Herrin Serves Up Friday Surprise at VIR
Meen Motorsports' Josh Herrin set the Friday pace, showing MotoAmerica's factory pilots the quick way around VIR during provisional qualifying.
MotoAmerica
Iffy conditions were the main talking point as action got underway today for the MotoAmerica Championship of Virginia at VIRginia International Raceway. Heavy rain, light rain and at times drying conditions made things difficult.
When all was said and done, Josh Herrin and Garrett Gerloff emerged with the quickest lap times in the Motul Superbike and Supersport sessions, respectively.
1. Josh Herrin, HelmetSounds.com/Western Services/Meen Racing (1:28.364)
“I’m happy with it. It wasn’t ideal conditions and everybody was kind tiptoeing around trying to get a feel for the track and I just got a good feel for where the wet spots were. Me and Cam (Cameron Beaubier) put our heads down. I was behind him when I did the lap, but I was doing consistent 29s before that. I’m happy and happy that it started raining there so we stayed on top. I know they were going to pick up the times, but we’ll be good for tomorrow as long as it doesn’t rain. I’m not comfortable on it yet in the wet and I haven’ t been for the past two years, but this is a good boost of confidence and I hope tomorrow stays dry.”
2. Kyle Wyman, Excelsus Solutions/Lucas Oil/KWR (1:28.392)
“There was a very small window of time when you could actually use the track so I made the most of it. I like it here, but I like it everywhere.”
3. Cameron Beaubier, Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing (1:28.653)
“It seemed like it was spitting a little bit. Just enough to not allow you to run slicks but not enough for you to run rain tires. It was kinda in between. We probably could have gone on rain tires there at the end, but there was no need to. We got in some good laps this morning in the wet and I feel good if it rains tomorrow. I think it’s supposed to rain in the morning and then dry out in the afternoon so I think we’ll have a good dry race.”
Action continues tomorrow with final qualifying for Supersport and Superpole for the Motul Superbike class with those two classes and the KTM RC Cup scheduled for their first of two races. Race two in each class will be held on Sunday.
Check back here later for a more complete recap of Friday's activities.