KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
PJ Jacobsen led MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying One (Q1) Friday afternoon at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna, in Monterey, California. Riding his Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2 on spec Dunlop tires, the New York native navigated the 2.2-mile course in 1:27.031 to take provisional pole position.
Mathew Scholtz, the current Championship point leader, was the best of the rest with a 1:27.063 on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
Blake Davis continued his strong performance on Friday with a third-quickest 1:27.248 on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha.
Like Davis, Maxi Gerardo has returned to his early-season form at Laguna Seca and was fourth in Q1 at 1:27.507 on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing Suzuki GSX-R750.
Rahal Ducati Moto w/Roller Die + Forming’s Corey Alexander was fifth in the session with a 1:27.735.
Jake Lewis posted the sixth-best lap time, a 1:27.838, on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki.
Stefano Mesa was seventh in the session with a 1:27.923 on his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R.
David Anthony was in the top five for most of the session but slipped to eighth at 1:27.936 on his Wrench Motorcycles Suzuki.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott finished the session ninth at 1:28.021, just 0.990 second behind Jacobsen.
And Jacobsen’s teammate Kayla Yaakov rounded out the top 10 riders in the tight group with a lap of 1:28.272.
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA
FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2024 | PRACTICE & QUALIFYING 1
MONTEREY, CA., (7.12.2024) – All three riders ended Qualifying 1 at the iconic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in the top 10, with PJ Jacobsen topping the charts, Corey Alexander following in fifth, and Kayla Yaakov rounding out the top 10.
Jacobsen sits on provisional pole after Qualifying 1, and heads into tomorrow’s race looking to close the gap to championship leader Mathew Scholtz, who is currently 28 points ahead.
Yaakov has jumped up to 6th in the championship after a double-podium finish at The Ridge.
Tomorrow’s schedule hosts Qualifying 2 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM EST and the green flag will wave for Race 1 at 5:10 PM. Coverage of Race 1 will be available live on MAVTV and streamed at motoamericaliveplus.com.
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P1 (1:27.477)
QUALIFYING 1: P1 (1:27.031)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today went really well. I’m on Provisional Pole, which is always a good feeling. We’ll make some changes to try and improve our lap times even further for tomorrow’s qualifying session. We have both groups together tomorrow, which will make it more difficult to find a clean lap, but we’ll try our hardest. Right now we are on Provisional Pole so we just need to keep it up. I’m looking forward to Race 1 tomorrow.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P7 (1:28.568)
QUALIFYING 1: P5 (1:27.735)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today was a productive day here at Laguna. The pace was definitely very fast and close up at the front, so to be fifth and as close to the leaders as we are says a lot for where the class is at. We’ll go back to work tonight and try to get a bit more comfortable to find that next step that we’re missing to run with PJ up at the front.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P10 (1:29.430)
QUALIFYING 1: P10 (1:28.272)
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Day one was pretty decent. This is one of those tracks that I’ve honestly, never had good luck at, but we’re making it happen step by step. Being within about a second and a half of pole is great. We’re getting closer and closer to the top guys here, which is great, but we’re still struggling with some feeling with the front end. We’re going to try to improve that for tomorrow. I’m super excited to keep improving on the bike and have a good race.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a good Friday. PJ being on Provisional Pole is always good. Obviously his times are tight with Mathew like we knew they would be. Corey and Kayla are both riding really well. We have a few changes to the bikes we’ll make tonight that will hopefully find them a little bit of time so they can move up into the top five or top six. We’re looking forward to the race. Laguna is always a special track for everybody. The weather looks really good this week, so hopefully we can put it all together for some good results.”
