Spaniard Toni Elias was the class of the Motul Superbike/Bazzaz Superstock 1000 field Friday during qualifying practice for the MotoAmerica Championship of Utah, Round Five of the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series, at Utah Motorsports Campus.
Riding his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 on new-specification Dunlop slicks, Elias was fastest in both the morning and the afternoon sessions and ended up with a best lap time of 1:49.811 around the 3.0-mile road course.
“We did a good job today,” Elias told Roadracingworld.com. “We improved the traction in some areas, but we need to improve the traction more. These guys are tough, so we must keep working.”
Elias’ teammate Roger Hayden was second-best with a time of 1:50.379 and said, “I struggled in the first practice. I didn’t feel real good. We looked over the data and made some changes and I felt better in Q2. But we still need to find some time because Toni has a good pace.”
Cameron Beaubier suffered a lowside crash in Turn One during the morning’s session. Beaubier walked away from the 109-mph tip-over, but his Monster Energy/Yamalube Yamaha YZF-R1 suffered heavy damage and Beaubier had to switch to his back-up bike for the afternoon session. In that afternoon session, Beaubier said he struggled to match his pace from earlier in the day.
“I’m really frustrated because I started off feeling really good,” said Beaubier, who finished the day third-quickest at 1:50.469.
Beaubier’s teammate Josh Hayes, who said he was still recovering from his big crash at Road America three weeks ago, was fourth at the end of the day with a 1:50.648.
“I feel like I’m riding tentative,” said Hayes. “There’s better in me.”
Jake Gagne recorded the fifth-best lap time, a 1:50.756, on his Broaster Genuine Chicken Honda CBR1000RR SP2 Superbike. Gagne’s Crew Chief Scott Jensen said they had some new parts of their bike this weekend, but he said the real key to their improving performance is the fact that they are “figuring out how to work with what they have and getting the chassis to work better.”
Mathew Scholtz was sixth overall and top dog in the Superstock 1000 class Friday with a mark of 1:51.079 on his Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 in spite of his afternoon session being cut short by a minor crash that caused his motorcycle to start overheating after he returned to the track.
Scholtz’s class rival Bobby Fong was one step behind him in the order with a 1:50.121 on his Quicksilver Latus Motors Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Josh Herrin was unable to improve on his lap time during the afternoon qualifying session, but the 1:50.314 he did on his HelmetSounds.com/Western Services/Meen Yamaha Superbike in the morning session held up as eighth-quickest.
Kyle Wyman was ninth overall with a 1:51.337 on his Motovation USA/Lucas Oil/KWR Yamaha Superbike, but Wyman said he was still working on getting up to speed after being out of action for a month following the concussion he suffered in a crash at Donington Park in May.
Danny Eslick rounded out the top 10 overall riders with the lap of 1:51.539 he did on his TOBC Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock 1000 machine.
Jake Lewis was 11th overall with the 1:51.706 he did on his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock 1000 racebike during Friday morning’s session, and Hayden Gillim claimed the 12th and final spot in Superpole with a lap of 1:52.011 on his Cycle World Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock-spec machine.
The 15-minute Superpole session is scheduled to happen at 11:30 a.m. local time on Saturday.
MotoAmerica Championship Of Utah
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series
Utah Motorsports Campus
Grantsville, Utah
June 23, 2017
Motul Superbike/Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Qualifying Practice Two Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 1:49.811
2. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 1:50.379
3. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 1:50.469
4. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 1:50.648
5. Jake Gagne (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), Superbike, 1:50.756
6. Mathew Scholtz (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 1:51.079, crash
7. Bobby Fong (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 1:51.121
8. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 1:51.337
9. Danny Eslick (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 1:51.539
10. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 1:51.653
11. Jake Lewis (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock 1000, 1:51.733
12. Hayden Gillim (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock 1000, 1:52.030
13. Jason DiSalvo (BMW S1000RR), Superbike, 1:52.218
14. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 1:52.223
15. David Anthony (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 1:53.636
16. Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 1:55.005
17. Mathew Orange (BMW S1000RR), Superbike, 1:55.829
18. Steven Zoumaras (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000,1:59.231, crash
19. Roi Holster (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:00.895
20. Scott Harwell (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:01.204