Garrett Gerloff smashed a five-year-old lap record to claim pole position during Dynojet Pro Sportbike qualifying Saturday at the Arai Mountain Nationals, the final round of the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented by Yamaha, at Miller Motorsports Park, in Tooele, Utah.
Gerloff, age 18, rode his Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 around the 10-turn, 2.2-mile West Course in just 1:29.772, lowering Jimmy Wood’s 2009 middleweight lap record of 1:29.864, according to the Utah Sport Bike Association, the sanctioning body of the event.
“I’ve always got along with Miller [Motorsports Park],” said Gerloff. “It’s one of my favorite tracks. Every time we come here it’s always fun for me. We came here and the bike was awesome. No changes or anything. I just felt really comfortable. I just worked on my race setup a little bit. Well, I just rode around on my race tire trying to get used to that. I came in with 15 minutes to go and put the medium [-compound rear tire] on. I did five or six 1:29s, and I just couldn’t get past that 1:29.7 barrier. And then those last couple of laps the tire was going off. I’m just feeling good.”
Benny Solis, Jr., age 19, was second-best with a lap time of 1:30.712 on his Team H35 Yamaha YZF-R6. Solis said he was chasing a “weird chatter” most of the weekend until his team discovered his triple clamps were loose.
“Finally, we got that fixed,” said Solis. “And finally I was able to have a clean session and focus. When we put the new [rear] tire on is when the lap times came in.”
Bobby Fong was fastest in Pro Sportbike Free Practice Two Saturday morning, but the 23-year-old crashed his Latus Motors Racing Triumph Daytona 675R late in the afternoon qualifying session and ended up third with a best effort of 1:30.784.
When asked about his crash, Fong said, “Basically, we put on that medium [rear] tire and that was my second flying lap at pace. I just came into the double left-hander [Turn Seven] and tucked the front, but we’ll recover. I usually don’t qualify that good anyway. I can’t throw down a real fast lap. I feel like I have more race pace than fast qualifying laps. The bike’s working good and it’s fast. So as long as the boys get it put back together and I find a new set of leathers to wear I should be good for the race.”
Fong and Gerloff go into the final race tied for the lead in Championship points.
Earning the final spot on the front row of the grid was Gerloff’s 22-year-old teammate JD Beach, who lapped the course in 1:31.503.
“I’m never really good at practice and stuff. All year we’ve been struggling to find bike setup and I’ve been off. We actually didn’t run the softer tire. We just ran the race tire the whole time, and I definitely felt a lot better then than I have the whole Shootout series. To finally be on the front row feels great.”
Joe Roberts, age 16, was improving his times late in the session when he crashed his M4 Sportbiketrackgear.com Honda CBR600RR in Turn One. Roberts suffered a relatively minor hand injury, according to his team, and ended up fifth in the session with a 1:31.506.
GEICO Honda’s veteran rider Jake Zemke turned his fastest lap, a 1:31.963, early in the session and was sixth when qualifying ended.
West Coast racer Michael Gilbert qualified seventh with a time of 1:32.254 on his CM motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6. Ryan Matter earned the final spot on row two (eighth) by doing a time of 1:32.451 on his ACT Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
Bryce Prince rebounded from a crash immediately prior to Pro Sportbike qualifying to claim the ninth starting slot with a lap at 1:33.075 on his Tuned Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. Prince’s 17-year-old teammate Jason Aguilar rounded out the top 10 qualifiers via his time of 1:33.630.
