Peter Hickman threw down the gauntlet in Friday evening’s qualifying session at the Isle of Man TT Races with the Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing rider setting the fastest lap of the week on his Superstock machine with a speed of 134.638mph.
Hickman also topped the Superbike session at 132.863mph whilst it was Davey Todd (Powertoolmate Ducati) who was quickest in the Supersport class at 127.062mph. In the Supertwins, Michael Dunlop (121.882mph) was fastest on his MD Racing Paton with the Crowes (115.682mph) again quickest in the Sidecars ahead of the first three-wheel race tomorrow.
The Superbikes/Superstocks were back at the start of the schedule with Honda Racing UK’s Dean Harrison again leading the field away at 6.30pm with Jamie Coward, Peter Hickman, Ian Hutchinson, James Hillier, Josh Brookes, Davey Todd, David Johnson and Michael Dunlop hot on his heels. Hickman, Coward, Todd, Hutchinson, Johnson and Hillier were all on their Superstock machines.
Brookes was again registering more than 205mph through the Sulby speed trap and although team-mate Hickman overshot Signpost – when on for a 133mph lap – he still registered a speed of 130.859mph. That misdemeanour though meant Todd (132.976mph) topped the early Superstock leaderboard from Hickman, Hillier (130.048mph), Coward (129.703mph) and Johnson (128.261mph) whilst local rider Ryan Cringle (126.949mph) was also going well after setting his quickest ever lap.
Hickman strung it altogether on his second lap though, posting a superb speed of 134.638mph for the quickest lap of the week. Dunlop lapped at 132.674mph on his first lap on the Superstock machine to go third quickest with Coward putting in a late lap of 130.024mph to slot into fifth.
Good laps were coming in throughout the field including Michael Evans (127.157mph), Cringle, who improved to 127.034mph, Matt Stevenson (126.076mph) and Frenchman Amalric Blanc (125.791mph).
Meanwhile, Harrison (132.696mph) was quickest in the Superbike class after the opening lap followed by Dunlop (132.399mph), Brookes (131.071mph), John McGuinness MBE (129.067mph) and Dominic Herbertson (128.785mph) whilst Erno Kostamo increased his speed to 123.030mph.
Harrison was slower on his second lap, however McGuinness upped his speed to 130.745mph for his quickest lap of the week. Fellow 52-year old Michael Rutter was also enjoying his evening around the Mountain Course at 128.636mph – his quickest of 2024 after a troublesome few days with the Bathams Ales BMW.
However, Hickman went out late in the session and ultimately ended up top of the leaderboard at 132.863mph. David Johnson (130.120mph) was another upping his pace on the Platinum Club Racing Kawasaki.
At 7.20pm, the Supersport/Supertwin class got their final session underway with Todd first to complete the lap at 127.062mph with Evans (125.358mph), on the Smith Racing Triumph, and James Hind (125.030mph) next to follow him across the line. The latter went quicker, 125.833mph, next time around whilst Harrison (124.940mph) and Hickman (124.554mpg) weren’t too far behind in fourth and fifth as Croatian newcomer Loris Majcan upped his speed to 115.831mph.
Rutter (116.876mph) was quickest initially in the Supertwin class before fellow Yamaha rider Paul Jordan (Rev2Race) knocked him off the top spot with a speed of 117.012mph. Coward took over at the top of the leaderboard after lapping at 120.378mph on the KTS Racing powered by Steadplan Kawasaki but he didn’t stay there as Dunlop (121.399mph) took over before heading out for another lap.
On that second lap, he proved he’s the man to beat in the class with a speed of 121.882mph and it was Coward who ended the night in second overall followed by Hickman (119.271mph), Todd (118.656mph), Rob Hodson (118.454mph) – none the worse for his earlier spill at Whitegates – and Mike Browne (117.963).
The Sidecars then took to the Mountain Course for their final session, which proved to be just a single lap due to low cloud descending over the mountain section. In the end the Crowes came out top from Founds/Walmsley (115.046), Founds/Gibbons (114.605), Gibson/Christie (112.310), Ellis/Clement (111.183) and Reeves/Wilkes (110.548) as many crews took the opportunity to run in engines and bed in brake pads and chains.
Mikayla Moore dominated MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Qualifying One Friday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 on Dunlop control tires, the 20-year-old defending Champion turned a 2:51.642. Not only was that 7.7 seconds faster than anyone else in the 13-rider field it was also good enough to beat Moore’s own All-Time Lap Record of 2:53.880 by more than two seconds.
The next four riders, however, were separated by less than 0.3 second – Cassie Creer 2:59.345 (second), Emma Betters 2:59.414 (third), Camille Conrad 2:59.439 (fourth), and Aubrey Credaroli 2:59.626 (fifth).
Kyle Wyman was quickest in MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Qualifying One, earning provisional pole position Friday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman navigated the 14-turn, 4.0-mile course in 2:19.135, which eclipsed the new All-Time Lap Record of 2:19.227 he set earlier in the day Friday.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss was second-best with a 2:19.285 on his S&S Indian Challenger.
Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara claimed the third and final spot on the provisional front row with a lap time of 2:19.864.
Avery Dreher topped MotoAmerica Junior Cup Qualifying One Friday afternoon at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, the defending Champion did a lap time of 2:40.967 to lead the field of 22 riders.
BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin was second-best with a 2:41.119 lap time, and current point leader Yandel Medina was third with a 2:41.384 on his New York Safety Track Racing Kawasaki.
Cameron Beaubier dominated MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Qualifying One (Q1) Friday afternoon at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Late in the session, five-time Champion Beaubier put his head down on his Dunlop-shod Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR and ripped off a 2:09.764 – 1.2 seconds faster than anyone else in the field.
Josh Herrin was second-best with a 2:11.006 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Bobby Fong claimed the third and final spot on the provisional front row with his 2:11.210.
Fong’s late fast lap bumped Xavi Fores off the provisional front row, but the Spaniard’s 2:11.364 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R put him fourth in the field.
Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly was fifth with a 2:11.495 on his TopPro Racing BMW.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz finished the session in sixth with a 2:11.659.
Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach was seventh at 2:11.750.
Fores’ teammate Brandon Paasch did a 2:11.831, which was eighth-quickest.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen (2:11.920) and Jake Gagne (2:11.968) rounded out the top 10 in a session that saw 2nd to 10th covered by less than one second.
Beaubier, Herrin, Fong In Superbike Q1 At Road America
Cameron Beaubier Tops Josh Herrin And Bobby Fong On Opening Day In Wisconsin
Cameron Beaubier (6). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
ELKHART LAKE, WI (May 31, 2024) – Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier followed up his two wins at Barber Motorsports Park two weeks ago by earning provisional pole position for the two Steel Commander Superbike races at Road America on a sunny Friday afternoon.
Beaubier and Herrin played catch with the top spot for some of the session with Beaubier leading first, Herrin taking over for a short period before Beaubier nabbed it for good with his 2:09.764 coming on his 12th lap of the four-mile Road America. After that, no one would get within a second of the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion.
Beaubier’s lap ended up being 1.2 seconds quicker than Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Herrin, who in turn was just .204 ahead of Wrench Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong with Fong rounding out the provisional pole position.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Xavi Forés had his best session since taking over the injured Richie Escalante’s Suzuki GSX-R1000 R. Forés was just .131 of a second ahead of TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz ended the day sixth fastest on his Panigale V4 R and just.091 of a second clear of Beaubier’s Tytlers Cycle Racing teammate JD Beach.
Brandon Paasch ended up eighth on the second Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
It wasn’t a good day Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen and defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne with the pair ending up ninth and 10th, respectively. Petersen’s Q1 session ended prematurely with a mechanical failure ending his day.
“The Tytlers BMW is working really good around here,” Beaubier said. “We’ve got some power and it’s so nice to use it at this track. It’s a pretty special place for me. I’ve had a lot of wins here and I really enjoy this place. Not just the track, but everything around it and the crowds that come out. We are enjoying ourselves this weekend aand we just have to keep our heads down. I know everyone is coming. It was a really good day today and we move on to tomorrow.”
Supersport – Mesa Quick
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa hasn’t had the start to his 2024 Supersport season that he would have liked. At Road America he was hoping to turn that around and he began with leading the way in Q1.
Mesa and his Kawasaki ZX6-R led the way on opening day with his 2:17.226, which was .320 of a second faster that TopPro Racing’s Maxi Gerardo, the pole sitter from the Barber Motorsports Park round a few weeks earlier.
Third on Friday afternoon went to Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing’s Roberto Tamburini with the Italian .410 of a second slower than Mesa.
The top eight riders were within a second of Mesa. Championship points leader PJ Jacobsen and his Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2 was ninth with his early season championship rival Mathew Scholtz fifth in Q1 on the Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Di Mario Keeps It Going
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Alessandro Di Mario won his first BellissiMoto Twins Cup race at Barber Motorsports Park a few weeks ago to emerge as a potential class champion. On Friday at Road America Di Mario kept the momentum gained at Barber to earn provisional pole position with his 2:24.625, a new Road America lap record for the class.
Di Mario was chased to the finish by RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers and Di Mario’s championship points leading teammate Gus Rodio. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor and Koch Racing’s Sean Ungvarsky rounded out the top five.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Wyman’s Record Breaker
Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman broke the Mission King Of The Baggers lap record at Road America on Friday with the New Yorker lapping at 1:19.135 – .724 of a second faster than Bobby Fong’s lap record from a year ago in race two.
Wyman topped championship points leader Troy Herfoss with the Australian and his S&S/Indian Motorcycles-backed Challenger by just .150 of a second.
Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara ended the day third quickest and the last rider to lap in the 2:19s. Defending series champion Hayden Gillim ended up fourth on the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Guess Who?
Mikayla Moore does what Mikayla Moore does and that usually means doom and gloom the rest of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. women. Today was no different.
Moore led Q1 at Road America on Friday, with her 2:51.642 besting Cassie Creer by 7.7 seconds. Emma Betters rounded out the provisional front row heading into tomorrow’s Q2 session and race one.
Although Moore had things in hand at the front, just .281 of a second separated Creer from fifth-placed Aubrey Credaroli.
Junior Cup – Dreher Rebounds
Defending MotoAmerica Junior Cup Champion Avery Dreher hasn’t had a great start to his 2024 season, but things got a lot better for the Bad Boys Racing-backed Floridan in Q1 at Road America.
Dreher led the way with his 2:40.967, but as always it was close at the top. BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin ended up second, just .152 of a second off Dreher’s best.
Championship points leader Yandel Medina completed the provisional front row, and he was only .265 of a second from pole.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin and Loris Baz inside the top six at Road America
Sunnyvale, Calif., May 31, 2024 — The iconic Road America in Wisconsin is playing host to the third round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, and it was a good first day for Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin and Loris Baz, both finishing the day one inside the top six.
Under perfect Wisconsin blue skies, Josh Herrin led the charge for Ducati, circulating sixteen times around the 4.05-mile venue that’s both the longest and fastest on the MotoAmerica calendar.
Herrin clocked a best lap of 2:11.006 to finish the day in second place behind Cameron Beaubier, while teammate Loris Baz’s best time of 2:11.659 came after a massive 27 laps across the day.
That put Baz in sixth at the end of the day’s play. Both he and Herrin are confident of closing the gap to Beaubier in race one tomorrow afternoon.
2024 Road America Superbike Qualifying 1 Results – Top 5
P1 – Cameron Beaubier 2:09.764
P2 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 2:11.006
P3 – Bobby Fong 2:11.210
P4 – Xavi Fores 2:11.364
P5 – Sean Dylan Kelly 2:11.495
P6 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 1:23.323
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“The guys did a big change from FP1 for the first qualifying session and it was definitely in the right direction,” Baz said. “That change improved the bike, but we’re still searching for the one-lap pace that will get us on the first two rows for the races. We need to find some more feeling from the front end, but we’ll get there and be ready to race.”
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“The team did a lot of work between sessions, and I’m happy we were able to get second place today,” Herrin said. “We’ve got a bit of work to do tonight. We’ll be analyzing all the data tonight and try to make another step forward like we did between FP1 and Qualifying 1. We know we can be in the battle for the win, so that’s the goal.”
