Bobby Fong Braves Wet Conditions On Friday With Sunshine Forecasted For The Weekend In Elkhart Lake.
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong has never been a fan of racing in the rain, but that didn’t stop the Californian from emerging from a wet session at Road America on Friday afternoon with the provisional pole position heading into tomorrow morning’s Superbike Qualifying 2 session.
With sunny skies in the forecast for the weekend’s Q2 and races, only four riders took part in the session, and Fong was by far the fastest of those to lead Zlock Racing’s Kevin Pinkstaff by 6.1 seconds on the wet track. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly was third fastest with Zlock Racing’s Brian Pinkstaff rounding out the four who braved the conditions.
Fong’s fastest lap was a 2:34.951, and it’s worth noting that Stock 1000/Superbike Cup racer JD Beach was the fastest rider on a wet day with his 2:32.964 – some two seconds quicker than Fong’s best.
Motovation Supersport – Rain, Rain Go Away
The first class to get a taste of a wet session on Friday was Motovation Supersport, with only eight riders electing to brave the conditions in Qualifying 1.
Of those eight, the rider with the most bravado was Max Van with the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider throwing down a 2:37.575 – a tad over five seconds quicker than ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony, who was just a few tenths quicker than Strack Racing’s Blake Davis.
Then came another big gap to fourth-fastest Joel Ohman and his LaRoche Tree Service-backed Suzuki GSX-R750.
Jansen Racing’s Jake Jansen rounded out the top five.
The other 23 entries didn’t go out, including championship leader PJ Jacobsen, who will attempt to qualify via tomorrow’s Q2 session.
Stock 1000 – Beach In The Rain
Thirteen of the 35 Stock 1000 entries took to the wet racetrack on Friday afternoon and none of them came close to Real Steel Honda’s Beach, with the Kentuckian leading the way in Q2 by 4.8 seconds over The Bike Experience USA’s Eziah Davis. Beach’s fastest lap was the fastest lap of the day in any class.
Edge Racing’s Jason Waters filled the provisional front row, 8.1 seconds off Beach’s pace.
Orange Cat Racing teammates Jayson Uribe and Andrew Lee, the two tied at the top of the Stock 1000 Championship point standings, did just two and one lap, respectively, before calling it a day.
Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul – Drane Over Di Mario
Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul racers were fortunate enough to have sunshine and a fast-drying track for their afternoon Q1 session, and it was Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane who came out on top of the 30-minute session. The 14-year-old Australian lapped at a best of 2:40.460 to best Warhorse Ducati/American Racing’s championship leader Alessandro Di Mario by .179 of a second.
Royalty Racing’s Carson King filled the provisional front row with the third fastest time, just .188 of a second behind Alessandro.
CTR/D&D Cycles’ Bodie Paige and Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hank Vossberg rounded out the top five.
Kyle Wyman set a new lap record at Road America on Friday in the Mission King Of The Baggers class. Photo by Brian J. Nelson
Mission King Of The Baggers – Wyman!
Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman was unstoppable on Friday afternoon as the Mission King Of The Baggers class was one of two classes to have a dry track for its Q1 session.
Wyman, who also led the morning session, lapped at 2:18.091 to break his lap record from a year ago.
Wyman’s teammate Bradley Smith proved to be a quick learner in his first race weekend at Road America, putting his Harley-Davidson Road Glide second with his 2:19.263. James Rispoli made it a factory Harley one-two-three on the provisional front row, despite having a vicious crash on the exit of turn 13.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines’ Hayden Gillim ended up fourth and the last rider to circulate in the 2:19s.
S&S/Indian Motorcycles’ Loris Baz was the first of the Indian Challengers with the Frenchman rounding out the top five, besting his teammate, Tyler O’Hara.
Gillim’s teammate Rocco Landers, defending class champion Troy Herfoss, TAB Performance Racing’s Kyle Ohnsorg and Saddlemen Race Development’s Cory West rounded out the top 10.
Royal Enfield Build.Train.Race. – Knebel On Top
The Royal Enfield class hasn’t had the closest of races for the lead in past years, but this year things might be different.
Kira Knebel led the way in Q1 on Friday afternoon, but her 2:55.848 was just .685 of a second ahead of Shea MacGregor. Miranda Cain ended the session in third with Camille Conrad and Kate West rounding out the top five.
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