Cameron Beaubier got his MotoAmerica Superbike Championship defense off to a good start Thursday when he led the first and only Superbike practice session of the day. Riding his Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha YZF-R1, the 23-year-old California topped the time sheet with a lap of 2:10.424.
“It was good, except that I had a tiny little tip over on the first lap,” Beaubier told Roadracingworld.com. “It was off the track. They put this really shiny sealer down outside of the track, and I had a tiny little tip over. I was like, ‘What the heck?’
“I picked up my bike and it was fine. It just scuffed the side a little bit, so I kept going and did my first stint. We worked on the basic stuff, just trying to get comfortable, trying to pick up where we left off at the test. The track felt a little bit slick, probably because we’re the first ones out there running around on it, but it will get better. I’m just excited to be back and riding. It’s been a long off-season, so it’s good to be back and in the racing mindset.”
Second-best was Roger Hayden, who did a 2:10.605 on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Toni Elias, Hayden’s teammate, for at least the first two rounds of the series, was third in the session with a lap of 2:11.184. Beaubier’s teammate Josh Hayes was second-fastest until the end of the practice when he got shuffled down to fourth with a 2:11.283.
Josh Day was fifth overall and the top Superstock 1000 rider in the practice thanks to the lap of 2:12.086 he did on his Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
The next time the MotoAmerica Superbike and Superstock 1000 classes go out on track at COTA will be a 30-minute provisional qualifying session at 11:55 a.m. local time on Friday.
MotoAmerica Superbike Championship of Texas
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North America Road Racing Series
Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas
April 7, 2016
Free Practice One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:10.424
2. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:10.605
3. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:11.184
4. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:11.283
5. Josh Day (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:12.086
6. Jake Gagne (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:12.335
7. Steve Rapp (BMW S1000RR), Superstock 1000, 2:12.929
8. Claudio Corti (Apr RSV4 RF), Superstock 1000, 2:13.139
9. David Anthony (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 2:13.735
10. Taylor Knapp (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:14.087
11. Bobby Fong (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 2:14.162
12. Sheridan Morais (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:14.226
13. Hayden Gillim (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock 1000, 2:14.690
14. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:15.021
15. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:15.102
16. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:15.488
17. Danny Eslick (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:16.145
18. Ryan Jones (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:16.938
19. Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:19.436
20. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:19.570
21. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:19.782
22. Anthony Kosinski (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:19.955
23. Josh Chisum (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:20.089
24. Sam Verderico (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:21.812
25. Jeff Wrobel (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock 1000, 2:21.905
26. Jason Madama (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:22.145
27. Brandon Cretu (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:22.352
28. Aaron Hersh (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:23.181
29. Roi Holster (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:25.504
30. Darren James (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:26.411