PJ Jacobsen Leads The Way On An Ultra Close Opening Day At Pittsburgh International Race Complex
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen brought the confidence earned from winning his first MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race a few weeks ago in Minnesota to Pittsburgh International Race Complex on a blustery Friday with the New Yorker earning provisional pole position on his BMW M 1000 RR.
In what was the closest session of the season in the Medallia Superbike class, just 1.6 seconds covered the top 12 with a tick over one second separating first from ninth.
Jacobsen led both of Friday’s Superbike sessions with his best lap, a 1:43.061, coming in the afternoon’s Q1 session. That lap on his seventh go around, was just .167 of a second better than Medallia Superbike Championship points leader Jake Gagne. Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Gagne missed most of the first session after his Yamaha suffered a mechanical problem that oiled a portion of the track, bringing out the red flag after just one lap of FP1. Gagne’s crew got him back on track and he was able to jump up to third on his eighth of eight laps.
Jacobsen’s Tytlers Cycle Racing teammate Cameron Beaubier had a big moment early in Q1, losing the front, saving it and running off track and onto the grass. Beaubier ended up third in the session and .278 of a second off his teammate’s best.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong had his best session of the season on the team’s Yamaha YZF-R1 to post the fourth quickest time and less than half a second off Jacobsen’s provisional pole.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante ended the day fifth fastest and just ahead of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz and Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch, who in turn was .15 of a second ahead of Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates.
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s JD Beach, who is filling in at Pitt Race for the injured Cameron Petersen, ended up ninth and only 1.1 seconds from pole in his first Superbike race in two years.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Josh Herrin completed the top 10 after losing his best lap as a penalty for cutting the chicane on the following lap.
Supersport – Mesa On Top
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa bounced back from what wasn’t a good weekend for him at Brainerd International Raceway to lead the Supersport pack in Q1 on Friday afternoon. Mesa’s best was a 1:46.110, which was .635 of a second clear of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott.
Disrupt Racing’s Jake Lewis led the morning session and was third fastest in Q1 with a lap that was .808 of a second off Mesa’s fast lap.
Supersport Championship leader Xavi Forés was sixth fastest on the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V2, one spot better than the man who is second in the title chase, Squid Hunter Racing’s Josh Hayes.
Junior Cup – Di Mario, Barely
Alessandro Di Mario put his Altus Motorsports Kawasaki Ninja 400 on provisional pole for the weekend’s two Junior Cup races with the Kentuckian barely besting Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing’s Rossi Moor and his KTM RC 390 R by just .186 of a second. Bicknese Racing’s Hayden Bicknese was just a tick behind those two to round out the provisional front row.
Championship points leader Avery Dreher ended up fourth fastest and 1.163 seconds behind Di Mario on his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki.
REV’IT! Twins Cup – Rodio Over Davis Over Landers
A scant .153 of a second covered the top three in REV’IT! Twins Cup Q1 at Pitt Race with championship points leader Gus Rodio taking the top spot by just .063 of a second on his Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s defending class champion Blake Davis ended up the closest to Rodio’s 1:48.842 with his 1:48.905. And that lap was only .090 of a second faster than Rodio’s teammate Rocco Landers, the all-time win leader in the class.
The top three managed to separate themselves from the rest of the pack with Team Iso’s Dominic Doyle fourth but 1.7 seconds behind Rodio.
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Moore On The Verge
Upper Marlboro, Maryland’s Mikayla Moore took the first step to what will undoubtedly be a Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Championship on Saturday at Pitt Race with provisional pole on Friday.
As she has been at each and every round, Moore was in a class of her own this afternoon with her lap of 209.911 leading the way as he has in what has been a perfect season for the 19 year old.
Second fastest today was Crystal Martinez with Sonya Lloyd rounding out the provisional front row.
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