This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
21_7_LAGUNA_SSP_Q2_res
21_7_LAGUNA_SSP_Q2_rescomb
© , Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
MotoAmerica: How To Watch The Action At Laguna Seca
MotoAmerica: How To Watch Round Five GEICO Motorcycle Superbikes Speedfest at Monterey
It’s All Here: How To Not Miss A Bit Of The Action
Everything you need to know for round five of the 2021 MotoAmerica Series to keep you up to date with what’s happening in Monterey
MotoAmerica: Gagne Takes Superbike Pole Position At Laguna Seca
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
Editorial Note: By virtue of his 1:26.057 during Superbike Q2, HONOS HVMC Kawasaki rider Corey Alexander gets pole position for Sunday’s sole Stock 1000 race.
21_7_LAGUNA_SBK_Q2_res
21_7_LAGUNA_SBK_Q2_rescomb
MotoAmerica: Yates Tops Stock 1000 Q2 At Laguna Seca
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
Editorial Note: The top Stock 1000 competitors are riding in the Superbike sessions at Laguna Seca. As a result, the final Stock 1000 qualifying order will not be determined until after Superbike Q2.
21_7_LAGUNA_STK_Q2_res
MotoAmerica: Scott Breaks Lap Record, Takes Junior Cup Pole
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
Editorial Note: The previous Junior Cup all-time lap record was 1:36.607, which was set by Dominic Doyle in 2020.
21_7_LAGUNA_JRC_Q2_rescombMotoAmerica: DiBrino Takes Pole Position In RSD Super Hooligan
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
21_7_LAGUNA_HGN_Q1_res
Yoshimura SERT Motul Delivers Le Mans Trophy & Racebike To Suzuki
YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL LE MANS TROPHY & RACE BIKE PRESENTED TO SUZUKI
Yoshimura President Mr. Fujio Yoshimura and Mr. Yohei Kato, who is the Technical Director of Yoshimura Japan and Yoshimura SERT Motul Team Director, visited the Suzuki HQ in Hamamatsu this week to meet Mr. Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President of Suzuki Motor Corporation.
They celebrated the team’s spectacular win at the first round of the 2021 EWC series, the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans last month, by presenting the impressive 24H trophy and a Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki GSX-R1000R race bike. The trophy and the machine will be on display in the Suzuki Museum in Hamamatsu alongside an HB Suzuki GS1000R.
This was a flying visit for Yoshimura’s Yohei Kato who had to return to Europe to be with the team for the second round of the Endurance World Championship at Estoril in Portugal on the 17th of July.
Book Celebrating 100-Year History Of Moto Guzzi Released
PRESENTATION OF MOTO GUZZI 100 ANNI, A CELEBRATION OF THE LEGENDARY EAGLE BRAND IN A COLLECTOR’S VOLUME PUBLISHED BY RIZZOLI
100 YEARS OF HISTORY RECOUNTED BY 10 DISTINGUISHED INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITIES CELEBRATING THEIR PASSION FOR MOTO GUZZI
THE BIKES AND THE LOVE OF MOTORCYCLING, PORTRAYED DIRECTLY BY THE PROTAGONISTS AND ILLUSTRATED BY A SPLENDID SELECTION OF PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS
Moto Guzzi 100 Anni, a book published by Rizzoli Illustrati to celebrate the legendary eagle brand, one of the world’s most innovative, best-loved and well-known motorcycle constructors, in its centenary year, has been presented in Milan. The elegantly bound volume spans a century of history with contributions from ten distinguished international figures celebrating their devotion to Moto Guzzi. Illustrated with a wealth of previously unpublished images, the book is a collection of contributions from ten well-known figures with different backgrounds, personal histories and careers, who describe their passion for the impressive Italian motorbikes.
The result is a testimonial to the unique standing of Moto Guzzi, a brand that, one hundred years after its debut, continues to embody the values of its far-sighted founders. Since 1921, every single Moto Guzzi bike that has gone out on the world’s roads has been assembled by hand, with loving craftsmanship, in the factory in Mandello del Lario. This deep authenticity is the distinguishing characteristic of every Moto Guzzi motorcycle, and a value recognised and shared by the ten contributors from around the world: a famous actor, a writer, three journalists, an astronaut, a world-famous architect, a Harvard professor, a DJ, a great designer. From London to Hollywood, Tokyo to Sardinia, Vermont to Mandello del Lario. A thread binding individuals who love Moto Guzzi and what its motorbikes stand for, a passion that has created a common language among people from such distant places and with such different stories.