Day two of round three of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will commence on Saturday, June 1, at 8:00 a.m. CDT. Herrin and Baz will take to the track for the all-important second qualifying session at 10:45 a.m. CDT.
Race one for the Superbike category kicks off at 3:10 p.m. CDT on Saturday, June 1, with race two scheduled for 3:10 p.m. CDT on Sunday, June 2.
Alessandro Di Mario topped MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup Qualifying One (Q1) Friday afternoon at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 on Dunlop control tires, the 15-year-old did a 2:24.625, which crushed the new All-Time Lap Record of 2:26.277 set by Rocco Landers Friday morning.
Landers finished second in the session with a time of 2:25.330 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio was third-fastest with a 2:25.514.
Rossi Moor did the fourth-best lap time, a 2:25.827, on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R.
Sean Ungvarsky rounded out the top five riders with a 2:28.099 on his Koch Racing Yamaha YZF-R7.
The session was interrupted by a red flag, which was brought out by a two-rider crash involving Kevin Olmedo and Sonya Lloyd in Turn Five. Both riders eventually walked away from the scene.
Bagnaia pulls the pin to head Rins, Acosta and Oliveira, with four factories in the top four on Friday
Pecco quickest but penalised, Marc Marquez goes through to Q2, Martin ends Friday in seventh and Quartararo JUST misses the cut as Practice in Mugello delivers plenty to talk about
Friday, 31 May 2024
After an intense hour of Practice at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, the important Q2 spots have been decided and it’s reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) returning to the top. He stamped some authority on the field at the end of Friday to set a magnificent 1:44.938 and pull quarter of a second clear. However, he was also then given a three-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix race on Sunday for an incident with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), deemed to have been slow on line and disturbed the #73. Watch the incident below!
Meanwhile, the chasing pack is led by Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) in second as Yamaha continued to make a statement of intent to fight further forward this weekend. Rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) made a brilliant recovery after a crash at Turn 13 to complete the top three, and the #31 also had a tip off in the morning but no harm done to rider nor pace.
Alex Rins (42). Photo courtesy Dorna.
There was drama throughout the session and some after. Acosta’s crash forced the #31 to get a lift back to the paddock for his spare bike, and the Bagnaia decision was confirmed in the evening. The end of Practice was a frantic rush to the top too, deposing the leader before the final few minutes, which had been Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).
Bagnaia became the first rider of the weekend to enter the 1:44 bracket as a handful of riders tried to find time in the closing minutes, but nobody was able to match the #1’s third sector. Rins shot back up to second though, and Acosta’s damage limitation was even more than that as he takes P3.
Pedro Acosta (31). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Further back in fourth after a brilliant end to Friday’s proceedings was Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing), who improved late in the session to make it four different bikes in the top four as he repped for Aprilia.
After dramas on the last couple of Fridays, meanwhile, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) had none at Mugello and will have direct entry to Q2 for the first time since the Spanish GP. Has he solved the one-lap puzzle?
After a tough start to the day, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) found pace with a new soft rear tyre to jump to sixth on the timesheets. Bastianini ended what was a good day for the factory Ducati team and finished ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), with the Championship leader having a slightly more muted day on the timesheets.
Alex Marquez, despite that incident with Bagnaia, also claimed his first direct entry to Q2 since the Spanish GP – taking P8 and capping off an excellent Friday for Gresini. Behind the #73 was Viñales, who dropped down to ninth ahead of Aprilia Racing teammate Aleix Espargaro, who took the final spot inside the vital top 10 for Saturday’s qualifying.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team’s Fabio Quartararo missed out by just 0.019 as teammate Rins moves through, and he’ll battle the likes of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder and Jack Miller, as well as Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team duo Marco Bezzecchi and last year’s polesitter Fabio Di Giannantonio.
They’ll now reset and recharge for super Saturday, and we know it really will be. Join us then for more from Mugello!
FP2: 10:10 (UTC +2)
Q1: 10:50
Q2: 11.15
Tissot Sprint: 15:00
Bagnaia given three-place grid penalty for Sunday
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) put in a statement laptime to pull clear at the top in Practice at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, but the reigning Champion was also involved in an incident with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) in the session.
The FIM MotoGP™ Stewards investigated and deemed Bagnaia was slow on the line and disturbed the Gresini rider, giving the reigning Champion a three-place grid penalty.
The penalty only applies to the Grand Prix race, not the Tissot Sprint, but it means Bagnaia can’t start any further forward on Sunday than fourth on the grid as he looks to take his third Italian GP win in a row.
Check out the video of the incident and then tune in to qualifying from 10:50 (UTC +2) on Saturday to see where Bagnaia will start on home turf at Mugello.
Somkiat Chantra (35). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Chantra, Roberts, Aldeguer and Lopez covered by less than a tenth
Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) ends Friday fastest at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo with a 1:50.841, but it was tight at the top with Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) a mere 0.011s behind and MB Conveyors SpeedUp duo Fermin Aldeguer and Alonso Lopez still within a tenth.
Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) and Roberts duelled for the top spot throughout the opening stage of the session before Chantra began to improve, the Thai rider then just able to deny both. Garcia got leapfrogged by more riders too, shuffled down to P8 by the end of play as Aron Canet (Fantic Racing), RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP’s Barry Baltus and Filip Salac (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) took fifth to seventh, respectively.
Barcelona winner Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) will want more than P12 when action continues on Saturday, and Catalan GP podium finisher Jake Dixon (CFMoto Inde Aspar Team) is looking for a big move up from P25. Check out the full results below and come back for more at 9:25 local time (UTC+2) for Practice 2 before qualifying at 13:45 local time.
David Alonso (80). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Alonso throws down the gauntlet, Veijer gives chase
CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team’s David Alonso is the benchmark to beat once again on Friday at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, over half a second clear of Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP). Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) was third quickest as his quietly impressive 2024 continues, and the Japanese rider was the final competitor within seven tenths of the top.
Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is next on the chase as the timesheets tighten up, with hundredths and thousandths measuring the gaps throughout the rest of the top ten and beyond. Rookie Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) impressed once again in fifth as he comes into Mugello off the back of his best finish yet, with Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) forced to settle for sixth by only 0.017.
One to watch as the lightweight class head back out for P2 will be Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), who is second in the Championship but ended P1 in 17th. Moto3™ head back out in the morning for P2 before qualifying at 12:50 (UTC +2), so check out the full results via the link below and come back for more on Saturday!
The sun came out in Mugello for Qualifying and gave Alvaro Carpe that extra boost to head the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup timing screen. The Spaniard is not 17 until next Wednesday but showed plenty of experience as he made the best use of the slipstream and his KTM to be the only rider under 2 minutes for the 5.245km circuit.
Finnish 16-year-old Rico Salmela was just 0.394 seconds slower and 0.040 better than Cup leader Màximo Quiles, the 16-year-old Spaniard.
Carpe P1, Salmela P2, Quiles P3
Carpe wants to keep going
“So far I have a perfect weekend, P1, P1, P1. It’s my first pole position ever, my feeling with the KTM was incredible, just a little chatter but very good. The Pirelli tyres were working very good, I like the track so much, all the fast corners, the hard braking.”
“I hope I can continue the perfect weekend tomorrow.”
“I was running behind the group, I would drop back about 2 seconds then catch them in the last sector because the slipstream there is so important. It worked.”
“I hardly changed the bike setting, in FP2 I tried the shorter sprocket and I had P1 but it didn’t feel right and I went back to the longer sprocket for Qualifying.”
Salmela is happy overtaking
“I started Quali by myself. I had a good feeling when I was running alone, I did quite a good lap time alone but then I went for another one, tried to push a lot and then into turn one I arrived sliding, I couldn’t stop the bike and went wide.”
“The group behind caught me then and I was a bit stuck in the group. I didn’t want to push too much and help the others in the group too much. Then in the last lap, I had made a little gap and I ran in front and did a decent lap. I made a few mistakes but it was still a good lap time.”
“I feel good for the race, I feel more comfortable overtaking today, that’s good, we’ll see tomorrow.”
Quiles is happier alone
“I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted the pole but it is difficult with these guys because they are really crazy in a group, they go, they slow down. So I said to myself, OK, I don’t want to touch with anybody, I will go alone.”
“So I ran alone, but here you really do need a slipstream, it’s like half a second or one second so this time is really good. I feel good with the bike, I have chatter but this is normal, the bike is good.”
“I will try to break away tomorrow if I can, I don’t know but I will try.”
Brian Uriarte knows there is more to come from P4
“I wanted the pole position,” stated the 15-year-old Spaniard frankly. “I worked first alone, then I went with some other riders because I wanted to see where I was compared to them. I have raced here many times in the Italian Championship in PreMoto3 and I enjoy it.”
“I think there are some things to improve from my side, I have to work more on my pace, try to improve both following and alone, it’s a long track, the slipstream will help but also you need to be able to go alone.”
“On the last lap I made the time alone and I still have to make everything work together, I know all the tricks but I need to put it together. I wanted the pole but I have P4 and I don’t start too bad so we’ll see.”
Valentin Perrone is happier with the bike than the track – P5
“I’m really happy because I was pushing all the time,” stated the 16-year-old Argentine. “Overtaking in the group and also following, getting to the front, whatever I wanted to do. So I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
“In the end, I am really happy with the bike, in the beginning, I was a little confused with it, I didn’t feel really comfortable but in Qualifying with the new tyres it felt really good.”
“It’s my first time here, I don’t immediately like the track, It’s a little bit difficult but I am working on it.”
Hakim Danish has the bike sorted and wants more from himself – P6
“P6 is not bad after FP1 and FP2, they were quite difficult for me,” explained the 16-year-old Malaysian. “So in QP, I was able to improve my riding and the better time came.”
“I feel confident with the bike, I think I can have a good race but I still need to improve.”
“We did work on the settings a bit today through the Free Practice sessions and for Qualifying it felt good so we will keep it for the race.”
Veda Pratama enjoying Mugello – P7
“I’m happy but I think I can go faster,” enthused the 15-year-old Indonesian. “In the beginning, I was 0.2 or 0.3 faster but the lap time was cancelled. Finally, in the last lap I did a 2-minute 0.8 I’m happy with that.”
“The bike is good, not perfect, not perfect in the front but it’s not a big problem for me.”
“It’s my first time here and I like this circuit, It is really fun and I enjoy the long straight, the fast corners, especially the Arrabbiata, fast, climbing, I really enjoy that.”
Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.
Race 1 is at 17:00 CET on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 08:45, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
Stefano Mesa was quickest during MotoAmerica Supersport qualifying Friday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R on Dunlop control tires, Mesa turned a 2:17.226 to lead the field of 39.
TopPro Racing Suzuki rider Maxi Gerardo jumped from seventh to second on his final lap of the session, which was a 2:17.546.
Roberto Tamburini earned the third and final spot on the provisional front row with a lap time of 2:17.636 on his Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing F3 RR.
Tyler Scott was fourth-fastest at 2:17.664 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
After topping practice Friday morning, Mathew Scholtz slipped to fifth in qualifying Friday afternoon with a 2:17.671 on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
Kyle Wyman topped MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers practice Friday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his factory Harley-Davidson Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman lapped the 14-turn, 4.0-mile course in 2:19.227, breaking Bobby Fong’s All-Time Lap Record of 2:19.859 set in 2023.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss was second-best with a 2:19.978 on his S&S Indian Challenger.
Fong was third with a 2:20.148, but his SDI/Roland Sands Racing Indian came back to the pits on the crash truck.
Only nine of the 13 entries recorded lap times during the opening practice.
Peter Hickman threw down the gauntlet in Friday evening’s qualifying session at the Isle of Man TT Races with the Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing rider setting the fastest lap of the week on his Superstock machine with a speed of 134.638mph.
Hickman also topped the Superbike session at 132.863mph whilst it was Davey Todd (Powertoolmate Ducati) who was quickest in the Supersport class at 127.062mph. In the Supertwins, Michael Dunlop (121.882mph) was fastest on his MD Racing Paton with the Crowes (115.682mph) again quickest in the Sidecars ahead of the first three-wheel race tomorrow.
