KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Tyler Scott was fastest during MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying One (Q1) Friday afternoon at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Riding his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 on Dunlop control tires, 18-year-old Scott navigated the 2.3-mile course in 1:26.607 to lead the large, 48-entry field.
Matthew Scholtz was second-best with a 1:26.703 on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
Maximiliano Gerardo rode his TopPro Racing Team Suzuki GSX-R750 to a third-quickest 1:26.840.
Kayla Yaakov ranked fourth with the 1:27.124 she did on her Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2.
David Anthony rounded out the top five provisional qualifiers with a 1:27.174 on his Wrench Motorcycles Suzuki GSX-R750.
The 25-minute Supersport Q1 Group A session was stopped twice due to motorcycles having mechanical problems that put fluid on the course that had to be cleaned up.
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2024 | PRACTICE & QUALIFYING 1
Friday’s on-track activities included a practice session in the morning followed by an afternoon qualifying. The team fine-tuned the Ducatis in practice and maximized qualifying efforts in the afternoon under the sprinkling skies.
PJ Jacobsen traded the top position on the time charts for the morning’s practice session with Tyler Scott (SUZ), however, an unfortunate incident ended his day early after high siding in Charlotte’s Web on his third lap of Qualifying 1.
Kayla Yaakov ended the day the fastest rider in the Rahal Ducati Moto stable, ending up in P4 after lap 14 of Qualifying 1.
Tomorrow’s schedule hosts Qualifying 2 and Time Attack, where the trio of riders will be taking the track with their fellow Supersport competitors at 8:55 am CST to set the field for both rounds. Race 1 goes green at 2:10 pm CST concluding track activity for the team on Saturday.
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P12 (1:28.609)
QUALIFYING 1: P4 (1:27.124)
NOTES: Set her fastest qualifying lap time on Lap 14
WHAT SHE’S SAYING:
“Day one wasn’t bad. I struggled with setup in Practice 1, but the changes we made for Qualifying 1 made a big difference. There’s still time to fine tune our efforts, and we are getting closer to the results we want. I’m happy with P4 but I know I have more to give, so I’m ready to go out tomorrow and keep improving this weekend, rain or shine.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P9 (1:28.454)
QUALIFYING 1: P11 (1:27.688)
WHAT HE’S SAYING:
“It was a good first day here at Barber [Motorsports Park]. Luckily, the weather held out so we got some time on a dry track. Unfortunately, because of some red flags we didn’t get to get a good lap in in Qualifying 1. Our pace was there but we didn’t get a chance to put a good lap time together. I know we have the speed and the Supersport class lap times are very close again, so it will be a competitive weekend. We’ll see what the weather brings for tomorrow, but I’m hoping it stays dry.”
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
PRACTICE: P2 (1:27.316)
QUALIFYING 1: P12 (1:28.086)
NOTE: Set his fastest lap time before high-siding on Lap 3
WHAT HE’S SAYING:
“This morning went well, I ended up in P2 and I felt really good. We had a great test here [Barber Motorsports Park] during the track day a couple weeks back. Qualifying 1 didn’t go to plan, I made a mistake and crashed, which sent me into the guardrail pretty hard. We will have to look at the data and see what exactly went wrong. I ended up getting P12 on the grid right now, but we have more qualifying sessions in the morning. I’m hoping the weather stays dry and we can regroup and put us back on the front row where we belong. I’m really sorry to my side of the team, and I know we will fix it and be in a better position for the race tomorrow.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING:
“It was a pretty good Friday. Kayla [Yaakov] did a really great job, and made her way up to P4 by the end of the session. PJ [Jacobsen] had a decent crash which sent him into the wall. It was going to be tight to get the bike fixed and make sure he was healthy, so we decided to sit him out the last 10 or 12 minutes. Corey [Alexander] was riding really well, but unfortunately on his fast lap that probably would have put him in the top three, an engine blew up in front of him and he had to stop that lap. Overall, the pace is there for all three riders and it has been an eventful day for different reasons, but I think all things will be good to go for tomorrow morning.”