Coming ideally together to describe their love of motorbikes are writer Melissa Holbrook Pierson, actor Ewan McGregor, architect Greg Lynn, journalists Marco Masetti, Mat Oxley and Akira Nishimura, DJ Ringo, designer Tom Dixon, astronaut Paolo Nespoli and Harvard professor Jeffrey Schnapp, who also edited the book.
Moto Guzzi re-traces its first one hundred years with the words of these distinguished contributors, as it prepares for the next one hundred, backed by a success that has kept it young. A completely renewed range of motorcycles deploying state-of-the-art electronic riding technology and a host of projects in the pipeline are taking Moto Guzzi into a future that promises to be just as brilliant as its fantastic past.
The Moto Guzzi century is a moment of great pride for all Italian industry and the celebration marks a story that has always been lived looking ahead, with a capacity for innovation while keeping faith with the company’s talents and traditions. It has been a century of magnificent motorcycles, victories, adventures, extraordinary people. Moto Guzzi has scored triumphs on all the world racetracks, conquering 14 World Championship titles. It was the motorbike of the speed records, the symbol for the growth of a whole nation, the motorcycle of Italy’s police force and army, a vocation it extended to the international stage by equipping the Californian police department and, more recently, the police forces in Berlin and many other European cities. It has also always been the motorcycle of the Corazzieri, the elite guard of honour of the President of the Italian Republic. Moto Guzzi has accompanied Italy’s economic rise and social development, its motorbikes are part of popular culture and continue to inspire passion in thousands of bikers around the world today.
Moto Guzzi 100 Anni (224 pages) is already available in bookstores.
MotoAmerica: Medallia Sponsoring Laguna Seca Event
Medallia Comes On-Board For GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest At Monterey
Pioneering Experience Management Leader Now An Official Partner Of MotoAmerica’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Weekend, July 9-11
IRVINE, CA (July 9, 2021) – MotoAmerica, North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series, is excited to announce that Medallia Inc., the global leader in customer and employee experience, has come on-board as an official partner for the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey, round five of the 2021 MotoAmerica Series at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, July 9-11.
Medallia’s award-winning SaaS platform, the Medallia Experience Cloud, leads the market in the understanding and management of experience for customers, employees and citizens and residents. The Medallia platform captures billions of experience signals across interactions including all voice, video, digital, IoT, social media and corporate messaging tools. Medallia uses proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to automatically reveal predictive insights that drive powerful business actions and outcomes.
“With 15-plus global offices and over 1000 leading brands around the world in its portfolio, we are ecstatic to welcome Medallia as a partner for our championship round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “The list of companies that use Medallia is impressive, businesses such as Harley-Davidson, Honeywell, Omni Hotels, Ford Motor Company, H&R Block, Polaris and more. Having Medallia as an event partner of MotoAmerica shows that non-endemic partners can tap into the motorsports business-to-business customer journey.”
“Medallia sponsors dreamers, doers, achievers, and leaders,” said Medallia President and CEO Leslie Stretch. “We are thrilled to partner with MotoAmerica to tap into the raw excitement and explosive growth in motorsports in the United States. As sponsors, as technology partners, and as fans, we’re here to champion the champions.”
For more information on Medallia, visit https://www.medallia.com/about-us/
MotoAmerica: Gagne Tops Superbike Q1 At Laguna Seca (Updated)
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
21_7_LAGUNA_SBK_Q1_res
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Day One At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Belongs To Gagne
Jake Gagne Leads The Way Again In HONOS Superbike
MONTEREY, CA (July 9, 2021) – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha’s Jake Gagne had a normal Jake Gagne day on Friday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Go fast, earn provisional pole, get ready for tomorrow’s first of two HONOS Superbike races in the MotoAmerica GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey.
Gagne lapped at 1:24.371 in Qualifying 1 and that put him .338 of a second ahead of Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Loris Baz, the Frenchman turning his best lap of 1:24.709 after a low-side crash in the Corkscrew.
“We had a good day today,” Gagne said. “In the first session we took the bike off the truck, and it was actually one of the toughest first sessions we’ve had. I wasn’t too happy with the bike with just a couple of little tweaks, the electronics mostly. We managed to run both tires and I liked the green tire better. We made some changes in between sessions and made the bike feel a lot better right away in the second session. So, we went out and did a 13-or 14-lap run to get a good feel for the tires, and we had a really good run out here. Obviously, we are just trying to do the work for the race. We’re just seeing how these Dunlops are going to be in the second half of the race because that’s when we want to be strong.”