The Superbikes/Superstocks were back at the start of the schedule with Honda Racing UK’s Dean Harrison again leading the field away at 6.30pm with Jamie Coward, Peter Hickman, Ian Hutchinson, James Hillier, Josh Brookes, Davey Todd, David Johnson and Michael Dunlop hot on his heels. Hickman, Coward, Todd, Hutchinson, Johnson and Hillier were all on their Superstock machines.
Brookes was again registering more than 205mph through the Sulby speed trap and although team-mate Hickman overshot Signpost – when on for a 133mph lap – he still registered a speed of 130.859mph. That misdemeanour though meant Todd (132.976mph) topped the early Superstock leaderboard from Hickman, Hillier (130.048mph), Coward (129.703mph) and Johnson (128.261mph) whilst local rider Ryan Cringle (126.949mph) was also going well after setting his quickest ever lap.
Hickman strung it altogether on his second lap though, posting a superb speed of 134.638mph for the quickest lap of the week. Dunlop lapped at 132.674mph on his first lap on the Superstock machine to go third quickest with Coward putting in a late lap of 130.024mph to slot into fifth.
Good laps were coming in throughout the field including Michael Evans (127.157mph), Cringle, who improved to 127.034mph, Matt Stevenson (126.076mph) and Frenchman Amalric Blanc (125.791mph).
Meanwhile, Harrison (132.696mph) was quickest in the Superbike class after the opening lap followed by Dunlop (132.399mph), Brookes (131.071mph), John McGuinness MBE (129.067mph) and Dominic Herbertson (128.785mph) whilst Erno Kostamo increased his speed to 123.030mph.
Harrison was slower on his second lap, however McGuinness upped his speed to 130.745mph for his quickest lap of the week. Fellow 52-year old Michael Rutter was also enjoying his evening around the Mountain Course at 128.636mph – his quickest of 2024 after a troublesome few days with the Bathams Ales BMW.
However, Hickman went out late in the session and ultimately ended up top of the leaderboard at 132.863mph. David Johnson (130.120mph) was another upping his pace on the Platinum Club Racing Kawasaki.
At 7.20pm, the Supersport/Supertwin class got their final session underway with Todd first to complete the lap at 127.062mph with Evans (125.358mph), on the Smith Racing Triumph, and James Hind (125.030mph) next to follow him across the line. The latter went quicker, 125.833mph, next time around whilst Harrison (124.940mph) and Hickman (124.554mpg) weren’t too far behind in fourth and fifth as Croatian newcomer Loris Majcan upped his speed to 115.831mph.
Rutter (116.876mph) was quickest initially in the Supertwin class before fellow Yamaha rider Paul Jordan (Rev2Race) knocked him off the top spot with a speed of 117.012mph. Coward took over at the top of the leaderboard after lapping at 120.378mph on the KTS Racing powered by Steadplan Kawasaki but he didn’t stay there as Dunlop (121.399mph) took over before heading out for another lap.
On that second lap, he proved he’s the man to beat in the class with a speed of 121.882mph and it was Coward who ended the night in second overall followed by Hickman (119.271mph), Todd (118.656mph), Rob Hodson (118.454mph) – none the worse for his earlier spill at Whitegates – and Mike Browne (117.963).
The Sidecars then took to the Mountain Course for their final session, which proved to be just a single lap due to low cloud descending over the mountain section. In the end the Crowes came out top from Founds/Walmsley (115.046), Founds/Gibbons (114.605), Gibson/Christie (112.310), Ellis/Clement (111.183) and Reeves/Wilkes (110.548) as many crews took the opportunity to run in engines and bed in brake pads and chains.
Mikayla Moore dominated MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Qualifying One Friday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 on Dunlop control tires, the 20-year-old defending Champion turned a 2:51.642. Not only was that 7.7 seconds faster than anyone else in the 13-rider field it was also good enough to beat Moore’s own All-Time Lap Record of 2:53.880 by more than two seconds.
The next four riders, however, were separated by less than 0.3 second – Cassie Creer 2:59.345 (second), Emma Betters 2:59.414 (third), Camille Conrad 2:59.439 (fourth), and Aubrey Credaroli 2:59.626 (fifth).
Kyle Wyman was quickest in MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Qualifying One, earning provisional pole position Friday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman navigated the 14-turn, 4.0-mile course in 2:19.135, which eclipsed the new All-Time Lap Record of 2:19.227 he set earlier in the day Friday.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss was second-best with a 2:19.285 on his S&S Indian Challenger.
Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara claimed the third and final spot on the provisional front row with a lap time of 2:19.864.
Avery Dreher topped MotoAmerica Junior Cup Qualifying One Friday afternoon at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, the defending Champion did a lap time of 2:40.967 to lead the field of 22 riders.
BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin was second-best with a 2:41.119 lap time, and current point leader Yandel Medina was third with a 2:41.384 on his New York Safety Track Racing Kawasaki.
Cameron Beaubier dominated MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Qualifying One (Q1) Friday afternoon at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Late in the session, five-time Champion Beaubier put his head down on his Dunlop-shod Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR and ripped off a 2:09.764 – 1.2 seconds faster than anyone else in the field.
Josh Herrin was second-best with a 2:11.006 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Bobby Fong claimed the third and final spot on the provisional front row with his 2:11.210.
Fong’s late fast lap bumped Xavi Fores off the provisional front row, but the Spaniard’s 2:11.364 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R put him fourth in the field.
Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly was fifth with a 2:11.495 on his TopPro Racing BMW.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz finished the session in sixth with a 2:11.659.
Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach was seventh at 2:11.750.
Fores’ teammate Brandon Paasch did a 2:11.831, which was eighth-quickest.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen (2:11.920) and Jake Gagne (2:11.968) rounded out the top 10 in a session that saw 2nd to 10th covered by less than one second.
