileb De Keyrel returned for Q2 on electric Lightfighter V3-RH machinery, but the team withdrew from the remaining races to further evaluate Friday’s thermal incident.
Race 1 began with a wave of naked bikes fighting three and four abreast into the Turn 2 hairpin. DiBrino led aboard his MT-09 SP, followed by Rispoli’s Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Pan America and BPR teammate Kornbau. The trio built an early breakaway that included Alexander’s ARCH 2s-R and Rodio’s Ducati in fifth.
On the opening lap, Rispoli dove under DiBrino but ran wide exiting Turn 8. The drop into the Corkscrew forced Rispoli to alter his line, shuffling him to third. The leaders settled into a rhythm until Rispoli low-sided in Turn 11, forcing Alexander into evasive action. The incident cost Alexander time to the leading Yamahas of Kornbau and DiBrino.
The Bakersfield, California native Kornbau held off his teammate by just a tenth of a second at the line for his first win of the season. Alexander brought the ARCH home in third for his third consecutive podium.
Friday Superbike
Quad Lock Superbikes concluded day one of action at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca which included Free Practice and Timed Practice, ultimately setting the field for tomorrow’s 15-minute Final Qualifying session. The morning began under typical Monterey Peninsula fog, which cleared to reveal perfect, sunny skies by the time riders hit the track.
The top three riders in the morning practice session were separated by just 0.066 of a second. The 40-minute session ran flag-to-flag without stoppage, giving teams ample time to evaluate the undulations of the Laguna layout and develop their setups for the afternoon’s Timed Practice session.
In Timed Practice, Mathew Scholtz took the top spot with a 1:23.980 lap time. The South African Strack Racing rider was on rails aboard his Yamaha YZF-R1, standing as the only competitor to drop into the 1:23 range—just 0.293 seconds ahead of second place.
OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly turned in a 1:24.273 to secure second aboard his BMW M 1000 RR. Kelly found speed late in the session on his 15th lap after making adjustments in the pits during a red-flag period. The stoppage was caused by Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law rider Benjamin Smith, who crashed in the Corkscrew. Although Smith walked away under his own power, he ended the session in 11th.
Wrench Motorcycles rider Cameron Petersen secured a top-three position on his Ducati Panigale V4 R, returning to form following a difficult previous round. The South African expressed confidence, signaling strong prospects for tomorrow’s qualifying session and Race 1.
Two more riders bouncing back after difficult prior outings are Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL’s PJ Jacobsen, who ended the session in fourth, and fill-in rider Loris Baz. Riding the Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law Panigale V4 R, Baz secured fifth place, just six-tenths of a second off the leader’s pace.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Richie Escalante finished the session in seventh, seven-tenths of a second behind Scholtz. Despite a low-side crash late in the session on his GSX-R1000R, Escalante settled into a 1:24.743 and clearly demonstrated front-running pace.
In Superbike Cup, Real Steel Honda’s Andrew Lee once again put the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP at the top of the speed charts with a 1:26.003 lap time.
When riders head into Saturday’s 15-minute Final Qualifying session, these Friday times will be null and void. The slate will be wiped clean, leaving competitors with a brief 15-minute window to set their fastest times and lock in the grid for Saturday afternoon’s Race 1, which kicks off at 3:10 p.m. PDT.
Friday Supersport
Middleweight action at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca kicked off early Friday morning with the opening Supersport practice session, where the field began dialing in their setups. Rahal Ducati Moto with Desnuda Organic Tequila’s Josh Herrin set the baseline standard for the weekend by leading the morning session with a 1:26.786 lap time. He was followed closely by Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse rider Darryn Binder (+0.507 seconds) and BPR Racing Yamaha’s Brenden Ketelsen (+0.942 seconds).
The afternoon qualifying session built upon those fast times, delivering an intense battle in the closing minutes that culminated in a dominant Ducati sweep of the provisional front row.
Herrin asserted his dominance on his 14th lap to capture provisional pole with a spectacular 1:26.778. He narrowly beat out championship rival Binder, who sat just 0.140 seconds behind, while Rahal Ducati Moto with Roller Die & Forming teammate Alessandro Di Mario made his presence known in third place (+0.732 seconds) to complete the manufacturer’s lockout at the front. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott followed in fourth aboard his GSX-R750 (+0.965 seconds), with Strack Racing’s Blake Davis (+0.989 seconds) rounding out the top five on his Yamaha YZF-R9.