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen ended a sunny and warm afternoon on the Monterey Peninsula third fastest by virtue of his 1:24.831 on his 17th lap and that put the South African ahead of countryman Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholz by just .002 of a second. Scholtz suffered two crashes in the session.
Gagne’s teammate Josh Herrin completed the day in fifth place with his 1:25.139, which put him ahead of Scheibe Racing BMW’s Hector Barbera, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong and the returning Toni Elias on Kyle Wyman’s Panera Bread Ducati rounding out the top eight.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly topped his rival Richie Escalante, on the HONOS HVMC Racing Kawasaki, by just .130 of a second in Supersport Q1. North East Cycle Outlet Racing’s Benjamin Smith, CV28 Racing’s Cory Ventura and Altus Motorsports’ Kevin Olmedo rounded out the top five.
Scott Powersports/KTM’s Tyler Scott was the fastest of the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup races as he led his championship rival Ben Gloddy by 1.4 seconds. Max Van ended the day third fastest, 1.7 seconds behind Scott.
BPR Tuning’s Bryce Prince made his first day back in the MotoAmerica Series count as he led the way in Stock 1000 Q1, besting Ridge Motorsports Park/DiBrino Racing’s Andy DiBrino and Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates.
Mission Foods S&S Cycle Indian Challenger’s Tyler O’Hara and his 1:33.058 led the Mission King Of The Baggers Q1, besting H-D Screamin’ Eagle’s Travis Wyman, DTF Performance/Hoban Brothers Racing’s Michael Barnes and championship points leader Kyle Wyman and his H-D Screamin’ Eagle Road Glide.
Righteous Racing’s Jody Barry led Twins Cup Q1 over Robem Engineering teammates Toby Khamsouk and Kaleb De Keyrel.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America:
Ducati Stars Shining Bright in California Sunshine
Sunnyvale, Calif., July 9, 2021 – Loris Baz and Toni Elias put on a solid day’s riding for Ducati at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the European duo ending the day second and eighth fastest, respectively.
Baz’s fastest time put him just 0.338 seconds shy of pacesetter Jake Gagne on the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha. The Frenchman completed 32 laps across the day on the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York entry, impressing with his consistency as he outpaced Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen and Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz.
Elias put in a mammoth 42 laps across the first practice and qualifying sessions on the Panera Bread Ducati, ending the day 1.8 seconds off Gagne after nearly a year off from racing activity as he gets used to the storming Panera Bread Ducati in place of regular rider and team owner, Kyle Wyman.
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York – Ducati #76)
“It’s always nice to be back in Laguna,” Baz said. “This place is always crazy. You always feel like you need to learn the track again, even if you know it. It’s so cool to ride here. I feel ok. We were P2 in both sessions but the grip of the track is not super high so we made some changes, but I think we went in the wrong direction for Q1. I had a small off in the Corkscrew, so a massive thanks to the team because it was lap one and they managed to put the bike back together for me to finish the session. I’m not super happy with the pace but I think there’s some improvement to be had for tomorrow. I’m happy to ride the Ducati here, it’s an amazing place and the weather is much nicer than the last race, so we’ll go for it tomorrow.”
Toni Elias (Panera Bread Ducati – Ducati #24)
“I’m really happy to have the sensations of riding a racing bike again,” Elias said. “To feel the power, the brakes, the up and downs and roller-coaster of Laguna, it’s been amazing. We worked very hard from first practice to the first qualifying. I felt comfortable with the position of the bike since the beginning, but then I struggled a little bit with the geometry of the bike. In the afternoon, following the changes, I felt much better. My lap time improved all day, but maybe I need a rider in front to help me jump into the 1:25’s. The ’25’s is closer to the P3-P5 group, but we are missing something. To do everything just in one day is impossible, but I think we are taking the right steps and tomorrow we are hoping for another step. We need to make the rear a bit more stable and get a bit more grip and if we can do that, I think we’ll make a big step. We made some progress from the first to the last session in stability on the brakes. We are going in the right direction, we just need a bit more time, and hopefully tomorrow we’ll get the feeling we want and get the lap time we are after.”
