KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Bobby Fong topped the tight MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Qualifying One session Friday afternoon at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1 on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, Fong navigated the 2.5-mile course in 1:31.162 to lead the field and claim provisional pole position.
Cameron Petersen suffered a technical problem with his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha during the session, but he was able to get back out and record a second-fastest 1:31.564.
Loris Baz earned the third and final spot on the provisional front row with a lap of 1:31.628 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Baz’s teammate Josh Herrin finished the session fourth with a best time of 1:31.837.
Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly was fifth with a 1:31.839 on his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Jake Gagne, Petersen’s teammate and the three-time and defending Champion, did a sixth-quickest 1:31.867.
Brandon Paasch was seventh with a 1:31.996 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
JD Beach did a 1:32.158, just 0.996 second slower than Fong, to rank eighth on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW.
Paasch’s teammate Xavi Fores crashed fairly early in Q1 and did not return to action, but the Spaniard’s lap time of 1:32.461 held up for ninth.
Troy Herfoss, the Australian Superbike champion riding in place of injured Cameron Beaubier, recorded a 1:32.858 and ended up 10th.
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
It’s Fast Fong Friday At Brainerd International Raceway
Bobby Fong Leads The Steel Commander Superbike Pack In Q1 In Minnesota
BRAINERD, MN (June 14, 2024) – And just like that, Bobby Fong is on top of the Steel Commander Superbike pack on Friday at Brainerd International Raceway as the Wrench Motorcycles-backed Californian continued to enjoy his best season of Superbike racing since 2020 with his first provisional pole of 2024.
Fong was fast this morning and fast again this afternoon as he ripped off a 1:31.162 to lead the way in Q1.
“Honestly, it’s this team, these guys have been making me look good,” Fong said. “We don’t like to get our hopes up too much. It’s still early in the weekend and overnight these guys are gonna do some work and hopefully we stay consistent, and we improve over night, too.”
Fong ended up .402 of a second quicker than Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen and .466 of a second faster than Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz.
Baz’s teammate Josh Herrin was fourth fastest and .675 of a second slower than Fong and just .002 of a second faster than EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly.
Petersen’s factory Yamaha teammate Jake Gagne ended up sixth fastest with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch seventh and the last rider in the 1:31s.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach was eighth and still within a second of Fong’s best. Paasch’s teammate Xavi Forés was ninth, despite crashing on his fourth lap which cost him the rest of the session.
Beach’s temporary teammate Troy Herfoss rounded out the top 10 Q1 qualifiers on his first day at Brainerd, his first day on the BMW M1000 RR and his first day in the Steel Commander Superbike series. The three-time Australian Superbike Champion is riding for the team while Cameron Beaubier recovers from the broken heel suffered at the last round at Road America.
Supersport – Jacobsen, Scholtz, Scott
Three men have won Supersport races heading into the fourth round of the championship: PJ Jacobsen, Mathew Scholtz and Tyler Scott. And it was those three at the top of Q1 on Friday at Brainerd International Raceway.
Rahal Ducati Moto’s Jacobsen earned provisional pole position after holding off Strack Racing’s Scholtz and Vison Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Scott with the three just a tick over half-a-second apart.
Jacobsen lapped at 1:33.588 to lead Scholtz by .318 of a second and Scott by .511 of a second. Jacobsen did his best lap late in the session on his 15th go-around. Sean Dylan Kelly’s lap record of 1.32.720 from his 2021 championship season.
Scott’s teammate Teagg Hobbs led the second row, provisionally, with his 1:34.209. Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis was fifth fastest on his Suzuki GSX-R750.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Landers Fast
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers showed up at one of his favorite racetracks on a mission. He was fast from the get-go, leading both sessions on Friday, including the afternoon’s Q1 session, and ending it with provisional pole and a new lap record of 1:35.804 on his Suzuki GSX-8R.
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering teammates Gus Rodio and Alessandro Di Mario were second and third fastest on their Aprilia RS 660s, .608 and .833 of a second slower than Landers, respectively.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor ended the day fourth fastest and a tick over a second off Landers’ pace. EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Avery Dreher was fifth.
Stock 1000- Hayden Rolls On
Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim continued to have the hot hand as he rode his Honda CBR1000RR-R SP to provisional pole while also breaking the Stock 1000 lap record at BIR on Friday.
