MotoAmerica, Beaubier Top Dog On Ultra-Close Day One At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Beaubier’s best lap was his eighth on a chilly and breezy Friday afternoon, the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion lapping at 1:23.489 to top his Tytlers Cycle Racing teammate PJ Jacobsen by .344 of a second. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante was fast all day and that didn’t stop in Q1 as he sped to a 1:23.856 to land on the provisional front row. Escalante was the final rider to circulate in the 1:23s.
 
Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz was fourth fastest, .682 of a second off Beaubier’s best and just .012 of a second ahead of Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Racing’s Josh Herrin.
 
Championship leader Jake Gagne not on the provisional front row is a surprise. Gagne barely making it on the second row is downright shocking, but that’s where he ended up on the session that was shortened by some five minutes with a red flag.
 
Gagne’s Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing teammate Cameron Petersen ended the session in seventh and the last rider on the same second as Beaubier.
 
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch completed his first Q1 session on the team’s second GSX-R1000R in eighth, the youngster adapting quickly to the Superbike left vacated by Toni Elias’ surprise retirement.
 
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Corey Alexander and Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10.
 
Supersport – La Mesa
 
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa led Friday’s Supersport Q1 session with his 1:27.577 lap besting Squid Hunter Racing’s Josh Hayes by just .240 of a second to earn the Floridian provisional pole position.
 
The provisional front row was completed by Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott with the youngster lapping at 1:28.053, which was just a tick quicker than North East Cycle Outlet Racing’s Anthony Mazziotto.

Scott’s teammate Teagg Hobbs ended the session fifth-fastest with Xavi Fores sixth, the championship leader (with seven straight wins) just over a second off Mesa. Fores had the first crash of his rookie MotoAmerica season on Thursday and was struggling with front-end grip and a lack of confidence.
 

Photo courtesy MotoAmerica by Brian J. Nelson