Defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Toni Elias was the fastest rider during MotoAmerica Superbike Superpole qualifying Friday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), in Austin, Texas.
Riding his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 with a rear Dunlop qualifying tire, Elias lapped the 3.426-mile, 20-turn road course in 2:09.192, which was slower than Roger Hayden’s 2017 Superpole time of 2:08.108 largely because the track did not have the same level of grip as it has in the past. The loss of grip was due to track workers grinding down the racing surface in an attempt to remove bumps, but the areas that were ground down were left with a coating of slippery dust.
“We did a good job in Atlanta and we started with the same setup, but even if we are leading today I didn’t feel so comfortable with the situation of the track,” said Elias. “It is so slippery I never felt the same feelings as Atlanta, like super front grip or super rear grip. The situation will be better during the weekend, so I count on these guys [Roger Hayden and Cameron Beaubier] because the grip will increase and they will be there for sure to fight. But we are happy. It is my [third] pole in MotoAmerica, so it is important for us.”
Elias’ moment of happiness was spoiled somewhat by an embarrassing mishap on the cool-down lap. Elias was celebrating with a standup wheelie on the back straightaway when the front wheel of his Suzuki came crashing down abruptly.
“Yes, I need a little bit ice right now. My balls are a little bit painful,” Elias said in a press conference. “I was trying to enjoy a little bit. I was thinking, ‘A little bit more [height], a little bit more. Fun, fun, fun!’ Until it was less fun. I cross the line [too high] and it was too late. I was lucky that I didn’t crash, but yes, my balls are painful.”
Elias’ teammate Roger Hayden was the MotoAmerica Superbike pole-sitter at COTA for the last two seasons, but the 2:09.919 he did Friday on his second rear qualifying tire was only good enough for second-best. And Hayden was perfectly OK with that.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit in testing and last week in Atlanta, so it’s nice to be back at the sharp end. It’s a lot more fun,” said Hayden. “We’ve got a little work to do, but I’m looking forward to the race, rain or shine. I feel like we can have a good weekend.”
Two-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier finished third-fastest with a 2:09.978 on his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Factory Yamaha YZF-R1, and like Hayden he was happy that his luck was turning for the better.
“All in all, I had a better Friday than I did in Atlanta,” said Beaubier, who crashed three times during the weekend at Road Atlanta, including once on the first day. “I’m happy my bike is in one piece and I’m in one piece.
“Practice this morning went pretty good. I felt pretty comfortable as soon as I got on the bike, and slowly the times came down. We made a couple of changes in between practices. I felt like I lost a little confidence early in the [second qualifying practice] session. Our times started coming down, down. We definitely have a little bit of work to do for tomorrow to run with Toni, so we’ll see what we come up with. I’m excited to go racing.”
Beaubier’s rookie teammate Garrett Gerloff didn’t get much out of his first Dunlop qualifier, but he made the most of his second super-sticky rear tire and qualified fourth with a lap of 2:10.323.
Likewise, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis took full advantage of his qualifying tires, dropping his time from a 2:11.792 in Qualifying Practice Two down to a fifth-quickest 2:10.491 in Superpole.
Mathew Scholtz qualified sixth, the last spot on row two, with a time of 2:11.042, but the South African was on pace for a front-row lap time when he crashed his Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 while riding on his second qualifying tire. Scholtz was unhurt in the lowside and rode his bike back to pit lane.
Scheibe Racing’s Danny Eslick ended up seventh with a 2:11.321 on his BMW S1000RR. Kyle Wyman finished eighth at 2:11.638 on his Motovation USA/KWR Yamaha YZF-R1, but the New Yorker ran out of time and didn’t get to use his second qualifying tire. And Bobby Fong will start ninth even though technical problems with his Quicksilver/Lexin Moto/Hudson Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1 prevented him from recording any lap times during Superpole.
Normally, the top 12 riders in the combined results from Qualifying Practices One and Two are invited to participate in MotoAmerica Superbike Superpole, but because of the condensed schedule within the MotoGP weekend, MotoAmerica and Dunlop decided it would work better logistically if only the top nine riders were invited to Superpole at COTA.
MotoAmerica Superbike Race One is scheduled to start at 4:15 p.m. Central Time on Saturday. The weather forecast for Saturday calls for scattered thunderstorms and a 30-70% chance of rain at different points of the day.
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series
Circuit of The Americas
Austin, Texas
April 20, 2018
Motul Superbike Superpole Qualifying Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:09.192
2. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:09.919
3. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), 2:09.978
4. Garrett Gerloff (Yam YZF-R1), 2:10.323
5. Jake Lewis (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:10.491
6. Mathew Scholtz (Yam YZF-R1), 2:11.042, crash
7. Danny Eslick (BMW S1000RR), 2:11.321
8. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R1), 2:11.638
9. Bobby Fong (Yam YZF-R1), no lap time recorded
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Toni Elias Takes MotoAmerica Superpole At COTA
Texas Continues To Be Good To The Spaniard
AUSTIN, TX (April 20, 2018) – Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias has won the last four races at Circuit of The Americas, but prior to today he’d never sat on pole position for the race he’s dominated since coming to the MotoAmerica Series. That changed on a cloudy afternoon in Texas with the defending MotoAmerica Motul Superbike Champion earning his first pole of the season, his first at COTA and his third overall in the series.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias earned pole position for this weekend’s two MotoAmerica Motul Superbike races at COTA.| Photo By Brian J. Nelson
Elias, who won the series opener a week ago in Road Atlanta, lapped at 2:09.192 on his Dunlop qualifying tire to take pole for the two races – one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The COTA track, meanwhile, was both dirtier and rougher than last year and that’s what the top three pointed to as the reason lap times were a second slower than a year ago in Superpole.
