Monster Energy/Yamalube/YES/Graves Yamaha rider Garrett Gerloff dominated the opening practice for the MotoAmerica Supersport/Superstock 600 class Friday morning at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Riding his YZF-R6, the defending Supersport Champion lapped the 2.2-mile circuit in 1:27.463, which was approximately 0.8 second faster than anyone else.
“It was a good morning,” Gerloff told Roadracingworld.com. “The bike feels good from [Utah Motorsports Campus]. We already knew where we wanted to start and what direction we wanted to go, so everything feels good so far. There was just a few little things [to deal with]. The track was a little green, so when we get more rubber on the track it will help us out a lot. With the tires Dunlop brought us and the way the bike’s feeling right now I’m really excited for the weekend.”
In addition to the new rear tire size introduced at the previous round in Utah, Dunlop has brought a new “Extra Soft” 0129-compound rear tire this weekend, but Gerloff said he did not have a chance to try the new compound in the relatively short 20-minute first practice.
Second-quickest in the first session was Gerloff’s teammate JD Beach, the winner of last year’s Supersport race at Laguna Seca, who did a 1:28.204.
The third-fastest rider was Valentin Debise, who did a 1:28.719 on his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600.
The top Superstock 600-class performer was Nick McFadden, who did a 1:30.220 on his M4 medAge Suzuki GSX-R600, which was good enough for fifth-fastest overall.
The Supersport/Superstock class will return to the track for their second practice sessions starting at 3:40 p.m. local time this afternoon.
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series/Honda Championship Of The Monterey Peninsula
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey, California
July 7, 2017
Supersport/Superstock 600 Group One Free Practice One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Garrett Gerloff (Yam YZF-R6), Supersport, 1:27.463
2. JD Beach (Yam YZF-R6), Supersport, 1:28.204
3. Valentin Debise (Suz GSX-R600), Supersport, 1:28.719
4. Benny Solis, Jr. (Hon CBR600RR), Supersport, 1:28.783
5. Nick McFadden (Suz GSX-R600), Superstock 600, 1:30.220
6. Jason Aguilar (Yam YZF-R6), Superstock 600, 1:31.212
7. Daytona Anderson (Suz GSX-R600), Supersport, 1:31.216
8. Shane Richardson (Kaw ZX-6R), Superstock 600, 1:31.300
9. Brandon Cleland (Suz GSX-R600), Superstock 600, 1:31.415
10. Conner Blevins (Kaw ZX-6R), Superstock 600, 1:31.532
11. Michael Gilbert (Yam YZF-R6), Superstock 600, 1:31.782
12. Ashton Yates (Yam YZF-R6), Superstock 600, 1:32.053
13. Braeden Ortt (Yam YZF-R6), Superstock 600, 1:32.166
14. Jody Barry (Kaw ZX-6R), Supersport, 1:32.180
15. Caroline Olsen (Yam YZF-R6), Superstock 600, 1:32.195
16. Andrew Lee (Yam YZF-R6), Superstock 600, 1:32.717
17. Nolan Lamkin (Yam YZF-R6), Superstock 600, 1:32.991
18. JC Camacho (Suz GSX-R600), Superstock 600, 1:33.216
19. Gauge Rees (Yam YZF-R6), Superstock 600, 1:34.259
20. Jaret Nassaney (Suz GSX-R600), Superstock 600, 1:34.504
21. Alex Phillis (MV Agusta F3 675), Supersport, 1:36.127
22. Mark Rhoades (Kaw ZX-6R), Supersport, 1:38.620