MotoAmerica: Kelly Captures Supersport Pole Position At Laguna Seca
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
21_7_LAGUNA_SSP_Q2_res
21_7_LAGUNA_SSP_Q2_rescomb
MotoAmerica: How To Watch The Action At Laguna Seca
MotoAmerica: How To Watch Round Five GEICO Motorcycle Superbikes Speedfest at Monterey
It’s All Here: How To Not Miss A Bit Of The Action
Everything you need to know for round five of the 2021 MotoAmerica Series to keep you up to date with what’s happening in Monterey
MotoAmerica: Gagne Takes Superbike Pole Position At Laguna Seca
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
Editorial Note: By virtue of his 1:26.057 during Superbike Q2, HONOS HVMC Kawasaki rider Corey Alexander gets pole position for Sunday’s sole Stock 1000 race.
21_7_LAGUNA_SBK_Q2_res
21_7_LAGUNA_SBK_Q2_rescomb
MotoAmerica: Yates Tops Stock 1000 Q2 At Laguna Seca
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
Editorial Note: The top Stock 1000 competitors are riding in the Superbike sessions at Laguna Seca. As a result, the final Stock 1000 qualifying order will not be determined until after Superbike Q2.
21_7_LAGUNA_STK_Q2_res
MotoAmerica: Scott Breaks Lap Record, Takes Junior Cup Pole
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
Editorial Note: The previous Junior Cup all-time lap record was 1:36.607, which was set by Dominic Doyle in 2020.
21_7_LAGUNA_JRC_Q2_rescombMotoAmerica: DiBrino Takes Pole Position In RSD Super Hooligan
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
21_7_LAGUNA_HGN_Q1_res
Yoshimura SERT Motul Delivers Le Mans Trophy & Racebike To Suzuki
YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL LE MANS TROPHY & RACE BIKE PRESENTED TO SUZUKI
Yoshimura President Mr. Fujio Yoshimura and Mr. Yohei Kato, who is the Technical Director of Yoshimura Japan and Yoshimura SERT Motul Team Director, visited the Suzuki HQ in Hamamatsu this week to meet Mr. Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President of Suzuki Motor Corporation.
They celebrated the team’s spectacular win at the first round of the 2021 EWC series, the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans last month, by presenting the impressive 24H trophy and a Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki GSX-R1000R race bike. The trophy and the machine will be on display in the Suzuki Museum in Hamamatsu alongside an HB Suzuki GS1000R.
This was a flying visit for Yoshimura’s Yohei Kato who had to return to Europe to be with the team for the second round of the Endurance World Championship at Estoril in Portugal on the 17th of July.
Book Celebrating 100-Year History Of Moto Guzzi Released
PRESENTATION OF MOTO GUZZI 100 ANNI, A CELEBRATION OF THE LEGENDARY EAGLE BRAND IN A COLLECTOR’S VOLUME PUBLISHED BY RIZZOLI
100 YEARS OF HISTORY RECOUNTED BY 10 DISTINGUISHED INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITIES CELEBRATING THEIR PASSION FOR MOTO GUZZI
THE BIKES AND THE LOVE OF MOTORCYCLING, PORTRAYED DIRECTLY BY THE PROTAGONISTS AND ILLUSTRATED BY A SPLENDID SELECTION OF PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS
Moto Guzzi 100 Anni, a book published by Rizzoli Illustrati to celebrate the legendary eagle brand, one of the world’s most innovative, best-loved and well-known motorcycle constructors, in its centenary year, has been presented in Milan. The elegantly bound volume spans a century of history with contributions from ten distinguished international figures celebrating their devotion to Moto Guzzi. Illustrated with a wealth of previously unpublished images, the book is a collection of contributions from ten well-known figures with different backgrounds, personal histories and careers, who describe their passion for the impressive Italian motorbikes.
The result is a testimonial to the unique standing of Moto Guzzi, a brand that, one hundred years after its debut, continues to embody the values of its far-sighted founders. Since 1921, every single Moto Guzzi bike that has gone out on the world’s roads has been assembled by hand, with loving craftsmanship, in the factory in Mandello del Lario. This deep authenticity is the distinguishing characteristic of every Moto Guzzi motorcycle, and a value recognised and shared by the ten contributors from around the world: a famous actor, a writer, three journalists, an astronaut, a world-famous architect, a Harvard professor, a DJ, a great designer. From London to Hollywood, Tokyo to Sardinia, Vermont to Mandello del Lario. A thread binding individuals who love Moto Guzzi and what its motorbikes stand for, a passion that has created a common language among people from such distant places and with such different stories.
