KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Cameron Beaubier topped MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Qualifying One (Q1) Friday afternoon at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, in Lexington, Ohio. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR on Dunlop Sportmax Slicks, Beaubier navigated the recently repaved 2.4-mile course in 1:23.904 to claim provisional pole position.
Former MotoGP and World Superbike regular Loris Baz was the best of the rest with a time of 1:24.026 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly continued his strong performance with a third-fastest 1:24.179 on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing BMW.
Josh Herrin, the current Championship point leader and Baz’s teammate, was fourth in Q1 with a time of 1:24.241 – just 0.337 second adrift of Beaubier.
Three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne, fresh from a procedure to cure the arm pump and carpel tunnel symptoms in his right arm and wrist, did a fifth-fastest 1:24.852 on his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.
Brandon Paasch backed up his top-five performance in Free Practice One with a sixth in Q1 thanks to the 1:25.080 he did on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach was seventh with a 1:25.153 in spite of his session getting cut short by a technical issue.
Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen is riding with an injured right ankle that he suffered in a crash during testing on Thursday. He was eighth in the provisional qualifying order at 1:25.209.
Bobby Fong’s 1:25.299 on his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha put him ninth in Q1.
Ashton Yates rounded out the top 10 with a 1:25.591 on his Stock 1000-spec Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Beaubier Close To Superbike Lap Record In Return To Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Cameron Beaubier Leads An Ultra-Close Q1 As The Pack Closes In On Ben Spies’ Lap Record
LEXINGTON, OH (August 16, 2024) – Ben Spies’ 16-year-old Superbike lap record at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will live for at least another day as Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier flirted with the mark but couldn’t quite get it done on a sunny and breezy day at the iconic racing facility.
After 40 minutes of Superbike Q1, the times at the top were close and oh so close to the lap record with Beaubier leading the way with his 1:23.904 – just .265 from Spies’ best in 2008.
Beaubier, who won a Superbike race here the last time one was held at Mid-Ohio in 2014, wasn’t alone in his quest to break Spies’ mark as Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz was hot on his heels and just .122 of a second slower than the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion. Beaubier, however, was the only rider to crack into the 1:23s.
Then came EasyHealthPlans.com/Top Pro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly just .153 of a second behind Baz and a scant .062 of a second clear of Baz’s teammate Josh Herrin, the 2024 Steel Commander Superbike points leader heading into tomorrow’s first of two races at Mid-Ohio.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne ended up fifth and the last rider on the same second as Beaubier with his 1:24.852.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch ended Friday in sixth with Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach seventh, followed closely by Gagne’s injured teammate Cameron Petersen with the South African riding to a brave eighth in Q1 after suffering a right ankle injury in yesterday’s Dunlop official test.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong and Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates rounded out the top 10 heading into tomorrow morning’s Q2.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, meanwhile, finished the session in 12th in his return to racing after suffering serious injuries in the opening round at Road Atlanta.
Supersport – Jacobsen Strikes First
Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen was third in Supersport Q1 with 11 minutes remaining in the session when he shot past his title rival Mathew Scholtz and his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 and Altus Racing’s Jake Lewis and went to the top of the timesheets with his 1:27.427, a new middleweight lap record at Mid-Ohio.
The time would hold up with Jacobsen ending the session just .163 of a second ahead of Scholtz with Lewis ending up third with his 1:27.885.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis and EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Maxi Gerardo were half a second off Jacobsen’s best and were the last riders within a second of the New Yorker.
Jacobsen’s teammate Kayla Yaakov, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, Gerardo’s teammate Larry Pegram, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa and SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Max Van rounded out the top 10, provisionally.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Wyman, Barely
Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman led the way in Mission King Of The Baggers Q1 on Friday at Mid-Ohio with the championship points leader just .121 of a second ahead of his S&S Cycle/Indian Motorcycle title rival Troy Herfoss. Wyman’s best lap was a 1:27.872 to Herfoss’ 1:27.993.
The top five were all within a second of Wyman with RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates Hayden Gillim and Rocco Landers ending the session third and fourth. Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara rounded out the top five in Q1.
Tomorrow morning the big Baggers will return to the track for Q2, which will transfer the top six finishers to the Mission King Of The Baggers Challenge and its $5000 payday in the winner-take-all race, which will take place at 12:05 p.m. with the first of two championship race at 4:05 p.m.
