Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin continued with the hot hand in the MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike series as he stormed to provisional pole position on Friday afternoon at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Herrin, the lap record holder at the 2.238-mile course in the hills east of Monterey, lapped at 1:23.827 to better Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier’s best by just .058 of a second. Herrin, who won the second of two races at Ridge Motorsports Park two weeks ago, said his lap record of 1:22.908 will be difficult to top as the track is bumpier than when that record was set in 2018.
TopPro Racing’s Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly continues to impress as he ended the opening day third fastest and just .280 of a second off Herrin’s session leader.
Fourth fastest on Friday was Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne with the three-time and defending series champion turning in a best of 1:24.168 to finish slightly faster than his teammate Cameron Petersen.
Steel Commander Superbike Championship points leader Bobby Fong was sixth fastest on his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1 and less than half a second from Herrin.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz was seventh and .552 of a second from his teammate. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach and Paasch’s teammate Xavi Forés rounded out the top 10.
Stock 1000 – Uribe On Top
OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe used all of his home-track knowledge to lead the way in the first of two Stock 1000 qualifying sessions, besting his championship rival Hayden Gillim by .306 of a second.
Uribe lapped at 1:25.733 with Gillim turning in a 1:26.049 with the Californian getting the best of the Kentuckian for the first time in a qualifying session.
Another Californian was third quickest with Motorsport Exotica’s Andrew Lee ending up third on his BMW M 1000 RR. Two more racers were within a second of Uribe with FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith fourth and OrangeCat Racing’s Travis Wyman fifth.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Wyman Down And Up
Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman didn’t let a little crash slow him down as he bounced back from an early-session tipover in turn 11 to earn provisional pole position for the two Mission King Of The Baggers races.
Wyman’s fast lap came late in the session and his 1:28.705 topped RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Rocco Landers by just .122 of a second. Yes, you read that right – Rocco Landers.
Landers continued to gain momentum in his rookie season of Baggers racing and he put that all together to hold the top spot until getting knocked down a peg by Wyman in the closing stages of the session.
Landers’ teammate Hayden Gillim was third fastest, the defending class champion only .190 of a second behind Wyman.
Laguna first-timer Troy Herfoss was fourth fastest on the S&S Cycle/Indian Motorcycle Challenger, a second slower than Wyman and .2 faster than Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli.
Supersport – Jacobsen Strikes First
The season-long Supersport battle between Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen and Mathew Scholtz resumed at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with Jacobsen striking first in Q1 on Friday afternoon.
But, like all the races held thus far in 2024, the pair weren’t separated by very much.
Jacobsen ripped off a 1:27.031 lap to lead the way over Scholtz, with the South African just .032 of a second adrift of the New Yorker with his 1:27.063. But those two were by no means alone at the top.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis was next best, and he was closer to the front than he’s been all year, trailing Jacobsen by just .217 of a second.
TopPro Racing’s Maxi Gerardo ended up fourth quickest with Jacobsen’s teammate Corey Alexander rounding out the top five.
The top nine were all within a second of Jacobsen with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, the only rider other than Scholtz or Jacobsen to win a race in 2024, ninth and .990 of a second from the top.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – West Goes West
Saddlemen Racing/Harley-Davidson’s Cory West saved his best for last in stealing provisional pole position for the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship in the waning moments of the final session of the day at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
West and his Harley-Davidson Pan America lapped at 1:29.624 to snatch pole from his teammate Jake Lewis by .153 of a second. S&S Cycle/Indian Motorcycle’s Tyler O’Hara ended the day third fastest with KWR Harley-Davidson’s Cody Wyman and his teammate Hayden Schultz rounding out the top five.
