Two-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier is on provisional pole position after topping the time sheets during Motul Superbike/Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Qualifying Practice Friday at the Dunlop Championship at Road America.
Riding his Dunlop-equipped Monster Energy/Yamalube Yamaha YZF-R1, Beaubier circulated the four-mile, 14-turn road course in 2:12.341 to lead all 24 riders in the combined session.
“Overall, it went pretty good,” Beaubier told Roadracingworld.com. “I think all of us out there are having to dig deeper this weekend with Nicky Hayden and his family in our thoughts, but I think we’re going to have a good race. I’m not sure what the weather is going to do. If it stays dry I feel pretty good. We made some changes to the front of the motorcycle from the Pittsburgh test to now, and it’s feeling pretty good. Wet or dry, I think we’re going to be OK. This track suits the Yamaha R1 well, especially the flowing sections.”
Roger Hayden led the opening Qualifying Practice with a 2:12.683 on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, but he was only able to do a 2:12.869 in the second Qualifying Practice Friday afternoon and ended up second-best.
“Things didn’t feel as good this afternoon as they did this morning,” said Hayden. “We made some changes, and we might have gone the wrong way. The temperature was hotter this afternoon, so that might have had something to do with it.”
Third-quickest overall and the top rider in the Superstock 1000 class was South African Mathew Scholtz, who did a 2:12.989 on his Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 back-up bike. Scholtz blew up the engine in his primary bike during Qualifying Practice One, and his team decided to switch to his back-up bike for the rest of the weekend rather than swap engines in the primary bike.
“That lap time was a real surprise,” said Scholtz. “On my first stint [of the second session] it didn’t feel so great. I was missing apexes, running wide and my quickshifter wasn’t working. I came in, the team put on a new rear tire and it was like night and day [better]. I still had to roll off the throttle to shift, but I’m very happy. It didn’t feel like I was going over the limit to do that lap time.”
Hayden’s teammate Toni Elias improved to a 2:13.058 in the afternoon to be fourth overall. Bobby Fong was among the factory Superbike riders throughout the session and ended up fifth overall with a 2:13.113 on his very fast Quicksilver Latus Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock 1000 racebike. Beaubier’s teammate Josh Hayes could not match his pace from Friday morning and finished the afternoon session sixth overall at 2:13.160.
Jake Lewis was third among Superstock 1000 competitors and seventh overall with a 2:14.416 on his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000. Jake Gagne suffered mechanical gremlins in the morning session but bounced back to do a 2:15.430 on his ever-improving Broaster Genuine Chicken Honda CBR1000RR SP2 Superbike in the second session. The provisional third row was completed by Josh Herrin, who did a 2:15.466 on his Helmetsounds.com/Western Services/Meen Yamaha YZF-R1.
Also making it into the 12-rider Superpole session (which is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. local time on Saturday morning) were: Fly Racing/Motul/ADR Motorsports Kawasaki’s David Anthony; TOBC Racing’s Danny Eslick, who was 11th in the afternoon but eighth overall with the 2:15.084 he did in the morning session; and Larry Pegram, who was 12th-fastest with a 2:16.024 in his first day riding the Scheibe Racing BMW S1000RR Superbike.
Race Results Presented by Trackside Suspension & Engineering (TSE):
Dunlop Championship at Road America
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series
Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
June 2, 2017
Motul Superbike/Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Qualifying Practice Two Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:12.341
2. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:12.869
3. Mathew Scholtz (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:12.989
4. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:13.058
5. Bobby Fong (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 2:13.113
6. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:13.499
7. Jake Lewis (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock 1000, 2:14.416
8. Jake Gagne (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), Superbike, 2:15.430
9. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:15.466
10. David Anthony (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 2:15.554
11. Danny Eslick (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:15.617
12. Larry Pegram (BMW S1000RR), Superbike, 2:16.024
13. Hayden Gillim (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock 1000, 2:16.039
14. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:16.553
15. Chris Peris (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:16.652
16. Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:17.860
17. Garrett Schneiderman (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:20.076
18. Dr. Jeffrey Purk DDS (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:20.685
19. Sean Dwyer (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:21.017
20. Martin Biernacki (BMW S1000RR), Superstock 1000, 2:22.714
21. Mathew Orange (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:23.754
22. Stefan Dolipski (BMW S1000RR), Superstock 1000, 2:24.245
23. Steven Zoumaras (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 2:24.415
24. Roi Holster (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:25.729
Motul Superbike/Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Qualifying Practice Combined Results (all on Dunlop tires):
(Top 12 riders advance to Superpole)
1. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:12.341
2. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:12.683
3. Mathew Scholtz (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:12.989
4. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:13.058
5. Bobby Fong (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 2:13.113
6. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:13.160
7. Jake Lewis (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock 1000, 2:14.416
8. Danny Eslick (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:15.085
9. Jake Gagne (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), Superbike, 2:15.430
10. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:15.466
11. David Anthony (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 2:15.554
12. Larry Pegram (BMW S1000RR), Superbike, 2:16.024
13. Hayden Gillim (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock 1000, 2:16.039
14. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:16.553
15. Chris Peris (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:16.652
16. Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:17.860
17. Garrett Schneiderman (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:20.076
18. Dr. Jeffrey Purk DDS (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 2:20.685
19. Sean Dwyer (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:21.017
20. Martin Biernacki (BMW S1000RR), Superstock 1000, 2:22.653
21. Mathew Orange (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 2:23.754
22. Stefan Dolipski (BMW S1000RR), Superstock 1000, 2:24.245
23. Steven Zoumaras (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 2:24.415
24. Roi Holster (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 2:25.729
About Trackside Suspension & Engineering (TSE):
These MotoAmerica results from Road America are brought to you by Trackside Suspension & Engineering (TSE). TSE is a motorcycle suspension shop located in Darien, WI. We are a family owned and operated suspension shop who specializes in setups that can be customized for you and your sport bike. With over 60 years of road racing experience, TSE prides themselves on being a suspension only shop and giving you the quality work and attention to detail that everyone deserves. Also check out our Facebook page for any deals or updates. www.facebook.com/TracksideSuspension
