Westby Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz was the quickest rider in MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike Qualifying Two (Q2) Friday afternoon at Road Atlanta.
The South African rider did a lap time of 1:28.537 on his Dunlop-shod YZF-R1.
The session was stopped shortly after its scheduled start time (3:10 p.m. Eastern) due to lightning. Then after a lengthy delay and a heavy rain storm, the session was restarted for about 20 minutes, before it was stopped a final time due to lightning in the area of the racetrack.
Defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier did not ride his Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha YZF-R1 in Q2. Beaubier said there was no need to ride in the wet session because there was no more rain in the forecast for the remainder of the weekend.
Beaubier turned a 1:25.380 during Superbike Qualifying One (Q1) Friday morning, earning provisional pole position heading into Superpole on Saturday.
The 30-minute Twins Cup Qualifying One session scheduled to happen after Superbike Q2 Friday afternoon was not run, but the session will be made up on Saturday, according to MotoAmerica.
Update: Twins Cup Q1 has been rescheduled for 8:00-8:20 p.m. Saturday morning.
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Beaubier Leads Opening Day At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Richie Escalante Leads Supersport Class
BRASELTON, GA (July 31, 2020) – The second of two HONOS Superbike sessions on Friday afternoon at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta was a stop-and-start affair with rain, lightning and finally more rain bringing a premature end to the day. That meant the quickest lap of the day was set in the dry morning session with defending four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier leading the way on the opening day in Georgia.
Beaubier, who had mechanical issues early in the morning session, didn’t waste much time in getting to the top of the timesheets when he returned to the track. It was on his 10th lap that he did his best time, a 1:25.380. That put him .346 of a second ahead of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African a similar difference ahead of Beaubier’s Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha teammate Jake Gagne. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Toni Elias and Bobby Fong ended the morning session fourth and fifth.
Scholtz was fastest in the wet session, though Beaubier and Gagne didn’t bother going out in the wet conditions.
HONOS Kawasaki’s Richie Escalante, the only rider who remains undefeated in the MotoAmerica Series thus far in 2020, picked up where he left off from Road America – at the top. Escalante led the qualifying session on Friday, besting M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly by .122 of a second. Altus Motorsports’ Kevin Olmedo ended the day third, .883 of a second behind Escalante.
Rocco Landers dropped under his own lap record in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup class, the talented youngster riding his Norton Motorsports/Ninja400R/Dr. Farr/Wonder C-backed Kawasaki Ninja 400 to a best lap of 1:41.901. That earned Landers a new lap record but very little breathing room as BARTCON Racing’s Dominic Doyle was nipping at his heels and just .035 of a second behind his rival. Celtic HSBK Racing’s Samuel Lochoff was third fastest, besting Quarterley Racing/On Track Development’s Benjamin Gloddy and Blake Davis Racing’s Blake Davis, the just-turned-14-year-old Davis making his MotoAmerica debut.
Altus Motorsports’ Cameron Petersen rode his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to the fastest lap of the day in the Stock 1000 class, the South African ripping off a 1:27.777 to lead Disrupt Racing/CCFOfficesolutions.com’s Geoff May, who was making his 2020 debut in the MotoAmerica Series. Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander ended the day third.
With the second session wet, 1-833-CJKNOWS Accident & Injury Law’s Kaleb De Keyrel led the dry Twins Cup Practice 1 session, the Minnesotan leading Roadracing World Young Guns/Sportbiketrackgear.com’s Rocco Landers by .430 of a second. Brittenum Construction/Hayden Schultz Racing’s Hayden Schultz ended the session with the third fastest time.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America:
Steady as she goes for Kyle Wyman during a chaotic first day of practice at Road Atlanta
Mountain View, Calif., July 31, 2020 – Kyle Wyman and the MotoAmerica Superbike paddock endured a chaotic first day at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for round three of the 2020 series, as rain and thunderstorms in Free Practice 2 (FP2) ensured track action was reduced across all classes.
Wyman completed 12 laps in Free Practice 1 (FP1) at the 2.54-mile Braselton, Georgia venue, clocking a best time of 1:27.873 for seventh overall, 2.439 seconds off the pace setter, Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier. For FP2, Wyman completed another six laps, however the intermittent rain showers and eventual thunderstorms prevented the field from bettering their morning’s pace.
Arizona resident Wyman was nevertheless confident of a good showing for Saturday’s Superpole and Race One, with more favorable conditions forecast for the day’s action.
Kyle Wyman (KATO Fastening/KWR Ducati Team – Ducati #33)
“I feel like I didn’t get to ride that much, it was a bit of a weird day,” said Wyman. “There was no drama, we got some decent dry laps in the morning, but never really got up to speed.
In FP2, it was dry at first, then it started raining, and we sat in the pits for two hours while we waited for the lightning to clear. By the time the lightning cleared, the track was drying in areas, so we ran out there but there were still various corners that were wet. That ran us out of wet tires, and then it started down pouring rain again, so the session was red flagged. Honestly, there wasn’t a lot going on. We’ll come back swinging tomorrow.”
