Bobby Fong and his Suzuki from the M4 Ecstar team finally achieved the best time during the official MotoAmerica/Dunlop pre-season test at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin. On his GSX-R1000 with a soft rear tire, Bobby Fong posted a lap time of 2'08.343, the fastest time of the two days of testing, which is also faster than that of Josh Herrin in 2019, who set the race lap record in 2'08.994.
Until the final session, it seemed that the “rookie” of this Championship, Loris Baz, or the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike runner-up, Jake Gagne, would take home the fastest lap honors. Loris Baz and his Panigale V4R on Team Warhorse HSBK set a spectacular time on day one, with the Frenchman setting a fantastic time of 2'08.595.
Unfortunately, Loris Baz did not perform as well on the second day: a small, minor fall and a time of 2'09.127 in cooler and windier conditions. prevent him from repeating his feat. But the former MotoGP and Superbike rider still left the test as the second fastest rider overall, so he can be happy with the job he did.
For his part, Jake Gagne led the sixth and seventh sessions of the second day, although he and his new team focused on the basic set up on his Fresh N' Lean Attack Performance team Yamaha YZF-R1 rather than chasing the clock. It can be noted that Jake Gagne never used a soft compound tire during the two days, but still achieved a very good 2'08.902 with a hard tire on Wednesday, which placed him third in the general classification of the test.
Josh Herrin, le coéquipier de Jake Gagne, a déclaré qu’il passait un test “terrible” jusqu’aux dernières minutes de la séance finale. C’est alors que son chef d’équipe, Richard Stanboli, a tout misé sur un grand changement pour permettre à Josh Herrin d’être plus à l’aise avec sa Yamaha en virage, ce qui lui a posé problème. Ces modifications ont bien fonctionné, Josh Herrin a décidé de passer un nouveau train de pneu pour retourner en piste juste à temps pour un tour rapide : il obtient le cinquième chrono le plus rapide du jour avec un 2’09.642.
The first race will take place on May 2 on the Road Atlanta track.
Photos: Facebook Loris Baz
