Cameron Beaubier was the fastest rider with a lap of 1:40.355 during provisional qualifying for the AMA SuperSport class Friday at Infineon Raceway.
Beaubier, the SuperSport East Championship point leader, normally rides for Rockwall Performance Yamaha, but he is riding his personal Yamaha with parts support from his team and financial support from personal sponsor Mazda Technologies this weekend.
The second-fastest rider with a time of 1:41.338 in qualifying was SuperSport West Championship point leader Joey Pascarella, who rode his new DNA Energy Drink CNR Motorsports Ducati 848.
LTD Racing’s Jake Gagne (1:42.575) and Huntley Nash (1:42.750) were third- and fourth-fastest, respectively.
Earlier in SuperSport practice, Gagne walked away from a third-gear crash into the soft barriers outside of Turn 10.
AMA Pro SuperSport Championship Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California May 14, 2010 Provisional Qualifying Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R6), 1:40.355 2. Joey Pascarella (Duc 848), 1:41.338 3. Jake Gagne (Yam YZF-R6), 1:42.575 4. Huntley Nash (Yam YZF-R6), 1:42.750 5. Scott Gilbert (Yam YZF-R6), 1:43.786 6. Austin DeHaven (Yam YZF-R6), 1:43.983 7. Elena Myers (Suz GSX-R600), 1:44.597 8. Tyler O’Hara (Yam YZF-R6), 1:44.887 9. Michael Corbino (Yam YZF-R6), 1:45.889 10. Travis Ohge (Yam YZF-R6), 1:46.723 11. Robert Tinagero (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:47.362 12. Nick Hayman (Duc 848), 1:48.311 13. Matthew Sadowski (Suz GSX-R600), 1:48.891 14. Jose Flores (Suz GSX-R600), 1:49.514 15. Joy Higa (Yam YZF-R6), 1:49.546 16. Vittorio Fabregas (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:50.112 17. Bruce Bleecker (Yam YZF-R6), 1:50.916 18. Roi Holster (Yam YZF-R6), 1:50.994 19. Brian Brewer (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.716 20. Richard Cotton (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:53.232 21. Shelina Moreda (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:54.346 22. Luke Luciano (Yam YZF-R6), 1:55.320
More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing:
PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR NASH AND GAGNE IN SONOMA
Sonoma CA (May 14, 2010) — LTD Racing’s Jake Gagne and Huntley Nash qualified on the provisional front row on Friday at Infineon Raceway, showing speed at this weekend’s AMA Pro Racing SuperSport event. Gagne earned third position with a time of 1:42.575 while Nash followed closely with a mark of 1:42.750.
Gagne, who competes a partial schedule with LTD Racing and also is a member of the prestigious Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, hadn’t raced a 600cc machine since Daytona but was quickly up to speed. A crash at the end of the morning session did no damage to the Ramona, CA resident. “We’re still looking for some time but I didn’t really get a lap to push. My fastest time was quicker than I thought but we have some stuff to work out with the bike for tomorrow,” said Gagne. “That 50 minute session in the morning is going to be very important to us. Friday was okay and it’s really fun to ride the 600 again but we’re looking to move up a few spots.”
Nash improved several positions in the order during qualifying and felt he made considerable progress with a track having so many fast locals. “It feels pretty good to be on the front row. Hopefully I can make it stick and stay up there for tomorrow,” said Nash, who will debut his campaign for breast cancer awareness on Saturday. “This is not a track I’m real familiar with so it was good to get some laps in. All the sections flow together and there are some blind turns. The first sector is the most important one and I’ve got some ideas about that for tomorrow. The team made some good changes to the bike for the afternoon session and there’s still some speed out there for us.”
The first of this weekend’s two 18-lap AMA Pro SuperSport races will be held on Saturday.