Gillim’s lap of 1:31.779 put him 1.256 seconds clear of FLOLAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith, who in turn was .2 of a second ahead of BPR Racing’s Bryce Prince.
OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe was fourth fastest and just ahead of Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates.
Gillim will be trying to repeat his performance from a season ago at Brainerd International Raceway when he won both of the Stock 1000 races.
Junior Cup – Chapin Stays Hot
Junior Cup Championship points leader Mathew Chapin continued to make it known that he’s the young racer to beat in 2024 as he earned provisional pole at BIR.
BARTCON Racing’s Chapin lapped at 1:43.809, the only rider to crack into the 1:43s, and it put him .308 of a second ahead of Karns Performance’s Levi Badie and Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez.
Wolfe Racing’s Ryan Wolfe and Bad Boys Racing’s defending series champion Avery Dreher rounded out the top five heading into tomorrow’s Q2 session.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Gillim!
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim continues his June of Jubilation by earning provisional pole position for the two Mission King Of The Baggers races at Brainerd International Raceway.
With two Stock 1000 wins to open defense of his championship in that class at Road America, and his recent victory in the Loudon Classic, Gillim seems primed to turn things around after a not-so-good Road America round on the Bagger.
“It’s going really good,” Hayden said. “I’m happy to be up front. We’ve been struggling a little bit this year but we’re getting there and slowly chipping away. The guys are working their butts off. They gave me a great bike today and I love this track. I’m having fun and that’s the main thing.”
Gillim’s 1:34.747 was a new lap record for the class, and it put him .328 of a second ahead of S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Tyler O’Hara with Kyle Wyman a little over half a second off Gillim’s pace on his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide.
Gillim’s rookie teammate Rocco Landers had his best effort to date on the Harley to qualify fourth, provisionally. Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s James Rispoli rounded out the top five.
More, from a press release issued by Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati:
The Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati duo Loris Baz and Josh Herring are in the top four after a competitive first day in Minnesota
Sunnyvale, Calif., June 14, 2024 — Under perfect blue midwestern skies, Loris Baz and Josh Herrin did the Ducatisti proud by placing their Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R machines in the top four after Qualifying 1 for round four of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota.
Coming off a strong round three at Road America in which both riders took podium places, including a dominant win for Herrin in race two, the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team is full of confidence, and it showed with Baz leading the charge. Baz completed a mammoth 37 laps of the 2.5-mile venue over both Free Practice 1 and Qualifying 1 and clocked a 1:31.628 lap time to end up third overall behind leader Bobby Fong.
Herrin was right on his tail in fourth after the first qualifying session, the Georgian completing 22 laps of Brainerd with his best lap standing at 1:31.837.
Attention now turns to the all-important second qualifying session, which will determine the grid for the two 18-lap races where Herrin and Baz are confident of continuing their podium streaks.
2024 Brainerd Superbike Qualifying 1 Results – Top 5
P1 – Bobby Fong 1:31.162
P2 – Cameron Petersen 1:31.564
P3 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 1:31.628
P4 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 1:31.837
P5 – Sean Dylan Kelly 1:31.839
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“The boys have been doing a great job,” Baz said. “FP1 is the key in this championship. We don’t have a lot of time to change the bike between FP1 and Qualifying 1, so if you’re somewhat in the right set-up with the bike, that allows you a bit more time to try the tires, try different suspension set-ups, and put a lot of laps down. That’s what I did today. It’s the first time this season that I’ve had a lot of laps in FP1, and I feel confident on the bike. I’m trying different lines, slowly pushing the limits, and getting more and more confident. In Qualifying 1, we had some new tires on the bike, and it took me a couple of laps to find the rhythm, but overall, I’m really happy. It’s the best start we’ve had all season.”
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“It was a really good day here at Brainerd for the Warhorse team,” Herrin said. “Loris got third and I’m fourth, so we’re in a good position, although we’d always love to be first and second. This track is good for us in the races, but the risk-to-reward ratio is a little off in practice and qualifying. I’m riding hard but saving a bit for the race. I’m happy to be where we’re at right now. We’ll go back into the truck and look for improvements, but I’m not down on the day whatsoever. It’s a good start, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”
Herrin and Baz will both be out on track at 10:15 a.m. CDT on Saturday, June 15, vying for the Brainerd pole position.
Superbike racing action commences with race one at 3:10 p.m. CDT on Saturday, with race two scheduled for Sunday, June 16, at 3:10 p.m. CDT.
