MotoAmerica Press Office

Two-time defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier picked up where he left off two weeks ago in California when he led today’s opening two Motul Superbike practice sessions at Pittsburgh International Race Complex.

Beaubier, who won both races at Sonoma Raceway in round seven, dominated today’s sessions leading up to this weekend’s Championship of Pittsburgh, besting championship points leader Toni Eias by .887 of a second in the final session on the first day of practice at the new facility. Beaubier lapped at 1:40.914 on his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing YZF-R1.

Beaubier said, "“It’s nice and sort of feels like I started off where I finished at Sonoma. I’m glad they made the little change with the chicane and the last section of the track. It’s a little faster than I expected it to be, but it’s definitely safer. We’re eating up tires with the new surface, but I think as more rubber gets laid down on the track it’s going to get better for all of us. Overall it was a good start to the weekend and we made a few changes in the afternoon session that allowed us to go quicker. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Elias said, "The day has been very positive because the test here was a disaster for the team and I. The bike didn't work well for me here at the test and we made some really big improvements with the bike since the test. Cameron [Beaubier] is really fast and strong like he was in Sonoma, but the main thing is to find the tire and speed combination that can last for the duration of the entire race.”

Elias’ Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Roger Hayden was third fastest on day one, the Kentuckian topping his Owensboro neighbor Jake Lewis and his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki with both riders putting in their best laps late in the session.

TOBC Racing’s Danny Eslick was fifth with Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda’s Jake Gagne, Beaubier’s factory Yamaha teammate Josh Hayes, Décor Brilliance/Lucas Oils/KWR’s Kyle Wyman, Brixx Performance’s Sylvain Barrier and Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz rounding out the top 10. Scholtz crashed early in the session and was forced to be a spectator from the inside of the track.

The two Supersport practice sessions were led by championship leader Garrett Gerloff on his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves Yamaha R6, the Texan topped M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Valentin Debise by .979 of a second. Gerloff’s teammate JD Beach ended the day with the third fastest time.

The KTM RC Cup, meanwhile, held the first of its two qualifying sessions on Friday with Cory Ventura heading the time sheets.