Bobby Fong was the quickest of 19 riders during MotoAmerica Supersport Free Practice One Thursday at Circuit of The Americas. Riding his Latus Motors Racing Triumph Daytona 675R, Fong led all competitors with a time of 2:14.698, a time he did in spite of experiencing some handling issues with his motorcycle.
“There’s a few things holding us back from going faster, but I think we figured out what we need to do to go faster,” Fong told Roadracingworld.com. “There are some issues we’re struggling with like the brakes aren’t working too well and we’re getting a lot of flex from the front end. But we switched from Öhlins to K-Tech Suspension this year, and the K-Tech stuff is working really well for us. Overall, I’m feeling pretty confident we’re in for a good race.”
Garrett Gerloff led the Supersport class during a MotoAmerica test at COTA in March with a 2:13.420, but the best the Texan could muster Thursday on his Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha YZF-R6 was a 2:15.143, which was good enough for second-best. Gerloff said his plan for the session was thrown off when a crash and a red flag cut the session a few minutes short.
Former AMA Superbike Champion and Moto2 World Championship racer Josh Herrin was third in the session with a 2:15.478 on his Wheels In Motion/Motosport.com/Meen Yamaha YZF-R6.
The one and only qualifying session for the Supersport class happens Friday at 4:05 p.m. local time, and the Supersport class races once at 4:15 p.m. local time on Saturday.
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North America Road Racing Championship
Circuit of The Americas
Austin, Texas
April 9, 2015
Provisional Supersport Practice Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Bobby Fong (Tri Daytona 675R), 2:14.698
2. Garrett Gerloff (Yam YZF-R6), 2:15.143
3. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), 2:15.478
4. Tomas Puerta (Yam YZF-R6), 2:15.700
5. JD Beach (Yam YZF-R6), 2:16.293
6. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R600), 2:16.645
7. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R6), 2:17.609
8. Joe Roberts (Yam YZF-R6), 2:18.309
9. Cameron Petersen (Yam YZF-R6), 2:18.694
10. Benny Solis, Jr., (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:20.631
11. Ben Young (Yam YZF-R6), 2:20.680
12. Hayden Gillim (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:22.085
13. Jay Newton (Yam YZF-R6), 2:23.365
14. Melissa Paris (Suz GSX-R600), 2:26.728
15. Kaleb Be Keyrel (Yam YZF-R6), 2:27.164
16. Roi Holster (Yam YZF-R6), 2:27.649
17. Kris Lillegard (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:28.029
18. Javelin Broderick (MV Agusta F3 675), 2:29.550
19. Ramden Rosli (Yam YZF-R6), 2:32.944, crash