Beaubier, Herrin, Fong In Superbike Q1 At Road America
Cameron Beaubier Tops Josh Herrin And Bobby Fong On Opening Day In Wisconsin
Cameron Beaubier (6). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
ELKHART LAKE, WI (May 31, 2024) – Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier followed up his two wins at Barber Motorsports Park two weeks ago by earning provisional pole position for the two Steel Commander Superbike races at Road America on a sunny Friday afternoon.
Beaubier and Herrin played catch with the top spot for some of the session with Beaubier leading first, Herrin taking over for a short period before Beaubier nabbed it for good with his 2:09.764 coming on his 12th lap of the four-mile Road America. After that, no one would get within a second of the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion.
Beaubier’s lap ended up being 1.2 seconds quicker than Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Herrin, who in turn was just .204 ahead of Wrench Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong with Fong rounding out the provisional pole position.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Xavi Forés had his best session since taking over the injured Richie Escalante’s Suzuki GSX-R1000 R. Forés was just .131 of a second ahead of TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz ended the day sixth fastest on his Panigale V4 R and just.091 of a second clear of Beaubier’s Tytlers Cycle Racing teammate JD Beach.
Brandon Paasch ended up eighth on the second Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
It wasn’t a good day Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen and defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne with the pair ending up ninth and 10th, respectively. Petersen’s Q1 session ended prematurely with a mechanical failure ending his day.
“The Tytlers BMW is working really good around here,” Beaubier said. “We’ve got some power and it’s so nice to use it at this track. It’s a pretty special place for me. I’ve had a lot of wins here and I really enjoy this place. Not just the track, but everything around it and the crowds that come out. We are enjoying ourselves this weekend aand we just have to keep our heads down. I know everyone is coming. It was a really good day today and we move on to tomorrow.”
Supersport – Mesa Quick
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa hasn’t had the start to his 2024 Supersport season that he would have liked. At Road America he was hoping to turn that around and he began with leading the way in Q1.
Mesa and his Kawasaki ZX6-R led the way on opening day with his 2:17.226, which was .320 of a second faster that TopPro Racing’s Maxi Gerardo, the pole sitter from the Barber Motorsports Park round a few weeks earlier.
Third on Friday afternoon went to Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing’s Roberto Tamburini with the Italian .410 of a second slower than Mesa.
The top eight riders were within a second of Mesa. Championship points leader PJ Jacobsen and his Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2 was ninth with his early season championship rival Mathew Scholtz fifth in Q1 on the Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Di Mario Keeps It Going
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Alessandro Di Mario won his first BellissiMoto Twins Cup race at Barber Motorsports Park a few weeks ago to emerge as a potential class champion. On Friday at Road America Di Mario kept the momentum gained at Barber to earn provisional pole position with his 2:24.625, a new Road America lap record for the class.
Di Mario was chased to the finish by RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers and Di Mario’s championship points leading teammate Gus Rodio. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor and Koch Racing’s Sean Ungvarsky rounded out the top five.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Wyman’s Record Breaker
Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman broke the Mission King Of The Baggers lap record at Road America on Friday with the New Yorker lapping at 1:19.135 – .724 of a second faster than Bobby Fong’s lap record from a year ago in race two.
Wyman topped championship points leader Troy Herfoss with the Australian and his S&S/Indian Motorcycles-backed Challenger by just .150 of a second.
Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara ended the day third quickest and the last rider to lap in the 2:19s. Defending series champion Hayden Gillim ended up fourth on the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Guess Who?
Mikayla Moore does what Mikayla Moore does and that usually means doom and gloom the rest of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. women. Today was no different.
Moore led Q1 at Road America on Friday, with her 2:51.642 besting Cassie Creer by 7.7 seconds. Emma Betters rounded out the provisional front row heading into tomorrow’s Q2 session and race one.
Although Moore had things in hand at the front, just .281 of a second separated Creer from fifth-placed Aubrey Credaroli.
Junior Cup – Dreher Rebounds
Defending MotoAmerica Junior Cup Champion Avery Dreher hasn’t had a great start to his 2024 season, but things got a lot better for the Bad Boys Racing-backed Floridan in Q1 at Road America.
Dreher led the way with his 2:40.967, but as always it was close at the top. BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin ended up second, just .152 of a second off Dreher’s best.
Championship points leader Yandel Medina completed the provisional front row, and he was only .265 of a second from pole.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin and Loris Baz inside the top six at Road America
Sunnyvale, Calif., May 31, 2024 — The iconic Road America in Wisconsin is playing host to the third round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, and it was a good first day for Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin and Loris Baz, both finishing the day one inside the top six.
Under perfect Wisconsin blue skies, Josh Herrin led the charge for Ducati, circulating sixteen times around the 4.05-mile venue that’s both the longest and fastest on the MotoAmerica calendar.
Herrin clocked a best lap of 2:11.006 to finish the day in second place behind Cameron Beaubier, while teammate Loris Baz’s best time of 2:11.659 came after a massive 27 laps across the day.
That put Baz in sixth at the end of the day’s play. Both he and Herrin are confident of closing the gap to Beaubier in race one tomorrow afternoon.
2024 Road America Superbike Qualifying 1 Results – Top 5
P1 – Cameron Beaubier 2:09.764
P2 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 2:11.006
P3 – Bobby Fong 2:11.210
P4 – Xavi Fores 2:11.364
P5 – Sean Dylan Kelly 2:11.495
P6 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 1:23.323
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“The guys did a big change from FP1 for the first qualifying session and it was definitely in the right direction,” Baz said. “That change improved the bike, but we’re still searching for the one-lap pace that will get us on the first two rows for the races. We need to find some more feeling from the front end, but we’ll get there and be ready to race.”
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“The team did a lot of work between sessions, and I’m happy we were able to get second place today,” Herrin said. “We’ve got a bit of work to do tonight. We’ll be analyzing all the data tonight and try to make another step forward like we did between FP1 and Qualifying 1. We know we can be in the battle for the win, so that’s the goal.”
Day two of round three of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will commence on Saturday, June 1, at 8:00 a.m. CDT. Herrin and Baz will take to the track for the all-important second qualifying session at 10:45 a.m. CDT.
Race one for the Superbike category kicks off at 3:10 p.m. CDT on Saturday, June 1, with race two scheduled for 3:10 p.m. CDT on Sunday, June 2.
