There was a lot of emotion on the starting grid for this revival race, the first for an important national championship after this long period under the extinguisher. Dorna was closely following the organization of this event without spectators, so that she could soon use her lessons.
All the technicians present on the circuit wore masks, and the safety distance was respected, even for interviews with the drivers for TV in the pits, carried out at a distance of two meters with a gun microphone (very directional).
When first qualifying session, Sean Dylan Kelly achieved the best time on Friday on his official GSX-R600 entered by the M4 Ecstar Suzuki team, in 2'20.981. He preceded his main opponent this weekend, the Mexican Richie Escalante (Kawasaki) by 0.183, while Brandon Paasch (Yamaha) occupied third position at 0.322.
On Saturday morning, during the second qualifying session, the best time of the two sessions combined went to Richie Escalante in 2'19.192, 0.328 ahead of his main opponent Sean Dylan Kelly.
Whoa, Kelly… @SDK400 made quite the save today in Supersport final qualifying. He will start the race from second on the front row and with a slightly higher voice. pic.twitter.com/KXgoAQM2Wj
— MotoAmerica (@MotoAmerica) May 30, 2020
Results of the second qualifying session:
Starting grid:
Race 1 Supersport:
At the start of Race 1, the fastest to start was Richie Escalante ahead of Sean Dylan Kelly, Brandon Paasch, Xavier Zayat and Jason Aguilar. Kawasaki led ahead of Suzuki and Yamaha, which was a big change from the Supersport World Championship.
Escalante was closely followed by Kelly and Paasch, while Salvadoran Kevin Olmedo took his Altus Motorsports Suzuki to a good fourth position ahead of Aguilar.
With 9 laps remaining (out of a total of 11), Escalante and Kelly were 1.1 ahead of Paasch, 2.5 over Olmedo and 4.0 over Aguilar. Mexican Escalante set the fastest lap in 2'19.929. It was the only one under 2.20. Escalante's Kawasaki is developed largely by Graves Motorsport, which previously collaborated with Yamaha.
At halfway, Escalante was ahead of Kelly by 0.3, Paasch by 2.1 and Olmedo by 9.9. Escalante passed in 2'19.775 and Kelly in 2'19.816. Sean Dylan Kelly fell 3 laps from the end, due to a high side when braking, not serious (he had broken his leg this winter in training).
Escalante was then 4.2 ahead of Paasch, 17.1 ahead of Olmedo and 17.7 ahead of Aguilar. But Aguilar was stopped at the black flag with an orange circle due to a technical danger.
Mexico was ahead of the United States and El Salvador at the finish line, with Richie Escalante ahead of Brandon Paasch and Kevin Olmedo. Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata were avenged! Zapata who once declared “ it is better to die standing than to live on your knees. »
Results of Race 1 Supersport:
Race 2 this Sunday at 21:15 p.m.
Richie Escalante
Photos © MotoAmerica
