2024 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
Road Atlanta – Friday
A full slate of five MotoAmerica classes was in action at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta overnight, with this event being the opening round for the Steel Commander Superbike, Supersport and Junior Cup categories.
Mission King Of The Baggers and BellissiMoto Twins Cup competitors have already got their seasons underway with the Twins racing at Daytona, while the Baggers have two rounds under their belt, Daytona, and last weekend’s battles alongside MotoGP at COTA.
Superbike
Warhorse Ducati’s Josh Herrin topped the opening qualifying session ahead of Saturday morning’s final qualifier.
Three-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne was second quickest, just .096 of a second behind Herrin’s best.
Herrin’s team-mate Loris Baz was third quickest ahead of Wrench Yamaha’s Bobby Fong.
Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly had an impressive first day on the TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR, the 2021 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion ending up fifth fastest.
Gagne’s Attack Performance Yamaha team-mate Cameron Petersen was sixth fastest, ahead of five-time champ Cameron Beaubier who ended day one seventh on the Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR. Beaubier lost a lot of track time after a crash early in the session.
Beaubier’s team-mate JD Beach ended up eighth in his first qualifying session on the BMW.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammates Richie Escalante and Brandon Paasch rounded out the top 10.
Superbike Q1 Top Ten
- Josh Herrin – Ducati 1m24.627s
- Jake Gagne – Yamaha +0.096s
- Loris Baz – Ducati +0.160s
- Bobby Fong – Yamaha +0.371s
- Sean Kelly – BMW +0.448s
- Cameron Petersen – Yamaha +0.494s
- Cameron Beaubier – BMW +0.619s
- JD Beach – BMW +0.793s
- Richie Escalante – Suzuki +1.092s
- Brandon Paasch – Suzuki +1.264s
Mission King Of The Baggers
SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong led the Mission King Of The Baggers qualifying session on Friday with a new lap record at Road Atlanta of 1:29.528. The 33-year-old pulling double duty this weekend as he also races the Superbike class on a Yamaha.
Second fastest on opening day was Troy Herfoss, the S&S/Indian Motorcycle-backed Australian just .192 of a second off Fong’s best in his first visit to Road Atlanta.
Championship points leader Kyle Wyman was third fastest on the factory Harley-Davidson, despite a crash in 10-A early in the session. Wyman’s best was .265 of a second slower than Fong’s.
Defending Mission King Of The Baggers Champion Hayden Gillim was fourth fastest, a few tenths quicker than his class rookie team-mate Rocco Landers. Gillim also racing Superbike this weekend, while Landers also pulls double-duty with his entry into the Twins Cup.
The session was a bit of a crashfest, as Kyle Wyman wasn’t the only faller. He was joined in the 10-A gravel not only by his team-mate James Rispoli but also by his brother Travis Wyman. Tyler O’Hara was also a faller in the session.
Mission King Of The Baggers Q1 Top Ten
- Bobby Fong – Indian 1m29.528s
- Troy Herfoss – Indian +0.192s
- Kyle Wyman – HD +0.265s
- Hayden Gillim – HD +0.824s
- Rocco Landers – HD +1.105s
- Tyler O’Hara – Indian +1.208s
- Max Flinders – Indian +1.641s
- Kyle Ohnshorg – Indian +1.653s
- James Rispoli – HD +1.707s
- Jake Lewis – HD +3.339s
Supersport
Of the three Supersport riders on the Rahal Ducati Moto team, Corey Alexander came into the 2024 season with the least amount of fanfare. On Friday afternoon, Alexander let his riding do the talking as he emerged from the 43-rider field with the fastest lap to earn provisional pole position at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Alexander led the way with his 1:28.912, just .225 of a second faster than Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott and .334 of a second clear of his team-mate PJ Jacobsen, with those three making up the provisional front row.
Supersport Q1 Top Ten
- Corey Alexander – Ducati 1m28.912s
- Tyler Scott – Suzuki +0.225s
- PJ Jacobsen – Ducati +0.334s
- Blake Davis – Yamaha +0.489s
- Stefano Mesa – Kawasaki +0.522s
- Teagg Hobbs – Suzuki +0.635s
- Max Gerardo – Suzuki +0.741s
- David Anthony – Suzuki +0.787s
- Jake Lewis – Suzuki +0.868s
- Roberto Tamburinin – MV +1.343s
Junior Cup
Yandel Medina showed that he’s ready for the new season of Junior Cup racing with the New Yorker leading the way on Friday to earn provisional pole position on his New York Safety Track Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400.
Medina lapped at a best of 1:42.976 to lead BARTCON Racing’s Eli Block by .765 of a second with defending class champion Avery Dreher third with his 1:43.768 lap.
Junior Cup Q1 Top Ten
- Yandel Medina 1m42.976
- Eli Block +0.765s
- Avery Dreher +0.792s
- Trenton Keesee +0.983s
- Logan Cunnison +1.128s
- Ryan Wolfe +1.309s
- Matthew Chapin +1.498s
- Isaac Woodworth +1.756s
- Jayden Fernandez +2.727s
- Ella Dreher +3.814s
BellissiMoto Twins Cup
RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers put his new Suzuki GSX-8R on provisional pole position in the BellissiMoto Twins Cup class at Road Atlanta on Friday afternoon with a best lap of 1:33.150.
Landers, the all-time wins leader in the Twins Cup class, led Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor by .610 of a second for a Suzuki one-two.
Daytona winner and championship leader Gus Rodio was third quickest on his Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering Aprilia and .665 of a second off Landers’ best.
Giaccomoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle and Rodio’s team-mate Alessandro Di Mario rounded out the top five heading into Saturday’s Q2 session.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup Q1 Top Ten
- Rocco Landers – Suzuki 1m33.150s
- Rossi Moor – Suzuki +0.610s
- Gus Rodio – Aprilia +0.625s
- Dominic Doyle – Yamaha +1.045s
- Alessandro Di Mario – Aprilia +1.594s
- Jack Roach – Yamaha +2.737s
- Avery Dreher – Aprilia +2.970s
- Romeo Chiavini – Aprilia +4.735s
- Ray Hofman – Aprilia +4.948s
- Giacomo Manera – Aprilia +5.344s
