Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias won bragging rights Friday by being the fastest rider at the first multi-team test of the MotoAmerica pre-season at the 3.0-mile Thunderhill Raceway Park road course, in Willows, California.

Riding at Thunderhill for the first time and riding his new GSX-R1000 at its second test, Elias learned the challenging course quickly and recorded a 1:46.10 to be fastest overall.

“We worked hard,” Elias told Roadracingworld.com Friday. “We knew we had to take profit of these two days and try many things. We test many things. Some are positive, but [some] still need to improve. But some others work really well. We have a lot of information. We will work now for [the next test] at COTA [Circuit of The Americas].

“Today is the third real test day for us. We improve every day. I am happy because today the bike was really, really good. I need to improve my front feeling, improve in the braking areas, traction is not bad, and the electronics work really good. I think the package is better than last year, but it is still early. I have lots of things to try.”

One tricky part about the situation for Elias and his teammate Roger Hayden is that they each have one new Superbike and few spares and that’s all they will have until the first MotoAmerica race event at COTA in April. Although the situation isn’t unusual for teams, even factory teams, this time of year, it doesn’t make the task of testing any easier.

“I understand the situation,” said Elias. “Suzuki is working really hard to give us the best. The best right now is one bike for each [rider]. I cannot risk much in that way. If I crash maybe I destroy the bike and maybe I cannot make the next test or I cannot follow the plan. But I am safe, the bike is safe, we did the plan, and this is the most important thing. Being one tenth in front of Cameron [Beaubier] is important, but the most important thing is the work. We are working well and we know what we have to do to improve.”

Two-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier was fastest on Thursday but he was demoted to second-best on Friday. Beaubier’s quickest lap time on his Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing/Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 was 1:46.28.

Considering riders were trying approximately 20 different new tires from Dunlop during the test and some riders were and were not staying within the boundaries of the track’s chicane, the difference between the top lap times are insignificant. Like Elias said, testing is about doing the work, and Beaubier did his fair share dialing in the new parts and electronics on his Superbike.

“I think we did a 130 laps over the last two days, which is really good. I got some good riding fitness in,” Beaubier told Roadracingworld.com. “My team is starting to understand the new electronics a little bit more and we’re making good changes and going in the right directions. Chassis-wise we didn’t do too much. We tried a couple of shocks and gained some grip. We tried a boatload of new tires Dunlop brought. We found some good ones. We found some feel in the front end and some grip in the rear. So overall, it was a good two days.”

Asked for his thoughts on the new technical rules for 2017 that allow aftermarket forks and swingarms along with new, homologated engine electronics, Beaubier said, “I like the new rules. It’s pretty cool just looking at my bike. It’s a real Superbike. It’s got the oversized forks and the kit swingarm. It’s pretty trick stuff. I feel really fortunate to ride it. I just don’t want to go throw it down the road. (laughs) I’m looking forward to getting to some of the tracks we’re going to race on and seeing how the bike works compared to last year and stuff like that. I think it’s just going to keep getting better and better from here on out.”

After struggling through teething issues that kept him in the pits too much on Day One, Hayden made the most of Day Two and chopped two seconds from his lap time, ending with a third-fastest 1:46.80 and a good feeling.

“Today was a lot better,” said Hayden. “We got a lot of our little problems sorted out and started to make the bike work for me. We started making changes to the front end and got some of the front feel I was looking for, and we were two seconds faster today and closed the gap to the front. I’m really excited about that. And it gave us a direction for the next test.”

Josh Herrin, the 2016 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Champion, was fourth on the unofficial test time sheet with a 1:47.25 on his Meen Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1, which was fitted with Superbike forks, lightweight wheels, a custom fuel tank, an extended stock swingarm and a Motec-based system of engine electronics.

Unfortunately for Herrin, the Motec system he was using is not homologated for use in MotoAmerica Superbike competition in 2017 and he will have to take a major step backwards at the start of the season.

According to Team Owner Ameen Sajjadi, his team’s relatively late decision to move up to the Superbike class led to a relatively late attempt to buy a Magneti Marelli MLE advanced engine electronics system, the only FIM-homologated advanced electronics system for a Yamaha YZF-1 Superbike. As a result, Herrin did not have the Magneti Marelli system at Thunderhill and he will not have it in time for the first race of the season.

Meen Motorsports will not receive their Magneti Marelli system until just days before the season-opening race and will have to start the season with the same Superstock-legal electronics Herrin used in 2016.

Beaubier’s teammate, four-time MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes was fourth-fastest Friday with a best time of 1:47.33. Hayes said his Superbike was starting to come around and he was having a lot of fun riding it.

Garrett Gerloff bounced back from a big crash on Day One and rode his repaired 2017-model Monster Energy/Y.E.S./Yamalube/Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 even faster, recording a class-leading 1:47.64.

MotoAmerica Test

Thunderhill Raceway Park

Willows, CA

March 3, 2017

Unofficial Lap Times (as supplied by each team, all on Dunlop tires):

1. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 1:46.10

2. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 1:46.28

3. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike 1:46.80

4. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 1:47.25

5. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 1:47.33

6. Garrett Gerloff (Yam YZF-R6), Supersport, 1:47.64

7. Bobby Fong (Kaw ZX-10R), Superstock 1000, 1:48.20

8. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock 1000, 1:49.02

9. JD Beach (Yam YZF-R6), Supersport, 1:49.17

10. Michael Gilbert (Yam YZF-R6), Superstock 600, 1:51.50