Coming ideally together to describe their love of motorbikes are writer Melissa Holbrook Pierson, actor Ewan McGregor, architect Greg Lynn, journalists Marco Masetti, Mat Oxley and Akira Nishimura, DJ Ringo, designer Tom Dixon, astronaut Paolo Nespoli and Harvard professor Jeffrey Schnapp, who also edited the book.
Moto Guzzi re-traces its first one hundred years with the words of these distinguished contributors, as it prepares for the next one hundred, backed by a success that has kept it young. A completely renewed range of motorcycles deploying state-of-the-art electronic riding technology and a host of projects in the pipeline are taking Moto Guzzi into a future that promises to be just as brilliant as its fantastic past.
The Moto Guzzi century is a moment of great pride for all Italian industry and the celebration marks a story that has always been lived looking ahead, with a capacity for innovation while keeping faith with the company’s talents and traditions. It has been a century of magnificent motorcycles, victories, adventures, extraordinary people. Moto Guzzi has scored triumphs on all the world racetracks, conquering 14 World Championship titles. It was the motorbike of the speed records, the symbol for the growth of a whole nation, the motorcycle of Italy’s police force and army, a vocation it extended to the international stage by equipping the Californian police department and, more recently, the police forces in Berlin and many other European cities. It has also always been the motorcycle of the Corazzieri, the elite guard of honour of the President of the Italian Republic. Moto Guzzi has accompanied Italy’s economic rise and social development, its motorbikes are part of popular culture and continue to inspire passion in thousands of bikers around the world today.
Moto Guzzi 100 Anni (224 pages) is already available in bookstores.
MotoAmerica: Medallia Sponsoring Laguna Seca Event
Medallia Comes On-Board For GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest At Monterey
Pioneering Experience Management Leader Now An Official Partner Of MotoAmerica’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Weekend, July 9-11
IRVINE, CA (July 9, 2021) – MotoAmerica, North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series, is excited to announce that Medallia Inc., the global leader in customer and employee experience, has come on-board as an official partner for the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey, round five of the 2021 MotoAmerica Series at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, July 9-11.
Medallia’s award-winning SaaS platform, the Medallia Experience Cloud, leads the market in the understanding and management of experience for customers, employees and citizens and residents. The Medallia platform captures billions of experience signals across interactions including all voice, video, digital, IoT, social media and corporate messaging tools. Medallia uses proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to automatically reveal predictive insights that drive powerful business actions and outcomes.
“With 15-plus global offices and over 1000 leading brands around the world in its portfolio, we are ecstatic to welcome Medallia as a partner for our championship round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “The list of companies that use Medallia is impressive, businesses such as Harley-Davidson, Honeywell, Omni Hotels, Ford Motor Company, H&R Block, Polaris and more. Having Medallia as an event partner of MotoAmerica shows that non-endemic partners can tap into the motorsports business-to-business customer journey.”
“Medallia sponsors dreamers, doers, achievers, and leaders,” said Medallia President and CEO Leslie Stretch. “We are thrilled to partner with MotoAmerica to tap into the raw excitement and explosive growth in motorsports in the United States. As sponsors, as technology partners, and as fans, we’re here to champion the champions.”
For more information on Medallia, visit https://www.medallia.com/about-us/
MotoAmerica: Gagne Tops Superbike Q1 At Laguna Seca (Updated)
This weekend’s results are brought to you by Blud Lubricants – Racing Is In Our Blud!!!
Blud Lubricants – Designed For Performance And Protection
21_7_LAGUNA_SBK_Q1_res
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Day One At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Belongs To Gagne
Jake Gagne Leads The Way Again In HONOS Superbike
MONTEREY, CA (July 9, 2021) – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha’s Jake Gagne had a normal Jake Gagne day on Friday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Go fast, earn provisional pole, get ready for tomorrow’s first of two HONOS Superbike races in the MotoAmerica GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey.
Gagne lapped at 1:24.371 in Qualifying 1 and that put him .338 of a second ahead of Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Loris Baz, the Frenchman turning his best lap of 1:24.709 after a low-side crash in the Corkscrew.
