MotoAmerica: Jacobsen On Top At Ridge, Ducati Takes Top Three In Wet Timed Practice
MotoAmerica: The Quad Lock Superbike Championship contenders were challenged by intermittent showers for both their Free, and Timed Practice sessions today. The on-and-off lapses of light drizzle to medium precipitation caused riders to spend both sessions on Dunlop KR Rain Series tires.
In the morning’s 40-minute Free Practice session, the wet pavement caught points leader Sean Dylan Kelly by surprise. The OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR rider lost rear traction exiting the tight left-hander at the top of the Ridge Complex sending him over the fairing and onto the ground. SDK took the rest of the session off to be ready for the afternoon’s final session.
At the start of the 40-minute Timed Practice the rain was still present, but decreased as the session went on. Nevertheless, the track surface shined like a freshly mopped floor for the duration of the group’s time on track.
Modern Classic Motorcycle News - Kindle Edition
Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL rider PJ Jacobsen set the fastest time with a 1:54.080 just four-tenths of a second faster than fellow Ducati Panigale V4 R rider, Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law’s Loris Baz.
Making it three Ducs in a row was Wrench Motorcycle’s Cameron Petersen aboard the previous model Ducati Panigale V4 R, just seven-tenths off of the lead.
Remaining within a second of the leader’s pace, and finishing the session in fourth, was Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz aboard the Yamaha YZF-R1. Scholtz was the final rider to match the lead groups 1:54 lap times while M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch brought his Suzuki GSX-R1000R in 1.9 seconds behind the leader in fifth.
In Superbike Cup qualifying, BPR Racing Yamaha’s Deion Campbell finished at the top of the timing sheets with a 1:59.712 aboard his YZF-R1.
The forecast looks better for tomorrow’s 15-minute Final Qualifying session with mostly cloudy skies, a minimal chance of showers and temperatures in the mid-sixties. Riders who struggled in the wet today are hoping for a dry track tomorrow, and the short qualifying session is sure to be hotly contested until the clock runs out.
Supersport
Supersport’s Q1 session was halted by two separate red flags as riders were challenged by the wet conditions and active rainfall in the beginning of the session. After the second red flag was cleared the showers had stopped, but the track remained wet with some puddling spots until the end of the session.
After leading the morning warm up session, MP13 Racing’s Avery Dreher had his MV Agusta F3 RR on top again in Supersport Q1. The newly minted 20-year-old spent his birthday afternoon swapping a few fast times with Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse rider Darryn Binder aboard the Ducati Panigale V2. By the end of the session Dreher would best the South African Binder by a full second-and-a-half, securing provisional pole before tomorrow’s Q2 and was the only rider to dip into the minute-58s in the wet.
Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight rider Kayla Yaakov turned in a 2:00.489 to slot into P3, nine-tenths of a second ahead of her teammate, Rahal Ducati Moto with Desnuda Organic Tequila rider Josh Herrin. Yaakov made steady progress throughout the session while her teammate Herrin struggled to get comfortable for the first half, showing as low as 14th at one point, before working his way back up to fourth.
Liberty Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle represented the top Yamaha in fifth, with M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott bringing his Suzuki GSX-R750 up to sixth.
Tomorrow morning’s final Q2 session is predicted to be dry which could shake up the front row of the grid before racing gets underway in the afternoon.
Talent Cup
MotoAmerica Talent Cup riders opened their weekend with a 20-minute warmup session in the morning, followed by a 30-minute Q1 session at the end of the afternoon. While the track was wet for both outings, the afternoon session left out the rainfall that plagued the morning laps.
As the young riders took to the wet track for their Q1 period, Nathan Gouker jumped out front and set the fastest time of 2:03.096 on his second lap of the session. Just behind him, Team Hammer rider Jake Paige pushed to within two-tenths of a second to end the qualifier in P2 while Team Roberts Kensei Matsudaira rounded out the provisional front row in third.
Completing the top five in Talent Cup Q1 were Real Steal Honda’s Derek King in fourth and Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane in fifth.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship
Saddlemen Race Development’s James Rispoli topped the Q1 charts aboard his Harley-Davidson Pan America. The 34-year-old Hogspoli turned a 2:02.732 lap time to take the temporary top spot, beating out OrangeCat Racing’s Josh Herrin aboard the all-electric Lightfighter V3-RH by just one-tenth of a second.
Robertino Pietri put his COATZYMOTO-LATIN WE Yamaha XSR 900 third, just a quarter-second off the leader and the last rider able to put in a 2:02 lap time in the rain-soaked session. In an impressive display of wet riding, ARCH Motorcycle Racing’s Corey Alexander brought his ARCH 2s-R machine around at a 2:03.018 for P4. Oregonian Andy DiBrino put his BPR Racing Yamaha MT-09 SP in fifth as the top ranking tuning fork machine.
Royal Enfield Build.Train.Race.
The Build.Train.Race. The ladies had to contend with the same damp conditions as the other classes, throwing a curveball at the field in this third stop of their four round championship. Up to this point they have experienced dry conditions, and the wet variable brought some new names to the top five in Q1.
Brazilian Tati Paze took the top spot with a 2:24.326 time ahead of Brianna Cutler and Tiffanie Vo. Points leader Jasmine Noelle finished the session fourth with Emily Dickson rounding out the provisional top five before tomorrow’s final Q2 session gets underway.
Support Modern Classic Motorcycle News and become a YouTube Member for just £5 per month. Members help keep the channel independent and receive extra value, including digital issues of M.C.M. News Magazine join here:
Out Now on Kindle
Watch, like and subscribe to our Youtube channel
Get These Awesome Perks With Our YouTube Membership!: Join Our YouTube Membership and Save – Get two digital issues of Modern Classic Motorcycle News per month for price of one join here:
👍 Like | 💬 Comment | 🔔 Subscribe for more modern classic motorcycle content
For more info checkout our dedicated MotoAmerica News page MotoAmerica
Or visit the official MotoAmerica website motoamerica.com/
©Words/Images are from an official press release posted courtesy of motoamerica.com/
* Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission (at no cost to you) if you click on the link and make a purchase. Any money made goes straight back into the website and magazine. Your support is appreciated!
