Mathew Scholtz was fastest during MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying One (Q1) Friday afternoon at Ridge Motorsports Park, in Shelton, Washington. Riding his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 on Dunlop control tires, the South African lapped the 2.5-mile track in 1:42.538. Not only was that enough to top the field of 30 entries and claim provisional pole position, it was also fast enough to break Rocco Landers’ 2022 All-Time Lap Record of 1:42.774.
PJ Jacobsen, the current Championship point leader, was second-best with a 1:42.988 on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2.
Jake Lewis was third-quickest with a 1:43.031 on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750.
Corey Alexander finished the session fourth with a lap time of 1:43.357 on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/Code 3 Associates Panigale V2.
Jacobsen’s 17-year-old teammate Kayla Yaakov rounded out the top five riders in Q1 with a 1:43.529.
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
RIDGE MOTORSPORTS PARK
FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2024 | PRACTICE & QUALIFYING 1
SHELTON, WA., (6.28.2024) – Spirits are high in the paddock after all three riders ended Qualifying 1 in the top 5, with PJ Jacobsen finishing P2, Corey Alexander following in P4, and Kayla Yaakov rounding out P5.
The team looks forward to the rest of the weekend at the scenic Ridge Motorsports Park as the trio of riders take on Round 9 and 10 of competition, marking the half-way point of the championship season.
Jacobsen heads into tomorrow’s race as the championship leader with a two-point lead over Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz. In order to keep the championship lead, Jacobsen must finish ahead of Scholtz who is currently sitting on the provisional pole.
Despite missing the doubleheader at Road America, Alexander raced his way to sixth in the championship at Brainred after falling to ninth following the Road America weekend.
Yaakov has continued to make strides in her racing craft and abilities since her full-time debut in the Supersport Series. The 16-year old currently sits 10th in the championship with hopes of leaving the weekend sitting higher in the points rankings.
Tomorrow’s schedule hosts Qualifying 2 from 12:45 PM to 1:15 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: P4 (1:45.501)
QUALIFYING 1: P2 (1:42.988)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “The first qualifying session went really well and we made some good improvements. This morning I had a small crash, but the first qualifying session was pretty positive. I feel confident going into tomorrow morning. I got held up in traffic, so I wasn’t able to make the time I wanted to make. We’re pretty close to lap record pace, [Mathew] Scholtz did it today, so we will see who goes faster tomorrow and try to get pole position on the XPEL bike.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 CODE 3 ASSOCIATES PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P2 (1:44.803)
QUALIFYING 1: P4 (1:43.357)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a great day overall. I’ve always liked The Ridge a lot. Pace-wise, we are way ahead of where we were last year so we are in a better position to close the gap up to the front guys. I think we will make some improvements tonight and hopefully take some steps forward tomorrow.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P8 (1:46.468)
QUALIFYING 1: P5 (1:43.529)
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Today was really good! We made some huge improvements from Practice 1 to Qualifying 1. It’s the best Friday we’ve had so far. The bike feels really solid, we just have to make some small tweaks before tomorrow. We have a really good chance of battling for the top five all weekend. I’m really excited and ready to go.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a really positive Friday for us. We had all three riders in the top five. That’s a first for our team. All the riders are happy with their bikes, so we’re going to try and make some small improvements to move up a bit and have a good race tomorrow and Sunday.”
