Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier ended the opening day of Steel Commander Superbike action at Barber Motorsports Park with the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion on top of the timesheets at the conclusion of Q1.
Beaubier’s best lap in the 40-minute session was a 1:22.468 on his 18th go-around and it put him .855 of a second ahead of Warhorse HSBK Ducati Racing’s Loris Baz with the Frenchman lapping at 1:23.323 on his 15th lap.
TopPro Racing Team’s Sean Dylan Kelly continued his fast start to his rookie season of Superbike racing by clocking the third fastest time on his BMW M 1000 RR.
Fourth fastest and the last rider on the same second as Beaubier was Baz’s teammate Josh Herrin.
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s defending three-time series champion Jake Gagne rounded out the top five on opening day and was just a tick over a second slower than his championship rival Beaubier.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong ended up sixth with Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen seventh. Eighth fastest was the first of the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s in the hands of Spaniard Xavi Forés, who was making his debut on the team as a replacement for the injured Richie Escalante.
Gagne’s teammate JD Beach and Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10.
Supersport – Scott On Top
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott earned provisional pole position in Supersport on Friday afternoon by just .096 of a second over Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz in what was an ultra-close Q1 session. How close? The top 10 are all within a second of Scott’s best time of 1:26.607.
TopPro Racing Team’s Maximiliano Gerardo put in his best effort to date on the new team’s Suzuki GSX-R750 to earn a spot on the provisional front row leading into tomorrow’s Q2 session. Kayla Yaakov was the fastest of the three Rahal Ducati Moto teamsters with her best lap putting her fourth and just half a second off Scott’s pace. Her teammates, Corey Alexander and PJ Jacobsen, were 11th and 12th, respectively, with Road Atlanta doubleheader winner Jacobsen crashing out of the session early.
Wrench Motorcycles’ David Anthony ended the session fifth fastest.
Junior Cup – Cunnison Over Medina
Speed Demon Racing’s Logan Cunnison emerged from the pack of Junior Cup racers to take provisional pole for the two races at Barber Motorsports Park. Cunnison lapped at 1:37.417 to best championship points leader Yandel Medina by .571 of a second. Wolfe Racing’s Ryan Wolfe, who finished on the podium in both races at the opener at Road Atlanta, was third fastest.
Eli Block was fourth and the last rider on the same second as Cunnison on his BARTCON Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Di Mario Leads The Way
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Alessandro Di Mario and his Aprilia RS 660 were in a class of their own in BellissiMoto Twins Cup Q1 on Friday with the Italian 1.9 seconds clear of second-placed Rocco Landers on the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R.
Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle was third fastest, but 2.7 seconds behind Di Mario and some .370 of a second clear of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor. NNG Capital Fund/Eleven Motorsports’ Ryan Max Johnson rounded out the top five heading into tomorrow’s Q2 session.
Stock 1000 – Gillim, Barely
Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim got his title defense off to a good start at Barber on Friday with the 2023 Stock 1000 Champion leading the way in Q1 on Friday. Gillim lapped at 1:24.760 on his Honda CBR1000RR-R SP to lead Gabriel Da Silva and his GMR/Jones Honda by just .189 of a second.
The first of the non-Hondas was Benjamin Smith’s FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha YZF-R1. Smith was .638 behind Gillim, but almost a second ahead of OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe. Motorsport Exotica BMW rider Andrew Lee completed the top five. Meanwhile, Irishman Richard Kerr was ninth fastest on his AMD Motorsport RK Racing BMW M 1000 RR in his Barber Motorsports Park debut.
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race – Who Else But Moore
Defending Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Champion Mikayla Moore was up to her old tricks in the first race of the season for the all-women series as she ended up 4.5 seconds faster than her nearest rival in the opening qualifying session.
Moore lapped at 1:46.507 to best Camille Conrad’s 1:51.102. Emma Betters was just .678 of a second behind Conrad.
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