Alessandro Di Mario topped MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup Qualifying One (Q1) Friday afternoon at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 on Dunlop control tires, the 15-year-old did a 2:24.625, which crushed the new All-Time Lap Record of 2:26.277 set by Rocco Landers Friday morning.
Landers finished second in the session with a time of 2:25.330 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio was third-fastest with a 2:25.514.
Rossi Moor did the fourth-best lap time, a 2:25.827, on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R.
Sean Ungvarsky rounded out the top five riders with a 2:28.099 on his Koch Racing Yamaha YZF-R7.
The session was interrupted by a red flag, which was brought out by a two-rider crash involving Kevin Olmedo and Sonya Lloyd in Turn Five. Both riders eventually walked away from the scene.
Bagnaia pulls the pin to head Rins, Acosta and Oliveira, with four factories in the top four on Friday
Pecco quickest but penalised, Marc Marquez goes through to Q2, Martin ends Friday in seventh and Quartararo JUST misses the cut as Practice in Mugello delivers plenty to talk about
Friday, 31 May 2024
After an intense hour of Practice at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, the important Q2 spots have been decided and it’s reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) returning to the top. He stamped some authority on the field at the end of Friday to set a magnificent 1:44.938 and pull quarter of a second clear. However, he was also then given a three-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix race on Sunday for an incident with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), deemed to have been slow on line and disturbed the #73. Watch the incident below!
Meanwhile, the chasing pack is led by Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) in second as Yamaha continued to make a statement of intent to fight further forward this weekend. Rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) made a brilliant recovery after a crash at Turn 13 to complete the top three, and the #31 also had a tip off in the morning but no harm done to rider nor pace.
Alex Rins (42). Photo courtesy Dorna.
There was drama throughout the session and some after. Acosta’s crash forced the #31 to get a lift back to the paddock for his spare bike, and the Bagnaia decision was confirmed in the evening. The end of Practice was a frantic rush to the top too, deposing the leader before the final few minutes, which had been Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).
Bagnaia became the first rider of the weekend to enter the 1:44 bracket as a handful of riders tried to find time in the closing minutes, but nobody was able to match the #1’s third sector. Rins shot back up to second though, and Acosta’s damage limitation was even more than that as he takes P3.
Pedro Acosta (31). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Further back in fourth after a brilliant end to Friday’s proceedings was Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing), who improved late in the session to make it four different bikes in the top four as he repped for Aprilia.
After dramas on the last couple of Fridays, meanwhile, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) had none at Mugello and will have direct entry to Q2 for the first time since the Spanish GP. Has he solved the one-lap puzzle?
After a tough start to the day, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) found pace with a new soft rear tyre to jump to sixth on the timesheets. Bastianini ended what was a good day for the factory Ducati team and finished ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), with the Championship leader having a slightly more muted day on the timesheets.
Alex Marquez, despite that incident with Bagnaia, also claimed his first direct entry to Q2 since the Spanish GP – taking P8 and capping off an excellent Friday for Gresini. Behind the #73 was Viñales, who dropped down to ninth ahead of Aprilia Racing teammate Aleix Espargaro, who took the final spot inside the vital top 10 for Saturday’s qualifying.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team’s Fabio Quartararo missed out by just 0.019 as teammate Rins moves through, and he’ll battle the likes of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder and Jack Miller, as well as Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team duo Marco Bezzecchi and last year’s polesitter Fabio Di Giannantonio.
They’ll now reset and recharge for super Saturday, and we know it really will be. Join us then for more from Mugello!
FP2: 10:10 (UTC +2)
Q1: 10:50
Q2: 11.15
Tissot Sprint: 15:00
Bagnaia given three-place grid penalty for Sunday
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) put in a statement laptime to pull clear at the top in Practice at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, but the reigning Champion was also involved in an incident with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) in the session.
The FIM MotoGP™ Stewards investigated and deemed Bagnaia was slow on the line and disturbed the Gresini rider, giving the reigning Champion a three-place grid penalty.
The penalty only applies to the Grand Prix race, not the Tissot Sprint, but it means Bagnaia can’t start any further forward on Sunday than fourth on the grid as he looks to take his third Italian GP win in a row.
Check out the video of the incident and then tune in to qualifying from 10:50 (UTC +2) on Saturday to see where Bagnaia will start on home turf at Mugello.
Somkiat Chantra (35). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Chantra, Roberts, Aldeguer and Lopez covered by less than a tenth
Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) ends Friday fastest at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo with a 1:50.841, but it was tight at the top with Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) a mere 0.011s behind and MB Conveyors SpeedUp duo Fermin Aldeguer and Alonso Lopez still within a tenth.
Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) and Roberts duelled for the top spot throughout the opening stage of the session before Chantra began to improve, the Thai rider then just able to deny both. Garcia got leapfrogged by more riders too, shuffled down to P8 by the end of play as Aron Canet (Fantic Racing), RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP’s Barry Baltus and Filip Salac (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) took fifth to seventh, respectively.
Barcelona winner Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) will want more than P12 when action continues on Saturday, and Catalan GP podium finisher Jake Dixon (CFMoto Inde Aspar Team) is looking for a big move up from P25. Check out the full results below and come back for more at 9:25 local time (UTC+2) for Practice 2 before qualifying at 13:45 local time.
David Alonso (80). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Alonso throws down the gauntlet, Veijer gives chase
CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team’s David Alonso is the benchmark to beat once again on Friday at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, over half a second clear of Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP). Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) was third quickest as his quietly impressive 2024 continues, and the Japanese rider was the final competitor within seven tenths of the top.
Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is next on the chase as the timesheets tighten up, with hundredths and thousandths measuring the gaps throughout the rest of the top ten and beyond. Rookie Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) impressed once again in fifth as he comes into Mugello off the back of his best finish yet, with Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) forced to settle for sixth by only 0.017.
One to watch as the lightweight class head back out for P2 will be Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), who is second in the Championship but ended P1 in 17th. Moto3™ head back out in the morning for P2 before qualifying at 12:50 (UTC +2), so check out the full results via the link below and come back for more on Saturday!