Arai Mountain Nationals Hosted by UtahSBA/GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented by Yamaha
Miller Motorsports Park West Course
Tooele, Utah
May 24, 2014
Dynojet Pro Sportbike Provisional Qualifying Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Garrett Gerloff (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.772 (new lap record)
2. Benny Solis, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.712
3. Bobby Fong (Tri Daytona 675R), 1:30.784, crash
4. JD Beach (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.503
5. Joe Roberts (Hon CBR600RR), 1:31.506, crash
6. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), 1:31.963
7. Michael Gilbert (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.254
8. Ryan Matter (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.451
9. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6), 1:33.075
10. Jason Aguilar (Yam YZF-R6), 1:33.630
11. Chad Swain (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.263
12. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.388
13. Shannon Moham (Yam YZF-R6), 1:36.883
14. Brian Childree (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.739
15. Joshua Picard (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.768
16. Danielle Diaz (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.031
17. Mark Harper (Tri Daytona 675R), 1:38.292
18. Patricia Fernandez (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.763
19. Chad Lewin (Yam YZF-R6), 1:41.748, crash
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Garrett Gerloff Smashes Lap Record To Earn Pro Sportbike Pole At Miller Motorsports Park; Teammate JD Beach Also On Front Row
Tooele, UT – May 24, 2014 – Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Pro Sportbike rider Garrett Gerloff continued his string of success in the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented By Yamaha by earning the pole with a record-setting qualifying performance at Miller Motorsports Park. Garrett’s teammate JD Beach also had an excellent qualifying session and, as a result of his hard work, the Kentuckian will start on the front row for Sunday’s Pro Sportbike race.
After earning the pole, Garrett commented, ““I’ve always gotten along with Miller (Motorsports Park. I love coming here. It was a good qualifying session for me, and I got to work quite a bit on my race setup. I really like the West Course layout. It flows really well, which really suits my R6 and me.”
JD said, “We ran the race tire the whole session, and I felt a lot better today than I have in the whole Shootout series so far. It’s really helped my confidence today. Everything clicked for me, and I’m feeling more and more comfortable on the bike and with my team.”
Sunday’s 18-lap Pro Sportbike race is set to go green at 2:25 PM MST.
Tune In To MAVTV For All Three Rounds Of The GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented By Yamaha
All six races from the three-round GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented By Yamaha are being taped for airing later on MAVTV. Log on to www.MAVTV.com for the exact time and channel, and don’t miss it!
For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, check out: www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racingor your favorite Yamaha social media channel.
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer:
ROBERTS FIGHTS ADVERSITY TO QUALIFY IN THE TOP FIVE AT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK
Team Hammer is battling for position in the final round of the inaugural GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented By Yamaha this weekend at Miller Motorsports Park in Toole Valley, UT.
M4 SportbikeTrackGear.comRacing’s Joe Roberts comes into the Arai Mountain Nationals full of motivation after showing podium potential but ultimately being knocked out of contention last time out in Sonoma, California.
The 16-year-old Roberts is in impressive form again this weekend. He circulated the world-class facility with a best time of 1:31.506 aboard his Honda CBR600RR Sportbike machine during Saturday’s qualifying session.
That effort was good enough to put him fifth on the grid, where he’ll head the second row.
Roberts might have been able to fight his way onto the front row, but he was crashed during the session when another competitor re-entered the track from pitlane and swung out directly in front of him.
“With the crash, it was a little disappointing with how today went,” said Roberts, who won at Miller in 2013. “I didn’t quite get the track time I wanted and I thought we were a little behind on setup going into qualifying. We made onechange and put on some fresh tires for the session and I had gotten down into the 1:31-range. It was going well and I thought I could improve my time with the same settings on the bike. I saw another rider exiting the pit lane and it wasclear he saw me as he pulled on to the track. I ran my normal line and then saw he was turning in on me. I had to grab more brake than I wanted to so I wouldn’t hit him and I tucked the front. I’m in some pain with my finger but I still thinkwe have a shot at doing well in the race tomorrow.”
Roberts thinks he is capable of improving his pace for Sunday if his hand holds up. “I love coming out to Miller and had the success last year,” he said. “I think it is a real riders track and the best really show well here.”
On Sunday, Roberts and Team Hammer will have one final opportunity to claim victory in the 2014 GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout as the new series will complete its three-round tour of the West.
About Team Hammer: In 2014, Team Hammer, Inc. is competing in its 34th consecutive racing season, and is marking its eighth year of offering technical and logistical support through its Contract Services Department. Riders on TeamHammer-prepared racebikes have earned 59 AMA Pro National race wins; 135 AMA Pro National podium finishes; 5 AMA Pro Championships; 133 Overall National Endurance race wins; 13 National Endurance Championships andassorted other race wins and titles.