Monster Energy/Yamalube Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff stole the show Friday during the MotoAmerica season finale by posting the fastest lap time during the closing seconds of Motul Superbike Qualifying Practice Two (QP2). Riding his YZF-R1 with a super-soft-compound rear Dunlop tire (what was known as a pre-qualifying tire in 2017 but is now considered a possible race tire), Gerloff lapped the 2.3-mile road course in 1:25.315 to lead the talented field of 17.
“We did good at the test here in March and we had good setup notes,” Gerloff, a rookie in the MotoAmerica Superbike class, exclusively told Roadracingworld.com. “So we came in knowing we had a good setup and a good shot at everything, but everybody seemed to go pretty quick on the [super-soft-compound rear Dunlop] tires.
“We worked on trying to setup for what we feel the end of the race will be like. So we spent the first session doing that, and in the second session we were [also] working on that. I feel pretty good with what we were able to do. Maybe we’re just a little off what we saw Toni [Elias] and [Josh] Herrin do, I think.
“We put on the [super-soft-compound rear] tire for the end [of QP2] and everything felt even better. We were able to do some good lap times in a row, and I feel good. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but it’s a good start. I don’t know if I’ve led a Superbike session yet, so it’s a small victory.”
Toni Elias led most of QP2 and ended up second-best to Gerloff with a 1:25.331 on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Elias said he focused on working on his race setup in Friday’s hot and humid conditions and was very happy with his level of traction and his race pace.
“I feel strong for this race,” Elias told Roadracingworld.com. “I haven’t had this feeling for a long time.”
Like Elias, Josh Herrin was one of the fastest riders in both qualifying practices on Friday and finished with a best lap time of 1:25.382, less than a tenth of a second behind Gerloff, on his Attack Performance/Herrin Compound Racing Yamaha YZF-R1. Herrin told Roadracingworld.com that his bike felt good right when it rolled off the truck and he hasn’t made many changes and he was feeling very confident.
Gerloff’s teammate Cameron Beaubier was fourth-fastest in QP2 with a 1:25.522 on his factory Yamaha Superbike. Beaubier said he was enjoying the feeling of relief from having clinched the 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at the previous round in New Jersey and was enjoying the feeling of riding his Superbike, but he added he didn’t show his full potential in QP2.
Fifth-fastest in QP2 was M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis with a time of 1:25.890. Lewis said he had a clean, problem-free day on Friday and that he learned some things from following Elias that he hoped to use to improve his pace during practice on Saturday.
Just a tick of the stopwatch behind Lewis in QP2 was Mathew Scholtz with a sixth-fastest 1:26.018 on his Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1. Scholtz said he was trying to deal with the lack of grip caused by the high temperatures at Barber Motorsports Park and was improving each time he went on track.
Cameron Petersen was all smiles after QP2. In spite of crashing his Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda CBR1000RR SP2 in QP1, Petersen bounced back to post the seventh-best lap time of 1:26.135.
With the cracked ribs he suffered in a crash during Round Eight at Pittsburgh International Race Complex feeling better, Danny Eslick was also on the pace Friday and ended up eighth-quickest with a lap time of 1:26.227 on his Scheibe Racing BMW S1000RR in QP2.
Riding in his final event before retiring, Roger Hayden was ninth-fastest in QP2 on Friday with a 1:26.433, but Hayden said he did not put together all of his best sector times on a single lap and lost his fastest flying lap when he encountered a slower rider on track.
“Aussie Dave” Anthony enjoyed a problem-free Friday and finished 10th with a 1:27.028 on his Fly Street Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
Petersen’s teammate Bobby Fong struggled to find the right setup on his Honda on Friday and ended up 11th with a 1:27.181.
Kyle Wyman was 12th and the final rider to make it into Superpole thanks to the 1:27.280 he did on his KWR Yamaha YZF-R1, but Wyman said he felt “lost” because he has gone significantly faster at Barber Motorsports Park in the past.
Just missing out on making it into Superpole was Ben Young, a race winner in the Canadian Superbike Championship this year on his Ben Young Racing BMW S1000RR. Not only was Young dealing with not racing at Barber Motorsports Park for two years, he was also coming to terms with the larger rear Dunlop that was introduced in the middle of the 2018 MotoAmerica season but not used in the Canadian Superbike Championship. Still, Young recorded an impressive 1:27.738 on his BMW.
Also missing Superpole was CCFOfficeSolutions.com’s Geoff May, who did a 1:27.743 in spite of working through some electrical issues on his personal BMW S1000RR. May said his mechanic Michael Godin found the loose electrical connection at the end of QP2 and he hopes to make up for lost time on Saturday.
The Motul Superbike grid will be finalized during the 15-minute Superpole session Saturday morning.
MotoAmerica Championship Of Alabama
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series
Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Alabama
September 21, 2018
Motul Superbike Qualifying Practice Two Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Garrett Gerloff (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.315
2. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.331
3. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.382
4. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.522
5. Jake Lewis (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.890
6. Mathew Scholtz (Yam YZF-R1), 1:26.018
7. Cameron Petersen (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), 1:26.135
8. Danny Eslick (BMW S1000RR), 1:26.227
9. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.433
10. David Anthony (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:27.028
11. Bobby Fong (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), 1:27.181
12. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R1), 1:27.280
13. Ben Young (BMW S1000RR), 1:27.738
14. Geoff May (BMW S1000RR), 1:27.743
15. Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R1), 1:29.441
16. Bruno Silva (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:30.154
17. Sam Verderico (Yam YZF-R1), 1:32.074