It’s Fast Fong Friday At Brainerd International Raceway

Bobby Fong Leads The Steel Commander Superbike Pack In Q1 In MinnesotaAnd just like that, Bobby Fong is on top of the Steel Commander Superbike pack on Friday at Brainerd International Raceway as the Wrench Motorcycles-backed Californian continued to enjoy his best season of Superbike racing since 2020 with his first provisional pole of 2024.

Fong was fast this morning and fast again this afternoon as he ripped off a 1:31.162 to lead the way in Q1.

“Honestly, it’s this team, these guys have been making me look good,” Fong said. “We don’t like to get our hopes up too much. It’s still early in the weekend and overnight these guys are gonna do some work and hopefully we stay consistent, and we improve over night, too.”

Fong ended up .402 of a second quicker than Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen and .466 of a second faster than Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz.

Baz’s teammate Josh Herrin was fourth fastest and .675 of a second slower than Fong and just .002 of a second faster than EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly.

Petersen’s factory Yamaha teammate Jake Gagne ended up sixth fastest with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch seventh and the last rider in the 1:31s.

Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach was eighth and still within a second of Fong’s best. Paasch’s teammate Xavi Forés was ninth, despite crashing on his fourth lap which cost him the rest of the session.

Beach’s temporary teammate Troy Herfoss rounded out the top 10 Q1 qualifiers on his first day at Brainerd, his first day on the BMW M1000 RR and his first day in the Steel Commander Superbike series. The three-time Australian Superbike Champion is riding for the team while Cameron Beaubier recovers from the broken heel suffered at the last round at Road America.

Supersport – Jacobsen, Scholtz, Scott

Three men have won Supersport races heading into the fourth round of the championship: PJ Jacobsen, Mathew Scholtz and Tyler Scott. And it was those three at the top of Q1 on Friday at Brainerd International Raceway.

Rahal Ducati Moto’s Jacobsen earned provisional pole position after holding off Strack Racing’s Scholtz and Vison Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Scott with the three just a tick over half-a-second apart.

Jacobsen lapped at 1:33.588 to lead Scholtz by .318 of a second and Scott by .511 of a second. Jacobsen did his best lap late in the session on his 15th go-around. Sean Dylan Kelly’s lap record of 1.32.720 from his 2021 championship season.

Scott’s teammate Teagg Hobbs led the second row, provisionally, with his 1:34.209. Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis was fifth fastest on his Suzuki GSX-R750.

BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Landers Fast

RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers showed up at one of his favorite racetracks on a mission. He was fast from the get-go, leading both sessions on Friday, including the afternoon’s Q1 session, and ending it with provisional pole and a new lap record of 1:35.804 on his Suzuki GSX-8R.

Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering teammates Gus Rodio and Alessandro Di Mario were second and third fastest on their Aprilia RS 660s, .608 and .833 of a second slower than Landers, respectively.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor ended the day fourth fastest and a tick over a second off Landers’ pace. EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Avery Dreher was fifth.

Stock 1000 – Hayden Rolls On

Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim continued to have the hot hand as he rode his Honda CBR1000RR-R SP to provisional pole while also breaking the Stock 1000 lap record at BIR on Friday.

Gillim’s lap of 1:31.779 put him 1.256 seconds clear of FLOLAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith, who in turn was .2 of a second ahead of BPR Racing’s Bryce Prince.

OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe was fourth fastest and just ahead of Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates.

Gillim will be trying to repeat his performance from a season ago at Brainerd International Raceway when he won both of the Stock 1000 races.

Junior Cup – Chapin Stays Hot

Junior Cup Championship points leader Mathew Chapin continued to make it known that he’s the young racer to beat in 2024 as he earned provisional pole at BIR.

BARTCON Racing’s Chapin lapped at 1:43.809, the only rider to crack into the 1:43s, and it put him .308 of a second ahead of Karns Performance’s Levi Badie and Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez.

Wolfe Racing’s Ryan Wolfe and Bad Boys Racing’s defending series champion Avery Dreher rounded out the top five heading into tomorrow’s Q2 session.

Hayden Gillim set a new Mission King Of The Baggers lap record while earning provisional pole position at BIR. Photo by Brian J. NelsonMission King Of The Baggers – Gillim!

RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim continues his June of Jubilation by earning provisional pole position for the two Mission King Of The Baggers races at Brainerd International Raceway.

With two Stock 1000 wins to open defense of his championship in that class at Road America, and his recent victory in the Loudon Classic, Gillim seems primed to turn things around after a not-so-good Road America round on the Bagger.

“It’s going really good,” Hayden said. “I’m happy to be up front. We’ve been struggling a little bit this year but we’re getting there and slowly chipping away. The guys are working their butts off. They gave me a great bike today and I love this track. I’m having fun and that’s the main thing.”

Gillim’s 1:34.747 was a new lap record for the class, and it put him .328 of a second ahead of S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Tyler O’Hara with Kyle Wyman a little over half a second off Gillim’s pace on his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide.

Gillim’s rookie teammate Rocco Landers had his best effort to date on the Harley to qualify fourth, provisionally. Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s James Rispoli rounded out the top five.

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