If the first qualifying session of the weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is any indication, it seems as though Cameron Beaubier and Bobby Fong smell blood in the water.

Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Beaubier and Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Fong started the weekend first and second in Q1, the pair separated by just .121 of a second, and half a second faster than Fong’s teammate Jake Gagne.

Fong has the hot hand with four-straight MotoAmerica Superbike wins coming into this weekend’s seventh round. He trails Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s defending class champion Josh Herrin by five points after Herrin’s race-two crash at VIRginia International Raceway two weeks ago.

Beaubier’s title hopes were also bolstered by Herrin’s miscue, and the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion is back in the hunt, 16 points behind Herrin and his Ducati.

Beaubier’s best of 1:24.176 on Friday was .537 of a second off Ben Spies’ Mid-Ohio lap record of 1:23.639, which was set by the Texan and his factory Yoshimura Suzuki in 2008.

With Beaubier, Fong, and Gagne making up the provisional front row, the second row was led by Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim, with the Kentuckian .717 of a second off Beaubier’s best. Those four were the only riders to crack the 1:25 barrier with their 1:24s.

Herrin ended the day fifth-fastest and .943 of a second slower than Beaubier’s quick lap. The championship points leader and defending champion was .728 of a second faster than Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly.

Kelly’s teammate Richie Escalante was seventh, with Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates, BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau, and FLO4LAW/SBU Racing’s Benjamin Smith rounding out the top 10 qualifiers on a sunny Friday in Ohio.

Motovation Supersport – Jacobsen, Barely

As has become the norm, Motovation Supersport Q1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was a Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL’s PJ Jacobsen/Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz battle with Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Ducati’s Cameron Petersen keeping watch from close range.

When the 30-minute session was complete, it was Jacobsen on top with his 1:27.032, which was .202 of a second better than his rival and championship points leader Scholtz. Petersen was .634 of a second behind Jacobsen to complete the provisional front row heading into tomorrow morning’s Q2. The top three were the only riders to lap in the 1:27s.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott was fourth, a tick over a second adrift of Jacobsen and just .107 of a second ahead of Scholtz’s teammate Blake Davis, with Rahal Ducati Moto w/Roller Die’s Corey Alexander completing the provisional second row.

Vision Wheel M4 Suzuki’s Max Van, Team Hammer’s ageless Larry Pegram, Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL’s Kayla Yaakov, and the returning-to-racing Brandon Paasch, on the 3D Motorsports Suzuki, rounded out the top 10.

Super Hooligan National Championship – First Blood To Rispoli

Twenty-two points separate the top three in the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship going into this weekend’s final two races, with Cory West leading Jake Lewis by 16 points and James Rispoli by 22.

Of the three, it was Rispoli drawing first blood in Friday afternoon’s Q1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with the KWR Harley-Davidson-backed Floridian taking the top spot with his 1:29.575, which was almost a half-second faster than the next quickest rider.

The rider in second wasn’t West, and it wasn’t Lewis. It was Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle who came closest to Rispoli with his 1:30.060.

Then came the first of the Saddlemen Race Development riders with an almost-back-to-fitness Jake Lewis third-fastest and .521 of a second off Rispoli’s best. His time was just .051 of a second better than his championship-leading teammate West. The third of the Saddlemen Race Development Harley-Davidson Pan America’s rounded out the top five in the capable hands of Travis Wyman.

Stock 1000 – Hondas A Go-Go

Back in the day, the annual AMA Superbike races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course were always sponsored by Honda. Real Steel Honda’s JD Beach and Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates showed that red is alive and well in Ohio with a resounding one-two in Friday’s Q1 on their Honda CBR1000RR-R SPs.

Beach, hot off his two wins at VIR two weeks ago, led Q1 with his 1:26.078, just .379 of a second ahead of Yates. OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe was the first non-Honda in third on his BMW M 1000 RR.

BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau ended up fourth-fastest, .796 of a second slower than Beach’s best and .013 of a second ahead of championship points leader Andrew Lee and his OrangeCat Racing BMW.