The sun came out in Mugello for Qualifying and gave Alvaro Carpe that extra boost to head the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup timing screen. The Spaniard is not 17 until next Wednesday but showed plenty of experience as he made the best use of the slipstream and his KTM to be the only rider under 2 minutes for the 5.245km circuit.
Finnish 16-year-old Rico Salmela was just 0.394 seconds slower and 0.040 better than Cup leader Màximo Quiles, the 16-year-old Spaniard.
Carpe P1, Salmela P2, Quiles P3
Carpe wants to keep going
“So far I have a perfect weekend, P1, P1, P1. It’s my first pole position ever, my feeling with the KTM was incredible, just a little chatter but very good. The Pirelli tyres were working very good, I like the track so much, all the fast corners, the hard braking.”
“I hope I can continue the perfect weekend tomorrow.”
“I was running behind the group, I would drop back about 2 seconds then catch them in the last sector because the slipstream there is so important. It worked.”
“I hardly changed the bike setting, in FP2 I tried the shorter sprocket and I had P1 but it didn’t feel right and I went back to the longer sprocket for Qualifying.”
Salmela is happy overtaking
“I started Quali by myself. I had a good feeling when I was running alone, I did quite a good lap time alone but then I went for another one, tried to push a lot and then into turn one I arrived sliding, I couldn’t stop the bike and went wide.”
“The group behind caught me then and I was a bit stuck in the group. I didn’t want to push too much and help the others in the group too much. Then in the last lap, I had made a little gap and I ran in front and did a decent lap. I made a few mistakes but it was still a good lap time.”
“I feel good for the race, I feel more comfortable overtaking today, that’s good, we’ll see tomorrow.”
Quiles is happier alone
“I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted the pole but it is difficult with these guys because they are really crazy in a group, they go, they slow down. So I said to myself, OK, I don’t want to touch with anybody, I will go alone.”
“So I ran alone, but here you really do need a slipstream, it’s like half a second or one second so this time is really good. I feel good with the bike, I have chatter but this is normal, the bike is good.”
“I will try to break away tomorrow if I can, I don’t know but I will try.”
Brian Uriarte knows there is more to come from P4
“I wanted the pole position,” stated the 15-year-old Spaniard frankly. “I worked first alone, then I went with some other riders because I wanted to see where I was compared to them. I have raced here many times in the Italian Championship in PreMoto3 and I enjoy it.”
“I think there are some things to improve from my side, I have to work more on my pace, try to improve both following and alone, it’s a long track, the slipstream will help but also you need to be able to go alone.”
“On the last lap I made the time alone and I still have to make everything work together, I know all the tricks but I need to put it together. I wanted the pole but I have P4 and I don’t start too bad so we’ll see.”
Valentin Perrone is happier with the bike than the track – P5
“I’m really happy because I was pushing all the time,” stated the 16-year-old Argentine. “Overtaking in the group and also following, getting to the front, whatever I wanted to do. So I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
“In the end, I am really happy with the bike, in the beginning, I was a little confused with it, I didn’t feel really comfortable but in Qualifying with the new tyres it felt really good.”
“It’s my first time here, I don’t immediately like the track, It’s a little bit difficult but I am working on it.”
Hakim Danish has the bike sorted and wants more from himself – P6
“P6 is not bad after FP1 and FP2, they were quite difficult for me,” explained the 16-year-old Malaysian. “So in QP, I was able to improve my riding and the better time came.”
“I feel confident with the bike, I think I can have a good race but I still need to improve.”
“We did work on the settings a bit today through the Free Practice sessions and for Qualifying it felt good so we will keep it for the race.”
Veda Pratama enjoying Mugello – P7
“I’m happy but I think I can go faster,” enthused the 15-year-old Indonesian. “In the beginning, I was 0.2 or 0.3 faster but the lap time was cancelled. Finally, in the last lap I did a 2-minute 0.8 I’m happy with that.”
“The bike is good, not perfect, not perfect in the front but it’s not a big problem for me.”
“It’s my first time here and I like this circuit, It is really fun and I enjoy the long straight, the fast corners, especially the Arrabbiata, fast, climbing, I really enjoy that.”
Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.
Race 1 is at 17:00 CET on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 08:45, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
Stefano Mesa was quickest during MotoAmerica Supersport qualifying Friday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R on Dunlop control tires, Mesa turned a 2:17.226 to lead the field of 39.
TopPro Racing Suzuki rider Maxi Gerardo jumped from seventh to second on his final lap of the session, which was a 2:17.546.
Roberto Tamburini earned the third and final spot on the provisional front row with a lap time of 2:17.636 on his Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing F3 RR.
Tyler Scott was fourth-fastest at 2:17.664 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
After topping practice Friday morning, Mathew Scholtz slipped to fifth in qualifying Friday afternoon with a 2:17.671 on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
Kyle Wyman topped MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers practice Friday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his factory Harley-Davidson Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman lapped the 14-turn, 4.0-mile course in 2:19.227, breaking Bobby Fong’s All-Time Lap Record of 2:19.859 set in 2023.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss was second-best with a 2:19.978 on his S&S Indian Challenger.
Fong was third with a 2:20.148, but his SDI/Roland Sands Racing Indian came back to the pits on the crash truck.
Only nine of the 13 entries recorded lap times during the opening practice.
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Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Online Dictionary
Readable Experience
Content Scaling
Default
Text Magnifier
Readable Font
Dyslexia Friendly
Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Font Sizing
Default
Line Height
Default
Letter Spacing
Default
Left Aligned
Center Aligned
Right Aligned
Visually Pleasing Experience
Dark Contrast
Light Contrast
Monochrome
High Contrast
High Saturation
Low Saturation
Adjust Text Colors
Adjust Title Colors
Adjust Background Colors
Easy Orientation
Mute Sounds
Hide Images
Hide Emoji
Reading Guide
Stop Animations
Reading Mask
Highlight Hover
Highlight Focus
Big Dark Cursor
Big Light Cursor
Cognitive Reading
Virtual Keyboard
Navigation Keys
Voice Navigation
Accessibility Statement
www.roadracingworld.com
August 5, 2025
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