“We had a good day today,” Gagne said. “In the first session we took the bike off the truck, and it was actually one of the toughest first sessions we’ve had. I wasn’t too happy with the bike with just a couple of little tweaks, the electronics mostly. We managed to run both tires and I liked the green tire better. We made some changes in between sessions and made the bike feel a lot better right away in the second session. So, we went out and did a 13-or 14-lap run to get a good feel for the tires, and we had a really good run out here. Obviously, we are just trying to do the work for the race. We’re just seeing how these Dunlops are going to be in the second half of the race because that’s when we want to be strong.”
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen ended a sunny and warm afternoon on the Monterey Peninsula third fastest by virtue of his 1:24.831 on his 17th lap and that put the South African ahead of countryman Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholz by just .002 of a second. Scholtz suffered two crashes in the session.
Gagne’s teammate Josh Herrin completed the day in fifth place with his 1:25.139, which put him ahead of Scheibe Racing BMW’s Hector Barbera, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong and the returning Toni Elias on Kyle Wyman’s Panera Bread Ducati rounding out the top eight.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly topped his rival Richie Escalante, on the HONOS HVMC Racing Kawasaki, by just .130 of a second in Supersport Q1. North East Cycle Outlet Racing’s Benjamin Smith, CV28 Racing’s Cory Ventura and Altus Motorsports’ Kevin Olmedo rounded out the top five.
Scott Powersports/KTM’s Tyler Scott was the fastest of the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup races as he led his championship rival Ben Gloddy by 1.4 seconds. Max Van ended the day third fastest, 1.7 seconds behind Scott.
BPR Tuning’s Bryce Prince made his first day back in the MotoAmerica Series count as he led the way in Stock 1000 Q1, besting Ridge Motorsports Park/DiBrino Racing’s Andy DiBrino and Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates.
Mission Foods S&S Cycle Indian Challenger’s Tyler O’Hara and his 1:33.058 led the Mission King Of The Baggers Q1, besting H-D Screamin’ Eagle’s Travis Wyman, DTF Performance/Hoban Brothers Racing’s Michael Barnes and championship points leader Kyle Wyman and his H-D Screamin’ Eagle Road Glide.
Righteous Racing’s Jody Barry led Twins Cup Q1 over Robem Engineering teammates Toby Khamsouk and Kaleb De Keyrel.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America:
Ducati Stars Shining Bright in California Sunshine
Sunnyvale, Calif., July 9, 2021 – Loris Baz and Toni Elias put on a solid day’s riding for Ducati at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the European duo ending the day second and eighth fastest, respectively.
Baz’s fastest time put him just 0.338 seconds shy of pacesetter Jake Gagne on the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha. The Frenchman completed 32 laps across the day on the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York entry, impressing with his consistency as he outpaced Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen and Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz.
Elias put in a mammoth 42 laps across the first practice and qualifying sessions on the Panera Bread Ducati, ending the day 1.8 seconds off Gagne after nearly a year off from racing activity as he gets used to the storming Panera Bread Ducati in place of regular rider and team owner, Kyle Wyman.
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York – Ducati #76)
“It’s always nice to be back in Laguna,” Baz said. “This place is always crazy. You always feel like you need to learn the track again, even if you know it. It’s so cool to ride here. I feel ok. We were P2 in both sessions but the grip of the track is not super high so we made some changes, but I think we went in the wrong direction for Q1. I had a small off in the Corkscrew, so a massive thanks to the team because it was lap one and they managed to put the bike back together for me to finish the session. I’m not super happy with the pace but I think there’s some improvement to be had for tomorrow. I’m happy to ride the Ducati here, it’s an amazing place and the weather is much nicer than the last race, so we’ll go for it tomorrow.”
Toni Elias (Panera Bread Ducati – Ducati #24)
“I’m really happy to have the sensations of riding a racing bike again,” Elias said. “To feel the power, the brakes, the up and downs and roller-coaster of Laguna, it’s been amazing. We worked very hard from first practice to the first qualifying. I felt comfortable with the position of the bike since the beginning, but then I struggled a little bit with the geometry of the bike. In the afternoon, following the changes, I felt much better. My lap time improved all day, but maybe I need a rider in front to help me jump into the 1:25’s. The ’25’s is closer to the P3-P5 group, but we are missing something. To do everything just in one day is impossible, but I think we are taking the right steps and tomorrow we are hoping for another step. We need to make the rear a bit more stable and get a bit more grip and if we can do that, I think we’ll make a big step. We made some progress from the first to the last session in stability on the brakes. We are going in the right direction, we just need a bit more time, and hopefully tomorrow we’ll get the feeling we want and get the lap time we are after.”