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Jake Gagne's best lap in Q1 was his last lap on a blisteringly hot Friday at Circuit of The Americas and it resulted in provisional pole position for this weekend’s two Medallia Superbike races in Austin.
On his 11th lap and with time expiring in the session, Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Gagne slipped past Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Josh Herrin with his 2:08.818 a tick over half a second quicker than Herrin.
Herrin, meanwhile, was a full second ahead of third-placed Richie Escalante on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R. Herrin’s best lap came after a slow tip-over that came mid-session that he said actually helped his comfort level. Escalante, in turn, was just .141 of a second faster than Gagne’s teammate JD Beach, who was continuing to find speed in his second outing aboard the injured Cameron Petersen’s Yamaha YZF-R1.
Fifth fastest on an opening day that featured triple-digit heat was Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen with the New Yorker 1.8 seconds off Gagne’s pace on the 3.426-mile Circuit of The Americas.
Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz ended up sixth after missing nearly the entire first session with a mechanical problem on his Yamaha YZF-R1. Seventh and eighth went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch with the New Jersey resident lapping at an identical lap time as Aftercare Scheibe BMW’s Ashton Yates.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Corey Alexander and Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong didn’t make a lap in Q1 with his Yamaha blowing a motor on his opening lap, bringing out a red flag. Fong will get the chance to qualify in tomorrow morning’s Q2.
Photo courtesy MotoAmerica by Brian J. Nelson
