LEEDS, Ala. — The Quad Lock Superbike Championship finished the first day at Barber Motorsports Park, with OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly at the top of Timed Practice aboard his BMW M 1000 RR.
The Floridian was fastest in both sessions today. He led the morning’s Free Practice with a fastest lap of 1:23.372, and he was the only rider to make it into the minute-22’s in the afternoon’s Timed Practice with a lap of 1:22.908 around the 17-turn, 2.38-mile circuit.
Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law rider Cameron Beaubier improved his fastest lap from the morning’s Free Practice by nearly a second in the afternoon’s Timed Practice. The six-time and defending Superbike Champion ended Timed Practice in second with a lap of 1:23.082. Beaubier continues to find pace out of his Ducati Panigale V4 R and will be a threat for pole position in tomorrow’s 15-minute Qualifying session.
Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz missed most of Free Practice due to a mechanical issue. The South African was able to join the session with about 10 minutes left and quickly put his #11 Yamaha YZF-R1 in the top three. In the afternoon’s Timed Practice, Scholtz put down a 1:23.144 lap time for third-fastest.
The biggest jump from Free Practice to Timed Practice Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim. The Kentucky native finished Free Practice in eighth position but shaved another 1.1 seconds off that time to end the more important Timed Practice in fourth with a 1:23.917 lap time.
Wrench Motorcycles rider Cam Petersen is the final racer in the minute-23 range. The South African sits fifth, 1.025 seconds off the leader’s pace.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante is sixth, seventh position is held by OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe, Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL rider PJ Jacobsen is eighth, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch is ninth, and Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s JD Beach completed the top 10.
In Superbike Cup qualifying, BPR Racing Yamaha’s Deion Campbell holds provisional pole, with Real Steel Honda’s Andrew Lee just 0.157 of a second behind.
With the top three separated by just 0.236 of a second and the top five all within 1 second of each other, tomorrow’s 15-minute Qualifying session will be a fight for the front row. Riders will have to balance risk and reward in the short session, where any mistake could mean the difference between a front-row start and a mid-pack push off.
Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight’s Kayla Yaakov continues her upward trajectory aboard the Ducati Panigale V2, grabbing the provisional pole at her favorite race track on the calendar. The 18-year-old female phenom put down a lightning-fast lap time of 1:25.750 to take day one’s top spot in the Supersport class.
