Racing

MotoAmerica Championship of Utah Practice Report

Toni Elias, Valentin Debise lead the way on Day 1 in Utah

June 24, 2017

Toni Elias put his Suzuki atop the practice sheets in both Superbike sessionsBrian J. Nelson

Picture perfect weather and fast lap times were the story of Day 1 at the Utah Motorsports Campus, the site of Round 5 of the 2017 MotoAmerica Series. At the end of the day it was Yoshimura Suzuki's Toni Elias on top of the Motul Superbike class, with the Spaniard lapping at a best of 1:49.811 to edge out his teammate Roger Hayden.

Reigning champion Cameron Beaubier rounded out the top three aboard his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing bike, rebounding from a crash in the opening practice.

Debise regained the speed he had to start 2017 in Supersport practiceBrian J. Nelson

In Supersport action it was M4 ECSTAR Suzuki's Valentin Debise leading the way over championship points leader Garrett Gerloff by just .046 of a second. Gerloff's Monster Energy/Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves Yamaha teammate JD Beach ended up third, just .122 of a second behind.

Action will continue tomorrow with final qualifying for Supersport and Superpole for the Motul Superbike class, with those two classes and the KTM RC Cup all scheduled for their first of two races as well. Race two in each class will be held on Sunday.