The session was split by high drama for Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight rider Kayla Yaakov, who suffered a low-side in turn five that triggered a red flag with 20 minutes remaining. Before the incident, Yaakov had secured a resilient early lap time to keep herself inside the top 10. Following rapid pit repairs by her crew, she returned to the track for a final two-lap sprint in the closing three minutes, ultimately concluding the Friday qualifying session in eighth place, 1.556 seconds off the leader’s pace.
Supersport riders have another chance to improve their grid positions in Saturday’s 30-minute Q2 session scheduled for 10:10 a.m. PDT, with Race 1 slated for 1:10 p.m. PDT.
Mission King Of The Baggers
Kyle Wyman topped the charts in Mission King Of The Baggers Q1 today aboard his Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing Road Glide, temporarily disrupting factory Indian’s starting-grid dominance. The former class champion slipped past his teammate Bradley Smith by just over half a second to secure the provisional pole heading into tomorrow’s Q2 session and Race 1.
Holding third place is J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Factory Indian rider Troy Herfoss, who set a fast lap of 1:28.702. The Australian held onto the position before triggering a red flag with roughly eight minutes left in the session when he low-sided his Indian Challenger in the final corner. During the incident, his knee puck was dislodged and came to rest on the racing line prompting officials to halt the session and clear the debris.
SDI Racing’s Tyler O’Hara moved his Indian Challenger up to fourth, while Big Diehl x Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Cody Wyman rounded out the provisional top five.
Talent Cup
The Talent Cup qualifying session delivered high-stakes drama today, culminating in a spectacular comeback by Quarterley Racing’s Nathan Gouker, who snatched pole position in the final seconds.
The session began with Team Roberts’ Kensei Matsudaira making an immediate statement, jumping straight to the top of the leaderboard on his second lap and setting the pace in the low 1:37s around the 2.238-mile Monterey circuit. Matsudaira put together a blistering lap, clocking the fastest overall sector-one time of 24.9 seconds. He refused to slow down as the session progressed, eventually breaking into the 1:36 range.
As the field chased Matsudaira’s benchmark, Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane made a major statement of his own. Drane found his stride early, showcasing front-row speed throughout the session while fluctuating between third and fourth position.
The session then took a dramatic turn for points leader Gouker. Pushing the limits through turn three, the Quarterley Racing standout suffered a vicious high-side and tumbled through the gravel trap. With his bike damaged and the clock ticking, Gouker managed to return to the pits, leaving his rivals a golden opportunity to capitalize on his misfortune.
With only three minutes remaining, Gouker’s crew pulled off a heroic effort to get him back on track. The North Carolina native rapidly climbed the ranks, slotting back into the top three on his first flying lap before crossing the line with a stunning 1:36.5 to momentarily seize the top spot. The battle intensified in the dying seconds as Matsudaira launched a fierce counterattack to reclaim the lead on his final flying lap. However, Gouker was right behind him on circuit and slipped in one final heater at the checkered flag to steal the provisional pole with a 1:36.043, setting a new Talent Cup lap record in the process.
Matsudaira ultimately settled for a close second place on the grid, just ahead of the surging Drane in third. Team Hammer’s Jake Paige and Real Steel Honda’s Derek Sanchez rounded out the provisional top five.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship
The Mission Super Hooligan National Championship got off to a dramatic start in the morning when OrangeCat Racing’s Josh Herrin watched his Lightfighter V3-RH catch fire during the opening practice session. Herrin safely pulled the machine off the track to the wall near the top of the Corkscrew, where MotoAmerica safety crews quickly extinguished the flames utilizing special firefighting equipment previously supplied to the series by OrangeCat itself. Due to the damage, Herrin was unable to complete a lap during afternoon qualifying, leaving him without a recorded time on Friday’s charts. The OrangeCat Racing crew is working tirelessly to repair the machine for tomorrow’s crucial Q2 session.
In Herrin’s absence, the class delivered close competition during Friday’s qualifying session at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau claimed the provisional pole at his home track. The Bakersfield, California native set the baseline pace with a 1:28.041 aboard his Yamaha MT-09 SP.
The BPR Racing team owner was heavily pressured by his teammate and employee Andy DiBrino, who locked down second place just 0.421 seconds off the top spot. ARCH Motorcycle Racing’s Corey Alexander backed up his recent speed with a third-place time, turning in a 1:29.019 on his seventh lap aboard the ARCH 2s-R machine to finish as the final rider within a second of Kornbau’s benchmark.
The Saddlemen Race Development Harley-Davidson Pan America of James Rispoli and points leader Gus Rodio on the Rodio Racing Ducati Streetfighter V2 put on strong performances to round out the provisional top five.
