Rutted and Oily Road America tarmac frustrates MotoAmerica Superbike Championship racers

Sunnyvale, Calif., June 3, 2022 — Danilo Petrucci ended the first day at Road America, round four of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, in fifth place. The Warhorse HSBK Ducati NYC team faced its share of challenges, but former MotoGP star Petrucci continued to show his mettle qualifying while injured and learning another new track on the Panigale V4 R superbike.

Petrucci, who’s far from fully fit after crashing at VIR two weeks ago, posted a best time of 2:13.514, some 1.3 seconds faster than his previous best of 2:14.858, clocked during Practice 1.

Petrucci ended the day 2.13 seconds behind than pacesetter and championship rival Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne. Despite a rough track surface and having only two forty-minute sessions to learn the layout, Petrucci is well-placed and believes the team will be dialed in for the weekend.

Qualifying 1 Results—Top 5
P1 – Jake Gagne (Yamaha) 2:11.384
P2 – Cameron Petersen (Yamaha) 2:11.733
P3 – Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha) 2:12.637
P4 – PJ Jacobsen (BMW) 2:13.478
P5 – Danilo Petrucci (Ducati) 2:13.514


Danilo Petrucci (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – Ducati #9)
“Today has been really tough physically for me. The track is really nice, but I can’t say the same for the tarmac because it’s really old. It’s full of bumps and is broken in some parts, which makes everything more difficult. We’re improving some electronic settings on the bike and tomorrow we’ll be even more competitive.”
 
Qualifying 2 is scheduled for Saturday, June 4 at 10:50 am EDT ahead of Race 1 at 4:10 pm EDT and Race 2 on Sunday, June 5 at 4:10 pm EDT.

Sunnyvale, Calif., June 3, 2022 — Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC) and the Panigale V2 continue to prove a formidable pairing: the 2013 AMA Superbike champion finished Qualifying 1 at Road America in first place, 0.726 seconds ahead of Suzuki’s Tyler Scott.

Herrin displayed speed and consistency right out of the box. In Practice 1, Herrin was black flagged because of a technical issue with the timing transponder on his Panigale V2, limiting him to recording only three timed laps. Unphased, he clocked the fastest lap of the session, a 2:21.045—four-tenths faster than Stefano Mesa in second place.

In Qualifying 1, Herrin’s session was interrupted by oil on the track, but after MotoAmerica marshals cleared the surface, Herrin started where he left off, posting a 2:19.805 to top the session.

Going into Qualifying 2, Herrin has a comfortable seven-tenths margin and is feeling confident ahead of Saturday and Sunday’s 11-lap races.

Qualifying 1 Results—Top 5
P1 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 2:19.805
P2 – Tyler Scott (Suzuki) 2:20.531
P3 – Stefano Mesa (Kawasaki) 2:21.011
P4 – Samuel Lochoff (Suzuki) 2:21.360
P5 – Benjamin Smith (Yamaha) 2:21.421

Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – Ducati #2)
“Today went well. In the first session, we had an issue with our transponder, but they got it running quickly and we were able to be fastest. Then we went out for qualifying and there was oil on the track, so they had to clean it up with oil absorbent. We went out for the first couple laps and there were tons of it spraying up everywhere, so we had to come in and missed part of the session. We went back out for the second half and were able to put it in P1 for provisional qualifying. Overall, the day went really well. I’m super happy with the results and super happy with the bike and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Qualifying 2 is scheduled for Saturday, June 4 at 9:35 am EDT, followed by Race 1 at 3:10 pm EDT, and Race 2 on Sunday, June 5 at 3:10 pm.

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