Shane Narbonne, the 10-time and defending Champion, was fastest in the damp-but-drying final qualifying sessions Saturday morning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but 17-year-old Tyler Scott will start the 100th Loudon Classic from pole position based on the lap time he did during provisional qualifying in the dry on Friday.
On Friday, Scott lapped the 1.6-mile 12-turn road course in 1:10.673 on his Dunlop-shod Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 Next-Gen Supersport bike to top the field of 48 hopefuls.
On Saturday, Narbonne used Pirelli rain tires on his 64 Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6 to post the quickest lap time, a 1:15.868, but he will start Saturday’s 25-lap race from second on the grid based on the 1:10.747 he did on Friday.
PJ Jacobsen, riding his Dunlop-fitted Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2 Next-Gen Supersport machine, was third in the damp Saturday morning session (1:18.491) and third in the dry session on Friday (1:10.854).
Scott’s teammate Richie Escalante, who is riding the challenging track for the first time, will start the race from fourth on the grid based on the 1:10.886 he did on Friday.
Row two starters include Stefano Mesa (1:10.985), who is riding a Pirelli-equipped Boulder MotorSports Pierobon X80R powered by a Ducati 848 engine with full Marelli electronics; Eric Wood (1:11.008), who is riding a Dunlop-tired Woodcraft Ducati 1098 R fitted with an 848 engine; 20-year-old Eli Block (1:11.559), who is riding a Team ECB/Bartcon Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 on Michelins; and Tyler Sweeney (1:11.565), who is riding a Sweeney Racing Team Yamaha on Dunlops.
The qualifying cutoff time for the race was 107.5% of the pole time, 1:15.973, and the field was limited to the top 32 riders.
The 25-lap 100th Loudon Classic, which pays a cash purse of $250,000 including $55,000 to the race winner, is scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time – rain of shine. All all of the top riders Roadracingworld.com spoke to indicated that they will start the race regardless of the conditions.
The weather forecast calls for a chance of rain through the day Saturday.
The race will be broadcast tape-delayed on YouTube on the Kaplan America channel.
100th Loudon Classic Presented by NEMRR
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, New Hampshire
June 17, 2023
Combined Qualifying Session A & B Results (damp-but-drying conditions):
- Shane Narbonne (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:15.868
- Stefano Mesa (Pierobon X80/Ducati 848), Pirelli, 1:17.792
- PJ Jacobsen (Duc Panigale V2), Dunlop, 1:18.491
- Richie Escalante (Suz GSX-R750), Dunlop, 1:18.970
- JC Camacho (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 1:19.248
- Blake Davis (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:20.035
- Tyler Sweeney (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:20.214
- Tyler Scott (Suz GSX-R750), Dunlop, 1:20.341
- Brandon Paasch (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:20.349
- Joseph LiMandri, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6), 1:20.574
- Paul Duval (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:20.709
- Eziah Davis (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:20.722
- Teagg Hobbs (Suz GSX-R750), Dunlop, 1:20.806
- Justin Landry (Yam YZF-R6), 1:21.370
- Harlan Hildebrand (Kaw YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:21.507
- Eric Wood (Duc 1098R/848), Dunlop, 1:21.735
- Ben Gloddy (Apr RS 660), Dunlop, 1:21.969
- Samuel Greenwood (Yam YZF-R6), 1:22.639
- Grant Lancaster (Yam YZF-R6), 1:22.848
- Jacob Crossman (Apr RS 660), Dunlop, 1:23.228
- Carl Soltisz (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:24.147
- Nicolai Greco (Yam YZF-R6), 1:24.337
- Josh Gallusser (Suz GSX-R600), 1:24.757
- Brandi Cox (Suz GSX-R600), 1:28.621
- Joel Laub (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.671
- Eli Block (Yam YZF-R6), Michelin, no time recorded
- Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, no time recorded
- Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Tyler Waserbauer (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Ian Beam (Tri Daytona 675R), Pirelli, no time recorded
- Michael Lee (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Daniel Weems (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Rick Doucette (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, no time recorded
- Wojciech Kasperuk (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Bryan Wardius (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Paul House (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Kip Peterson (Yam YZF-R6), Michelin, no time recorded
- Bill Coolahan (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Kevin Nolde (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Semir Fazlic (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Wesley Lakis (Tri Street Triple 675), no time recorded
- Vincente Frontinan (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Andrei Ciobanu (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Anthony DiCecca (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
- Christopher Fifield, no time recorded
- Matthew Crabtree (Tri Daytona 675 Moto2), no time recorded
- David Allgire (Hon CBR600RR), no time recorded
- Christopher Woodman (Kaw ZX-6R), no time recorded
Final Combined Qualifying Results:
- Tyler Scott (Suz GSX-R750), Dunlop, 1:10.673
- Shane Narbonne (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:10.747
- PJ Jacobsen (Duc Panigale V2), Dunlop, 1:10.854
- Richie Escalante (Suz GSX-R750), Dunlop, 1:10.886
- Stefano Mesa (Pierobon X80/Ducati 848), Pirelli, 1:10.985
- Eric Wood (Duc 1098R/848), Dunlop, 1:11.008
- Eli Block (Yam YZF-R6), Michelin, 1:11.559
- Tyler Sweeney (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:11.565
- Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:11.693
- Teagg Hobbs (Suz GSX-R750), Dunlop, 1:11.727
- Brandon Paasch (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:11.735
- Blake Davis (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:11.822
- Eziah Davis (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:12.243
- Joseph LiMandri, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6), 1:12.988
- Harlan Hildebrand (Kaw YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:13.106
- JC Camacho (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 1:13.187
- Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R6), 1:13.248
- Jacob Crossman (Apr RS 660), Dunlop, 1:13.394
- Carl Soltisz (Yam YZF-R6), 1:13.473
- Ben Gloddy (Apr RS 660), Dunlop, 1:13.541
- Paul Duval (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:13.767
- Tyler Waserbauer (Yam YZF-R6), 1:13.816
- Ian Beam (Tri Daytona 675R), Pirelli, 1:13.932
- Samuel Greenwood (Yam YZF-R6), 1:14.029
- Michael Lee (Yam YZF-R6), 1:14.283
- Daniel Weems (Yam YZF-R6), 1:14.358
- Rick Doucette (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:14.764
- Wojciech Kasperuk (Yam YZF-R6), 1:14.975
- Bryan Wardius (Yam YZF-R6), 1:15.008
- Justin Landry (Yam YZF-R6), 1:15.497
- Joel Laub (Yam YZF-R6), 1:15.702
- Paul House (Yam YZF-R6), 1:15.896
- Grant Lancaster (Yam YZF-R6), 1:15.962
- Kip Peterson (Yam YZF-R6), Michelin, 1:15.987
- Bill Coolahan (Yam YZF-R6), 1:16.059
- Kevin Nolde (Yam YZF-R6), 1:16.072
- Semir Fazlic (Yam YZF-R6), 1:16.252
- Wesley Lakis (Tri Street Triple 675), 1:17.387
- Vincente Frontinan (Yam YZF-R6), 1:17.399
- Nicolai Greco (Yam YZF-R6), 1:17.601
- Andrei Ciobanu (Yam YZF-R6), 1:17.676
- Anthony DiCecca (Yam YZF-R6), 1:17.979
- Brandi Cox (Suz GSX-R600), 1:18.300
- Josh Gallusser (Suz GSX-R600), 1:18.369
- Christopher Fifield, 1:18.414
- Matthew Crabtree (Tri Daytona 675 Moto2), 1:18.992
- David Allgire (Hon CBR600RR), 1:19.845
- Christopher Woodman (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:22.779