Roger Hayden earned pole position for the inaugural RaceFuelZ Pro Superbike race of the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented by Yamaha series, the Yamaha SoCal Nationals, at Auto Club Speedway, in Fontana, California.
Hayden, riding his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, lapped the 2.3-mile infield road course in 1:25.632 late in Saturday’s 30-minute qualifying session to lead the 15-bike field.
“In the beginning we worked on trying to get a race setup going,” Hayden told reporters. “Honestly, I’m kind of fighting the bike in a lot of places. I kind of waited until the last minute and came in and put a [new] tire on and just went out and pushed. I didn’t know if I had pole or not because today I didn’t have a pit board. It felt pretty good, but I didn’t know it was a 1:25.6 because over here I had a 29.3 [on my on-board lap timer]. Nonetheless, I’m pretty happy, but we’ve got to make some changes to the bike and also decide what tire we’re going to choose. We’re up in the air right now on that.”
Asked for his thoughts on the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented by Yamaha series concept and how the event at Auto Club Speedway was running, Hayden said, “I like it. It’s a lot of fun. It’s more races. To me it feels like another AMA National. These guys are my competitors there, and I think they all can agree whenever we’re testing or racing we want to beat each other just as bad. So I think for me it feels like another race. The only difference [there] is a little more down time today than normal, but there’s a lot of excitement around here. It’s got a really good atmosphere, so I’m really enjoying myself.”
Superbike rookie Cameron Beaubier ended up second-best with a 1:25.982, but his session ended slightly early when his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 suffered a blown engine on the front straightaway, causing a red flag. Still, Beaubier was happy with his performance considering the last time he rode at Auto Club Speedway was in 2007 on a 125cc GP bike.
Beaubier’s teammate, three-time Pro Superbike Champion Josh Hayes claimed the final spot on the three-wide front row with a time of 1:25.991.
Hayden’s teammate Martin Cardenas led the 30-minute opening practice session but slipped to fourth, and the second row, in the qualifying session Saturday afternoon.
“Aussie Dave” Anthony took the other spot on the two-wide second row by lapping the circuit in 1:26.153 on his Sic/Motul/Fly Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000.
The top five riders were separated by just 0.521 second at the end of qualifying.
Row three qualifiers included KTM/HMC Racing’s Chris Fillmore (1:26.873) on his RC8R, Chris Clark (1:27.912) on his Yoshimura Suzuki, and Chris Ulrich (1:27.969) on his GEICO Motorcycle Honda CBR1000RR.
Daytona Anderson (1:30.311), a 17-year-old Californian who making his Pro Superbike racing debut Suzuki GSX-R1000, and Marcel Irnie (1:30.342) and his MobiBuff/Irnie Racing BMW S1000RR rounded out the top 10 qualifiers.
Yamaha SoCal Nationals/GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented by Yamaha
RaceFuelZ Pro Superbike
Auto Club Speedway
Fontana, California
April 26, 2014
Provisional Qualifying Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.632
2. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.982
3. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.991
4. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.100
5. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.153
6. Chris Fillmore (KTM RC8R), 1:26.873
7. Chris Clark (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:27.912
8. Chris Ulrich (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:27.969
9. Daytona Anderson (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.311
10. Marcel Irnie (BMW S1000RR), 1:30.342
11. Sebastiao Ferreira (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:30.624
12. Mathew Orange (BMW S1000R), 1:32.133
13. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.695
14. Jeremy Armitage (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:33.821
15. Bob Scholton (Yam YZF-R1), 1:36.722
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Pro Superbike Riders Beaubier and Hayes Qualify On Front Row For Yamaha SoCal Nationals
Fontana, CA – April 26, 2014 – Round One of the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented By Yamaha kicked off Saturday with the Yamaha SoCal Nationals at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA, and the Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha duo of Cameron Beaubier and Josh Hayes qualified their Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbikes on the front row for tomorrow’s Pro Superbike race.
After his Pro Superbike qualifying session, Cameron, who is slotted into second-place on the starting grid said, “Earlier this morning started a little rough but, the last time I raced here, I was on a little 125cc bike, and this R1 is a bit more of a handful. After a full session of practice, I felt better during qualifying and just tried to get in a bunch of good laps. Obviously the more laps I get in here, the better off I’ll be. The track is challenging on the Superbike, but I’m going to work hard to get a win here.”
Three-time Superbike Champion Josh Hayes will start right next to Cameron in third-place on the starting grid for Sunday’s 20-lap Pro Superbike race. “It feels good to be back riding a motorcycle and working to keep the fires burning,” Josh said after Saturday’s qualifying. “I feel pretty good about my laps. I figured out where I want to be as far as setup for tomorrow’s race. We’ll try some things in the morning practice session and make sure we’re ready to go for tomorrow.”
Sunday’s Pro Superbike race will go green at approximately 3:30 PM PST.
Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Pro Sportbike Riders Have Mixed Results In Qualifying
Qualifying for Sunday’s Pro Sportbike race took place on Saturday just prior to Pro Superbike qualifying, and Y.E.S./Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R6 rider Garrett Gerloff will start from row two for Sunday’s race, while Garrett’s teammate JD Beach will start from row four. Saturday was the very first time that Garrett had ever ridden on the 21-turn, 2.36-mile Auto Club Speedway road, and the last time JD raced at Auto Club Speedway was on a 125cc bike in 2007. Both riders will be looking to improve their laptimes in Sunday morning’s warmup, get a good start in the afternoon’s race, and move to the front.
Sunday’s Pro Sportbike race will start at approximately 1:30 PM PST.
Tune In To MAVTV For The Pro Sportbike and Pro Superbike Races
The Pro Sportbike and Pro Superbike races are being taped for airing later on MAVTV. Log on to www.MAVTV.com for the exact time and channel, and don’t miss it!
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