2011 AMA Pro Racing
The penultimate round of the 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing series got underway Friday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with the first practices held under clear, California skies for the Superbike and Daytona SportBike classes, and the first qualifying for SuperSport.
Running in conjunction with the MotoGP Championship, there is much at stake for all classes across AMA Pro Racing as the series competes at the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit featuring the famous corkscrew.
In the AMA Superbike class, the reigning champion Josh Hayes topped the time sheets with a 1:25.362 aboard the Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R1. The men behind Hayes were no surprise; second and third fastest went to the Rockstar Makita Suzuki duo of Blake Young and Tommy Hayden, respectively.
Rounding out the top five in Friday’s practice session for Round 8 of the 2011 AMA Superbike Championship was M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas and National Guard Suzuki’s Roger Lee Hayden.
Josh Hayes (Team Graves Yamaha) says: "It was a standard first practice for us," said Hayes. "We ran through our usual checklist of tires and parts to see if we could go fast. The session was busy on the track – you could tell there were a number of riders who hadn’t been to this racetrack before."
Daytona 200 winner Jason DiSalvo returned to the top after posting a 1:29.352 aboard thge Team Latus Ducati 848EVO in the Daytona SportBike class practice session. The current SportBike points’ leader, GEICO Suzuki’s Danny Eslick, was second fastest, with Monster Energy Team Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin third fastest.
Jason DiSalvo (Team Latus Ducati 848 EVO) says: "I was happy to be able to make constant progress with the Latus Ducati. The bike feels good and it suits this track, and after today, we have a solid direction to pursue for tomorrow."
AMA Pro Racing reported that as the young-gun Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport riders wrapped up the day’s action for the large Friday crowd, Benny Solis (Roadracingworld.com Honda) took the top the first qualifying spot with a 1:30.802. David Gaviria was second on the charts — heading his LTD Racing Y.E.S. Yamaha teammate, Tomas Puerta, and Discovery Bay resident Elena Myers (SuzukiScoopFans Racing) – while Miller Motorsports Park race-winner Corey Alexander registered the fifth-quickest time aboard his Vesrah Suzuki.
Benny Solis (Road Racing World Honda CBR600RR) says: "I didn’t really get a clear lap. I did get one good one, but there was a lot of traffic. I thought I could have been faster, and I know we have more for tomorrow."
Final qualifying for the AMA Pro Road Racing classes gets underway Saturday afternoon, with the AMA SuperSport class race set for 3:40 p.m. (PDT).
AMA Superbike: Laguna Seca Friday Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider(s) | Team | Bike | Interval | Gap | Best Lap | Laps |
| 1. | 1 | Josh Hayes | Monster Energy Graves Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | FASTEST | FASTEST | 1:25.362 | 32 |
| 2. | 79 | Blake Young | Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 0.270 | 0.270 | 1:25.632 | 22 |
| 3. | 22 | Tommy Hayden | Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 0.705 | 0.435 | 1:26.067 | 30 |
| 4. | 36 | Martin Cardenas | M4 Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 1.030 | 0.325 | 1:26.392 | 28 |
| 5. | 54 | Roger Hayden | National Guard Jordan Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 1.162 | 0.132 | 1:26.524 | 27 |
| 6. | 72 | Larry Pegram | Pegram Racing | BMW S1000RR | 1.213 | 0.051 | 1:26.575 | 28 |
| 7. | 59 | Jake Holden | Riders Discount, Jake Holden Racing | BMW S1000RR | 1.344 | 0.131 | 1:26.706 | 19 |
| 8. | 99 | Geoff May | Amsoil EBR Racing | EBR 1190RS | 1.601 | 0.257 | 1:26.963 | 23 |
| 9. | 23 | Ben Bostrom | Jordan Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 1.711 | 0.110 | 1:27.073 | 21 |
| 10. | 11 | Chris Fillmore | KTM/HMC Racing | KTM RC8R | 1.926 | 0.215 | 1:27.288 | 26 |
AMA Daytona SportBike: Laguna Seca Friday Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider(s) | Team | Bike | Interval | Gap | Best Lap | Laps |
| 1. | 40 | Jason DiSalvo | Team Latus Motors Racing | Ducati 848 | FASTEST | FASTEST | 1:29.352 | 20 |
| 2. | 69 | Danny Eslick | Richie Morris Racing | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 0.296 | 0.296 | 1:29.648 | 22 |
| 3. | 8 | Josh Herrin | Monster Energy Graves Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 0.741 | 0.445 | 1:30.093 | 28 |
| 4. | 9 | PJ Jacobsen | Celtic Racing | Ducati 848 | 0.916 | 0.175 | 1:30.268 | 26 |
| 5. | 5 | Dane Westby | M4 Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 1.097 | 0.181 | 1:30.449 | 28 |
| 6. | 57 | Cory West | Vesrah Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 1.164 | 0.067 | 1:30.516 | 29 |
| 7. | 59 | Jake Holden | Jake Holden Racing | Ducati 848 | 1.265 | 0.101 | 1:30.617 | 20 |
| 8. | 7 | Fernando Amantini | Team Amantini | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 1.279 | 0.014 | 1:30.631 | 23 |
| 9. | 6 | Tommy Aquino | Yamaha Extended Service, Pat Clark Sports, Graves, Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1.361 | 0.082 | 1:30.713 | 25 |
| 10. | 72 | Bryce Prince | Bryce Prince Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1.458 | 0.097 | 1:30.810 | 29 |
AMA SuperSport: Laguna Seca Friday Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider(s) | Bike | Interval | Gap | Best Lap | Laps |
| 1. | 35 | Benny Solis | Honda CBR600RR | FASTEST | FASTEST | 1:30.802 | 24 |
| 2. | 700 | David Gaviria | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 0.457 | 0.457 | 1:31.259 | 21 |
| 3. | 12 | Tomas Puerta | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1.263 | 0.806 | 1:32.065 | 23 |
| 4. | 21 | Elena Myers | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 1.314 | 0.051 | 1:32.116 | 19 |
| 5. | 5 | Corey Alexander | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 1.335 | 0.021 | 1:32.137 | 19 |
| 6. | 37 | Stefano Mesa | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 1.551 | 0.216 | 1:32.353 | 18 |
| 7. | 40 | Travis Ohge | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1.699 | 0.148 | 1:32.501 | 22 |
| 8. | 73 | Sebastiao Ferreira | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1.985 | 0.286 | 1:32.787 | 21 |
| 9. | 546 | Roi Holster | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 2.064 | 0.079 | 1:32.866 | 21 |
| 10. | 606 | Colter Dimick | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 2.265 | 0.201 | 1:33.067 | 16 |
