Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha rider Cameron Beaubier was the fastest rider during the opening MotoAmerica Superbike/Superstock 1000cc practice Thursday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

Beaubier, riding his 2015 YZF-R1, lapped the 3.4-mile road course in 2:10.851 to lead all riders.

“I went out at the beginning and broke in some [brake] rotors and pads and slowly got myself up to speed,” Beaubier told Roadracingworld.com. “We started on the harder tire and I actually started going faster on the harder tire than I did [on the harder tire] here at the test. Then we switched to the softer tire and got down to the lap times we were doing [on the softer tire] at the test. So I felt good. We have a couple of small things we need to change. Hopefully it stays dry so I can work on those. Who knows what it’s going to do, but I’m feeling good, loving the new bike and having fun.”

Asked what it means to be able to compete and showcase himself on his Superbike in front of the MotoGP paddock, Beaubier said, “I think it’s really good for us that we’re here racing in front of the MotoGP teams. It’s also really cool to see a lot of old faces [from when he raced in the 125cc GP World Championship]. It’s been six years since I was over there, so today was the first time I got to see some people I used to race with face-to-face since 2009.

“It’s good that we’re here with MotoGP so we can show what we can do. I know MotoAmerica is trying their hardest to make it as professional as possible, and so far it’s going pretty good.”

Like during the test at COTA in March, MotoAmerica’s TrackIntel timing and scoring system continued to have issues. For instance, riders were credited with lap times during the Superbike/Superstock 1000cc session even though they were not in the session, meanwhile other riders who were in the session got credit for no lap times. But according to the results sheet produced at the end of the first practice, Beaubier was fastest and Roger Hayden second-best with a lap of 2:10.948 on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Third-quickest in the opening practice was Beaubier’s teammate, four-time and defending AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes. Hayes did a best lap of 2:11.633 and told Roadracingworld.com that he was still working on getting comfortable on his new YZF-R1 and figuring out what works best for him and the bike.

The top rider in the Superstock 1000cc class was Red Bull/Road Race Factory Yamaha’s Jake Gagne, who did a 2:12.744 in spite of working through some small issues during the 45-minute practice, he said.

Originally, Roadracingworld.com was informed by MotoAmerica that the first Superbike/Superstock 1000cc session was a qualifying session, but later it was clarified that the session was a free practice.

Qualifying begins Friday at 11:55 a.m. local time, with the top 12 “Qualifying Shootout” scheduled to take place at 5:00 p.m. Friday. The Superbike/Superstock 1000cc classes will race together once on Saturday and once on Sunday. The top three finishers in each class will be recognized with their own podium ceremony.

MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North America Road Racing Championship

Circuit of The Americas

Austin, Texas

April 9, 2015

Provisional Superbike/Superstock 1000cc Practice Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires):

1. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:10.851

2. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:10.948

3. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:11.633

4. Jake Lewis (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:12.563

5. Jake Gagne (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock, 2:12.744

6. Chris Fillmore (KTM RC8R), Superbike, 2:14.726

7. Dustin Dominguez (Apr RSV4 Factory), Superstock, 2:14.936

8. Taylor Knapp (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock, 2:16.690

9. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:16.730

10. Geoff May (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock, 2:17.706

11. Tyler O’Hara (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock, 2:18.597

12. Devon McDonough (Apr RSV4 Factory), Superstock, 2:19.194

13. Eddie Thornton (BMW S1000RR), Superstock, 2:19.344

14. Marcel Irnie (BMW S1000RR), Superstock, 2:19.445

15. Mark Heckles (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock, 2:19.507

16. Elena Myers (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:20.051

17. Jeff Wrobel (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock, 2:20.517

18. Max Flinders (EBR 1190RX), Superstock, 2:20.517

19. Barrett Long (Duc 1199 Panigale R), 2:21.692

20. Carlos Lescale (BMW S1000RR), 2:22.180

21. Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-10R), Superbike, 2:24.846

22. Aaron Hersh (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:25.627

23. Mathew Orange (BMW S1000RR), Superbike, 2:27.786

*time supplied by team, official time unavailable from MotoAmerica officials