ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — The Quad Lock Superbike Championship completed day one at Road America under sunny blue skies and temps in the high-70s.
With cooler conditions expected on Saturday and lap times reset ahead of qualifying, the starting grid could look considerably different before race one gets underway Saturday afternoon.
Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law Ducati Panigale V4 R rider Cameron Beaubier spent the majority of the session atop the leaderboard. The six-time and defending Superbike Champion set the pace early and continued to whittle his lap time down to a 2:09.756 to lead the group into tomorrow’s qualifying.
Sean Dylan Kelly brought his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR in just one-tenth of a second off the leader to claim P2. The Floridian is racing this weekend with a fractured finger on his braking hand, but he looks unfazed by the injury, and he seems poised to be a contender for the pole position in tomorrow’s qualifying.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Cameron Petersen made a significant leap forward in timed practice, slicing nearly a second-and-a-half off his free practice benchmark to secure third on the timesheets aboard his Ducati Panigale V4 R. The South African was the last rider to break into the 2:09 range, completing an all-European-bike front row.
Rounding out the top five in timed practice are Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing teammates JD Beach (fourth) and Bobby Fong (fifth).
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott earned the provisional pole from Friday’s Supersport qualifying 1 session. The Pennsylvanian turned in a 2:16.831 on lap eight of the 30-minute qualifying session and was the only rider to dip into “the 16’s” around America’s National Park of Speed.
Rahal Ducati Moto with Desnuda Organic Tequila rider Josh Herrin finished the session second-fastest and four-tenths of a second behind Scott with a 2:17.234 lap time. The Ducati Panigale V2 rider led the session early and will certainly come out swinging for the top spot tomorrow.
Supersport points leader and Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse rider Darryn Binder third-fastest four-tenths of a second off the lead, and just a tick behind Herrin in second. The South African’s ability to quickly adapt to the Ducati Panigale V2, as well as American tracks, kept him firmly in the hunt for pole position tomorrow.
3D Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750 rider Aiden Sneed continues to climb the ranks, logging a 2:17.604 lap time to grab fourth, provisionally, with Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight rider Kayla Yaakov completing the top five.
The Mission King Of The Baggers Championship resumed their series after a four-week break following Road Atlanta. J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Factory Indian rider Hayden Gillim looked like he never stopped riding after round one. Gillim took the provisional pole by almost a full second, setting a new outright lap record of 2:16.842 in the process. The Kentuckian continues to move the bar higher, pushing his Indian Challenger and himself further ahead of the competition.