“We really did a great job in Atlanta, and we started with the same setup, but even if we are leading today, I didn’t feel so comfortable with the situation on the track,” Elias said. “It’s so slippery, and I never felt the same feelings as in Atlanta, like super front grip or super rear grip. The situation will be better during the weekend, so I count on these guys (Hayden and Beaubier) because in the race, they will be there, for sure. We will have to fight and work a lot, but we are happy. It’s my third pole in MotoAmerica, so it’s important for us. I think we are on the pace. The bike is working good, so the Atlanta race, on Sunday (in the rain), gave us a reason to continue working on (the setup of the) bike in wet conditions. So, we will try to make it better for the rain, for if it comes tomorrow.”
Second fastest went to Elias’ teammate Roger Hayden the rider who has sat on pole for last two races at at COTA. Hayden lapped at 2:09.919, .727 of a second slower than Elias, who in turn was 1.008 of a second slower than Hayden’s pole time here last year.
“It’s a little dirty, and then, it just seems a little bumpier in some spots, but I think the biggest problem is just where they ground it down, it’s still kind of dirty in a lot of places,” Hayden said. “When you go down the back straightaway – the left – and then, you have dirt on your tire, and you go to the next right-hander, it kind of gets a little squirrelly until you get it off, but it’s getting better. It just needs a little more time. I’m pretty happy to be second. I’ve been struggling a little bit in testing and then, last week in Atlanta, so it’s nice to be back at the sharp end a little bit. It’s a lot more fun. We got a little bit of work to do, but we’re looking forward to the race – rain or shine – and I’m hoping to have a good weekend.”
The front row will be completed by Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Cameron Beaubier. Beaubier’s best was a 2:09.978.
“They ground down quite a bit of the track surface in some of the bumpier corners, and I think there is just a little dust, and some of the grip is down in some of those corners,” Beaubier said. “But all in all, I had a better Friday than I did at Atlanta, so…my bike is in one piece, I’m in one piece, and it looks like it might rain tomorrow and we’ll have a good, dry race on Sunday. Practice this morning went pretty good. I felt pretty comfortable as soon as I got on the bike, and slowly, the (lap) times had come down. Made a couple of changes in between practices, and I felt like I lost a little confidence early in the session, and our times started coming down, down. We definitely have a little bit of work to do for tomorrow, to run with Toni, so we’ll see what we come up with and I’m just excited to go racing.”
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
More, from a press release issued by Yoshimura Suzuki:
Toni Elias Wins MotoAmerica Superpole on Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000
Roger Hayden Qualifies Second Giving Yoshimura Suzuki Top Two Qualifying Spots
AUSTIN, TX (April 20, 2018) — Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Toni Elias took Superpole Friday for this weekend’s MotoAmerica Superbike doubleheader at Circuit of the Americas, part of the giant combined MotoGP/MotoAmerica weekend at the scenic track in Austin, Texas.
Icing on the cake was provided by Elias’ teammate Roger Hayden. Hayden, who won Superpole here last year, qualified second, giving the team the top two spots on the grid for both Saturday and Sunday’s Superbike races.
Elias, who has won four-consecutive MotoAmerica Superbike races at COTA, showed exceptional speed in Superpole, using the precise handling and abundant horsepower of his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to clock in a time of 2:09.192. Elias turned the time in spite of a slightly dusty track, the result of grinding a few sections of the track surface to smooth it out.
“I was happy to win Superpole, but because of the dirty track I did not have the kind of feel with the bike that I had at Road Atlanta last week,” said Elias, whose top qualifying performance today gave him his third-career MotoAmerica Superpole. “The track will get better as the weekend goes on, so the other riders will be faster as well. It’s going to be a challenging race, but I am happy with how our team is working and I’m confident I will have a great race setup.”
On a humorous note, Elias did a wheelie for the fans on his cooldown lap from Superpole and he admitted he almost looped it. When he abruptly let off the gas the bike came down hard and a particularly sensitive part of his body was slammed into the gas tank. “I am going to need some ice,” Elias joked in the post-qualifying press conference.
Elias, the defending series champ, comes into this weekend the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship leader, having swept the two series opening rounds at Road Atlanta last weekend.
Hayden was happy with his middle of the front row start on his No. 95 Suzuki. He clocked a 2:09.919 around the 3.426-mile circuit.
“I’ve struggled a bit in testing and last week at Atlanta,” Hayden admitted. “So it’s nice to back at the sharp end, it’s a lot more fun. We’ve got a little work to do, but I’m looking forward to the races.”
Yoshimura Suzuki continues its 40th anniversary celebration. A special display with important past Yoshimura Suzuki Superbikes and a photographic timeline documenting the team’s winning tradition over the years is on display at the Suzuki tent at COTA’s manufacturer’s row.
Racing at COTA continues Saturday and Sunday.
For additional information visit: www.motoamerica.com
You can keep up with the team’s progress by visiting yoshimura-racing.com and www.suzukicycles.com/Racing and via YouTube at www.suzukicycles.com/Racing