Edge Racing’s Jason Waters, Castrol/Lamkin Racing’s Nolan Lamkin, RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers, BPR Racing’s Deion Campbell, and The Bike Experience USA’s Eziah Davis rounded out the top 10.

Taylor Knapp ended up 11th in his first-ever outing on the PS2 Racing Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory.

Mission King Of The Baggers – Gillim The Untouchable

RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim put the Mission King Of The Baggers class on notice. He ain’t messin’ around.

Still hurting from his two mechanical DNFs while leading the two Bagger races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Gillim seems hellbent on taking it out on his competition at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. At least thus far.

Gillim led Friday’s Q2 session with his lap of 1:28.019, which was .621 of a second clear of his young teammate Rocco Landers.

Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s James Rispoli was third-fastest with his 1:28.722, just .286 of a second ahead of defending class champion Troy Herfoss and his S&S/Indian Motorcycle Indian Challenger.

Q1 was stopped when Bradley Smith had a big crash on his Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing Road Glide with some five minutes to go in the session. A shaken Smith walked away and still ended the session fifth-fastest, .274 of a second ahead of his teammate and runaway championship leader Kyle Wyman.

More, from a news release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:

Spirits are high for Rahal Ducati Moto as the team kicked off its home race weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with strong performances across the board, including a new Supersport lap record.

PJ Jacobsen set the tone early, topping both Friday sessions on the No. 15 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2. After going quickest in practice, Jacobsen stormed to provisional pole in Qualifying 1 with a 1:27.032 lap—breaking the previous lap record. Confident and focused, Jacobsen will look to push the pace even further in Saturday’s final qualifying.

Corey Alexander delivered a solid start aboard the No. 23 Roller Die + Forming Panigale V2, going ninth in practice before improving to sixth in Q1 with a 1:28.260. His pace and consistency are trending upward as he aims to climb further up the grid for Race 1.

Kayla Yaakov impressed in the morning session, taking fourth in practice on the No. 19 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2. A setup change before qualifying left her ninth on the timesheets, but the crew is confident in overnight adjustments to bring her back into contention for a top-five grid spot.

With a strong opening day in front of the home crowd, Rahal Ducati Moto carries momentum into Saturday’s sessions. The fight for pole positions and podiums at Mid-Ohio kicks off tomorrow.

Qualifying 2 begins at 9:05 am EST, and the green flag waves to begin Race 1 at 2:10 pm.

PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2

PRACTICE: P1 (1:28:575)
QUALIFYING 1: P1 (1:27.032) *New Lap Record

WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today was a good day. I feel pretty confident on the bike, and a new lap record. I wish I was at a 1:26 lap time, but we will see if the pace will be faster in the morning or not. The team is working really hard, and we’re continuing to push forward.”

COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING PANIGALE V2

PRACTICE: P9 (1:30.189)
QUALIFYING 1: P6 (1:28.260)

WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today was a great start to the weekend. It feels a bit like we are back to our normal form on the bike. We are working to be a bit more consistent with our pace and hope to keep moving in the right direction. Let’s see how tomorrow goes!”

KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2

PRACTICE: P4 (1:29.299)
QUALIFYING 1: P9 (1:28.658)

WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Our day started out really good. We were sitting in fourth in FP1, and the bike was feeling great going into qualifying. We made a bit of a change that ended up hurting us in another area of our setup, so we are going to reset tomorrow. We’re hoping to continue in the direction we started in and be at the front of the grid. A top five would be absolutely amazing. I’m still feeling confident on the bike, and I feel like we have the pace to have a good weekend once we finalize our setup.”

BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL

WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a pretty good Friday for the Rahal Ducati Moto team. PJ got provisional pole, but he’ll have to keep that spot for tomorrow’s qualifying session. Corey had a strong P6 finish, and Kayla ended up P9. Their times are not too far off. We need to find about a half a second, which could put her up to fifth place. All-in-all, it was a pretty good day. We’ll try to make some changes, go quicker tomorrow, and have a good race with all three riders.”