After Austin and Road Atlanta, the MotoAmerica Superbike championship settles down this weekend in Virginia, at the Virginia Int'l Raceway, more commonly known as VIR.
At his head, Danilo Petrucci (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC) leads with his Panigale V4 R on Matthew Scholtz (Westby Racing) who rides a Yamaha YZF-R1. The two men, however, experienced misadventures at Road Atlanta, the Italian having to retire due to engine overheating caused by waiting too long on the starting grid and the South African falling while fighting for second place.
But these incidents are less serious than those which penalized the reigning champion Jake Gagne (Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha) and his teammate Cameron Petersen who have lined up blank results in the first three races, whether these were caused by (serious) mechanical problems or falls.
Finally, Danilo Petrucci leads by 15 points but, with two races per weekend, everything remains open, including from this third clash.
- Danilo Petrucci 75 Ducati
- Matthew Scholtz 60 Yamaha
- Cameron Petersen 49 Yamaha
- Hector Barbera 46 BMW
- Richie Escalante 42 Suzuki
- Jake Gagne 41 Yamaha
Most experts believed that Danilo Petrucci would struggle to learn the tricky Road Atlanta circuit. Qualified second, just 0,060 seconds behind Jake Gagne, it didn't happen and that's a good thing because his schedule (testing the Desert There is now a suffocating heat!
Never mind, after having discovered the route during the only free practice session (4th time one second behind Jake Gagne, Mathew Scholtz and Cameron Petersen), petrux snatched the 3rd time during the first qualification.
Continues tomorrow, with a second 30-minute qualifying session preceding the first 20-lap race.
