Precision Track Days brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
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Cameron Beaubier was quickest during MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Qualifying One (Q1) Friday afternoon at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), in Austin, Texas. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, the five-time Champion lapped the newly repaved, 3.4-mile, 20-turn road course in 2:07.703, which eclipsed Jake Gagne’s All-Time Lap Record of 2:08.169.
Josh Herrin, the current Championship point leader, was second-best with a 2:08.244 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R. Herrin currently leads the Championship by 52 points, and if he can hold that lead through the end of the tripleheader in Texas he will clinch the 2024 Championship.
Superbike rookie sensation Sean Dylan Kelly claimed the final spot on the provisional front row with a 2:08.359 on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing BMW.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz was fourth with a 2:08.418.
After spending most of the 2024 season on the sidelines recovering from injuries sustained at the opening round, Richie Escalante posted a fifth-fastest 2:09.196 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
Riding in place of Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha’s injured defending Champion Jake Gagne, Spaniard Xavi Fores posted the sixth-quickest lap time, a 2:09.694.
Escalante’s teammate Brandon Paasch bounced back from a crash during practice Friday morning and did a 2:09.835, which ranked him eighth.
Fores’ teammate Cameron Petersen was hindered by technical issues during Q1 and ended up ninth with a 2:10.400.
Ashton Yates rounded out the top 10 with a 2:10.639 on his Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Beaubier Is Best On Day One At Circuit Of The Americas
Cameron Beaubier Smashes The Lap Record To Earn Provisional Pole In Texas
AUSTIN, TX (September 13, 2024) – Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin played catch with the fastest Steel Commander Superbike time in Q1 on Friday afternoon, but near the end of the session EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro’s Sean Dylan Kelly joined the game and went to the front with some eight minutes to go in the session.
But not long after Kelly did his best, Beaubier struck back in a big way, posting a lap-record-setting 2:07.703 to score provisional pole.
Herrin ended up climbing back to second, posting a 2:08.244 – .541 of a second slower than Beaubier’s best.
Kelly and his 2:08.259 completed the provisional front row, just .059 of a second faster than Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante rounded out the top five.
“I’ve been enjoying this place on the BMW,” Beaubier said. “It’s been five years since I rode a Superbike here. You can go for a ride on the front and backstraight, that’s for sure. It’s so different than a Moto2 bike, but I’m enjoying myself.”
Supersport – Scholtz Fires First
Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz fired the first shot by earning provisional pole position for the two Supersport races at COTA, the South African besting his championship rival PJ Jacobsen by .560 of a second. The two are in a battle for the Supersport Championship with Scholtz leading Jacobsen by 25 points with four races left in the season.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis ended the session third fastest, a tick over a second slower than Scholtz and .080 of a second faster than MotoAmerica first-timer Filippo Fuligini. Italian Fuligini is racing as a wildcard entry Ducati Panigale V2 for Team HONOS.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott rounded out the top five on opening day at COTA.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Landers!
The battle for the 2024 Mission King Of The Baggers Championship was all the talk coming into the penultimate round at COTA. The chatter obviously centered around Kyle Wyman vs. Troy Herfoss, but RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates Rocco Landers and Hayden Gillim with those two taking the top two spots while both circulating under the lap record.
Landers’ lap record was a 2:14.779 and it came on his very last lap, bettering Gillim’s best of 2:14.858.
The best of the two championship contenders was S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss, the Australian ending up third despite spending the final minutes of the session in the pits with a mechanical.
Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara ended the afternoon fourth with Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman fifth, the championship points leader heading into the weekend’s two races.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Di Mario On Top
For a while on Friday afternoon, it didn’t look like BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship points leader Rocco Landers was going to get even a single lap in Q1 as the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki had a mechanical problem that kept him in the pits more than on the track.
That left the others to make hay while the sun shined and Landers’ championship rival Alesandro Di Mario took full advantage to dominate the session and put his Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 some two seconds faster than the nearest competition, which in this case was Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor. Di Mario lapped at a best of 2:17.742 with Rossi second quickest on 2:20.022.
Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle rounded out the provisional front row, .9 of a second behind Rossi and .181 of a second ahead of newly crowned Junior Cup Champion Matthew Chapin, who rounded out the top five on his BARTCON Racing Suzuki GSX-R750.
Landers, meanwhile, got in two laps and it was enough to put him seventh at the end of the session.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – Here We Go
Saddlemen Harley-Davidson’s Cory West might have felt a bit ganged up on in Q1 on Friday at COTA with a horde of fast S&S/Indian Motorcycle-backed riders out to help Tyler O’Hara successfully defend his Mission Super Hooligan National Championship. But West, the championship leader by just four points over O’Hara, emerged from the fray in fourth and just a tick over a second off O’Hara’s provisional pole position time.
O’Hara’s teammate Troy Herfoss was second fastest, .62 of a second off O’Hara’s best with West’s teammate Jake Lewis third and the first of the Harley-Davidson Pan Americas in the field with West fourth and Jeremy McWilliams, in a one-off return ride for Indian, ending up fifth fastest.
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About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series. Established in 2014, MotoAmerica is home to the AMA Superbike Championship as well as additional classes including Supersport, Stock 1000, Twins Cup, Junior Cup, and King Of The Baggers. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership including three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey; ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland; motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges; and businessman Richard Varner. For more information, please visit www.MotoAmerica.com and follow MotoAmerica on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. To watch all things MotoAmerica, subscribe to MotoAmerica’s live streaming and video on demand service, MotoAmerica Live+
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Josh Herrin and Loris Baz are in the top four at COTA
Sunnyvale, Calif., September 13, 2024 — In what could be a historic weekend for Ducati in North America, the Warhorse HSBK Racing Team started off on the right foot by having both Josh Herrin and Loris Baz inside the top five at the end of day one at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas for the penultimate round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
Herrin is within striking distance of securing his second AMA/MotoAmerica Superbike Championship title and the first for Ducati Motor Holdings since Troy Corser triumphed for Ducati in 1994.
Herrin started the day with a nod to the Australian, unveiling a replica paint and leathers scheme for the three scheduled races on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R with Eraldo Ferracci, an integral part of the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati and the man who guided Corser to that title win.
Herrin ended the day second fastest behind Cameron Beaubier, the Georgian covering 22 laps across the two completed sessions of the massive 3.426-mile complex.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz knocked out 20 laps of Circuit of The Americas, improving his position from fifth in Free Practice 1 to fourth by the end of the first qualifying session.
All eyes now turn to tomorrow morning’s important second qualifying session, which will decide the grid for the three scheduled races across the weekend.
2024 Circuit of The Americas Superbike Qualifying 1 Results – Top 5
P1 – Cameron Beaubier 2:07.703
P2 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 2:08.244
P3 – Sean Dylan Kelly 2:08.359
P4 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 2:08.418
P5 – Richie Escalante 2:09.196
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“I’ve been a little conservative today,” Herrin said. “I’m looking at the gap and I want to get closer so there’s less pressure on me but to put more pressure on Cam (Beaubier) because I don’t want him to have this half-second advantage.
“Technically, if I get on the podium here and in New Jersey, I’ll be ok (in the title fight), but it’s easy to relax and lose a bunch of points, so I’m just going to race like I have been all season and if it’s there, go for it, if not, I must play it smart. Overall, I feel good. We’re P2, so we can’t be too upset about that. We’ll be ready for race one.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“It’s so great to be back here. I love this track,” Baz said. “It’s the kind of track where you really must flow with your bike to go fast. That wasn’t the case for me this morning, but we improved a lot this afternoon. We have a few things to figure out tonight with the guys on the team to close the gap, but really, I’m happy. It’ll be my first time racing here since 2017, so I’m ready to go.”
On track action for day two of the eighth round of MotoAmerica 2024 will commence at 8:30 a.m. CDT on Saturday, September 14. Herrin and Baz will take to the track at 10:20 a.m. CDT for Qualifying 2.
Race one will start at 3:10 p.m. CDT that same day. Race two is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. CDT on Sunday, September 15, with race three starting at 3:10 p.m. that same afternoon.
