Precision Track Days brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
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Corey Alexander topped MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying One Friday afternoon at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, in Braselton, Georgia. Riding his Roller Die + Forming Panigale V2 on Dunlop control tires, Alexander lapped the 2.55-mile course in 1:28.912 to lead the field of 43 riders.
2023 Championship runner-up Tyler Scott was second-fastest with a 1:29.137 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, and PJ Jacobsen was third-quickest with a time of 1:29.246 on his Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2.
Blake Davis was fourth with a 1:29.401 on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha YZF-R6, and Stefano Mesa made it four brands in the top five with a lap of 1:29.434 on his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R.
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
ROAD ATLANTA
FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024 | PRACTICE & QUALIFYING 1
Friday’s on-track activities marked the start of the Rahal Ducati Moto Supersport championship fight. The team used the excellent weather conditions to fine-tune the Ducatis in practice and maximize qualifying efforts in the afternoon under the sunny skies.
PJ Jacobsen topped the time charts for the morning’s practice session, with Corey Alexander following in P4 and Kayla Yaakov finishing P13.
It was Alexander who claimed the fastest time for Qualifying 1, with Jacobsen in third and Yaakov P11.
Tomorrow’s schedule hosts Qualifying 2 with the trio of riders taking the track with their fellow Supersport competitors at 9:10 am EST to set the field for both rounds. Race 1 goes green at 2:10 pm EST concluding track activity for the team on Saturday.
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P4 (1:30.075)
QUALIFYING 1: P1 (1:28.912)
WHAT HE’S SAYING:
“We were able to put it up on Provisional Pole for Qualifying 1. It’s a good start for the team as well with PJ being third, which is really exciting. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Thanks for all the support to Graham and the entire Rahal family, we’re in for a great season!”
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P1 (1:29.667)
QUALIFYING 1: P3 (1:29.246)
WHAT HE’S SAYING:
“Today was a good day for us – I got P1 in the first practice session and P3 for Qualifying 1. We struggled with some things in qualifying and now know some changes we can make for Qualifying 2 in the morning and we are looking forward to that. Everything has been going super well so far this weekend! Congrats to Corey for the provisional Pole – I’ll be battling for it in the morning. It’s great to have both of us in the Top 3 and the team is doing a great job.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P13 (1:32.606)
QUALIFYING 1: P11 (1:30.425)
NOTES: Suffered through set-up issues in Practice along with data loss from the morning session
WHAT SHE’S SAYING:
Practice 1 was okay – we struggled quite a bit with setup. We knew we were going to make some changes for [Qualifying] 1, so we weren’t too worried about it. In Q1 I had some similar issues but the bike was slightly better overall. The changes we made helped a bit, but I’m still struggling with the setup of the bike. We have quite a bit of under-acceleration and it’s making it difficult to get good lap times. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the time we were able to set considering the setup issues we are experiencing right now. I’m excited going into Q2 tomorrow because now we can fully review the data and see exactly what we are doing and hopefully have a good Q2 tomorrow morning.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING:
“It’s been a really good Friday – it’s early and the first Qualifying session, so we need to keep the pace quick for Q2. The track could be faster tomorrow, which would be nice. We are happy as a team. Coming from Daytona we’ve made a lot of changes to the team structure and with the bike. Today validates those changes, so we’re in a good place. Kayla [Yaakov] is going to find some time tomorrow with some work we’re going to do on the bike settings. PJ [Jacobsen] and Corey [Alexander] are riding really well, and we are going to make some basic changes to their bikes for tomorrow. I think we are going to have some competitive packages for the race and I’m happy that all three riders are happy and headed in the right direction.”