Junior Cup – Back To Business
You could forgive racers in the Junior Cup class for being a bit rusty after not racing since the Brainerd International Raceway round back in June. But that wasn’t the case as the youngest racers in the series were quickly back up to speed by the time Q1 came around on Friday afternoon.
BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin picked right up where he left off in Q1 as the championship points leader led the way with his 1:36.52, even though he said his best lap featured a mistake. Chapin ended Friday afternoon’s session with the only lap in the 1:36s as he ripped off a 1:36.652.
Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez ended up second, .755 of a second behind Chapin but ahead of New York Safety Track Racing’s Yandel Medina. Royalty Racing’s Carson King and BARTCON Racing’s Eli Block rounded out the top five.
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Moore Again
Mikayla Moore was Mikayla Moore on Friday at Mid-Ohio with the Maryland racer earning provisional pole position for this weekend’s two Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. races. If Moore stays on top in tomorrow’s Q2 she will continue her streak of being on pole in every race for the past year and a half.
Moore lapped at a best of 1:47.186 to lead Kira Knebel by 2.253 seconds with Emma Betters rounding out the provisional front row with her 1:40.257.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – Herfoss’ First
S&S Cycle/Indian Motorcycles’ Troy Herfoss hasn’t had a pole position yet in his rookie season of Mission Super Hooligan National Championship, but he earned his first provisional pole on Friday at Mid-Ohio.
Herfoss and his 1:29.801 topped his teammate Tyler O’Hara by .123 of a second on Friday afternoon with the top eight riders on the same second as the Australian.
Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson teammates Travis Wyman and Cory West were third and fourth, respectively, with KTM Development Team’s Chris Fillmore rounding out the top five heading into tomorrow’s Q2 session.
To watch on MotoAmerica Live+, visit https://www.motoamericaliveplus.com/
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Warhorse HSBK Ducati Racing’s Loris Baz and Josh Herrin in the top four at Mid-Ohio
Sunnyvale, Calif., August 16, 2024 — Warhorse HSBK Ducati Racing celebrated a fruitful day on Friday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with both Loris Baz and Josh Herrin finishing the day inside the top four.
Baz and Herrin worked together in the afternoon Qualifying 1 session, benefiting the Frenchman, who leapfrogged Herrin in the standings. Baz noted a few issues with the Dunlop front tire performance on his Ducati Panigale V4 R, circulating the 2.4-mile venue 14 times over the day. He ended Friday second overall behind pacesetter Cameron Beaubier.
After a decade off the national calendar, Mid-Ohio saw the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship leader Josh Herrin circulate the course 17 times on Friday to finish fourth overall and a start on the front row grid.
2024 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Superbike Qualifying 1 Results – Top 5
P1 – Cameron Beaubier 1:23.904
P2 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 1:24.026
P3 – Sean Dylan Kelly 1:24.179
P4 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 1:24.241
P5 – Jake Gagne 1:24.852
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“I put some new tires on, but then my teammate beat my time with a tow,” Herrin said with a cheeky smile. “But the bike is working well here. I was nervous going into this weekend, thinking it might be similar to how Barber was a few months back, where we had some problems, but we’re really competitive here.
“We should be good for the race, but I’d really like to get onto the front row. Our gearing is really tall for us to make the bike like we want, so we might not have the start performance we want, so getting on the front row is really important. We’ll be there for Race One.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“It’s been good. I love the track,” Baz said. “We did a test last week and my confidence is growing all the time. This track is a bit strange for the tire life, where we’ve had a couple of issues with the front, but it’s been ok. I’m always in third or fourth, so I need to make the jump to get to Josh and Cameron’s (Beaubier) pace. Josh helped me in the last session to move into the top three. I tried to help him on the next lap by giving him a slipstream, but it didn’t work out. But it’s ok—Josh knows I will give him some help whenever he needs it. It’s shaping up to be a good weekend for the whole Warhorse HSBK Ducati Racing team.”
Racing action for round eight of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship commences at 8:30 a.m. EDT, with Baz and Herrin scheduled to appear on track for Qualifying 2 at 10:20 a.m. EDT.
Race One will commence at 3:10 p.m. EDT on Saturday, August 17, and Race Two is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. EDT on Sunday, August 18, 2024.
