The #1 Josh Hayes Monster Energy Graves Yamaha R1 continued to dominate the morning qualifying here at the Daytona International Speedway. Hayes mentioned yesterday he was expecting to see the 1.37's during qualifying.
With a few warm up laps under his belt this morning, Josh hammered out a 1:37.463 which turned out to be the fastest qualifying time of the day. "Great to start off the season this way... I'm having a lot of fun riding" Josh went on to mention.
Blake Young on the #79 Suzuki GSXR 1000 Yoshimura Racing bike was finally able to break into the 1:37's with an impressive 1:37.890 qulifying speed on lap 15 to narrow the gap with Josh Hayes. "Yamaha guys have found a little bit more speed with their bikes this year" stated Young.
Blake went on to mention, "off season testing showed more horsepower than what it's showing here at Daytona". Despite everything, he's feeling confident in the bike and looks to get on the podium this afternoon.
Roger Hayden riding the # 54 Suzuki GSXR 1000 National Guard Jordan Suzuki bike couldn't seem to break into the 1:37's despite all efforts and rounded off the qualifying with a time of 1:38.132.
Hayden mentioned, "I got a draft which helped a lot. I've been struggling with grip the last two days despite all our efforts. I'm glad to be upfront given the grip we're working with."
Josh Herrin riding the # 2 Monster Energy Graves Yamaha R1 had a strong showing since moving up to the Superbike class. Herrin commented, "I was kind of nervous and was kinda lucky to be on the front row". He went on to say he's confident in his machine and is happy to see his teammate upfront with him. With a time of 1:38.342, not bad for someone that just moved up in classes
Qualifying Session One Results
- Josh Hayes, #1 1:37.463
- Blake Young, #79 1:37.890
- Roger Hayden, #54 1:38.132
- Josh Herrin, #2 1:38.342
- Ben Bostrom, #23 1:38.610
- Chris Clark, #6 1:39.474
- Steve Rapp, #15 1:39.501
- Jake Holden, #59 1:39.580
- Danny Eslick, #69 1:39.677
- Robertino Pietri, #3 1:39.698
- Larry Pegram, #72 1:390.772
- Geoff May, #99 1:39.991
- David Anthony, #25 1:40.473
- Chris Ulrich, #18 1:40.544
- Chris Filmore, #11 1:40.987
- Jordan Burgess, #33 1:41.929
- Jeffrey Lampe, #146 1:43.021
- Eric Pinson, #41 1:43.113
- Trent Gibson, #17 1:43.471
- Eric Haugo, #9 1:43.546
