Sunnyvale, California, August 16, 2024 — The warhorse HSBK Ducati Racing celebrated a successful day on Friday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: Both Loris Baz and Josh Herrin finished the day in the top four.
Baz and Herrin worked together in the first qualifying round in the afternoon, which benefited the Frenchman, who overtook Herrin in the overall standings. Baz noticed a few issues with the performance of the Dunlop front tyre on his Ducati Panigale V4 R and rode the 3.8km course 14 times over the course of the day, finishing second overall on Friday behind pacesetter Cameron Beaubier.
After a decade away from the national calendar, 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship leader Josh Herrin made 17 rounds at Mid-Ohio on Friday, finishing fourth overall and earning a front-row start.
2024 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Superbike Qualifying 1 Results – Top 5
P1 – Cameron Beaubier 1:23.904
P2 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 1:24.026
P3 – Sean Dylan Kelly 1:24.179
P4 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 1:24.241
P5 – Jake Gagne 1:24.852
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“I put new tires on, but then my teammate beat my time with a slipstream,” said Herrin with a cheeky smile. “But the bike is working well here. I was nervous before this weekend and thought it might be similar to Barber a few months ago when we had some problems, but we are really competitive here.”
“We should be well placed for the race, but I would really like to be on the front row. Our gearing is too long to ride the bike the way we want, so we might not have the starting power we want. So it’s really important to get on the front row. We’ll be there for the first race.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“It was good. I love the track,” said Baz. “We did a test last week and my confidence is growing all the time. This track is a bit strange for tyre life, we had a few problems with the front axle but it was OK. I’m always third or fourth so I need to make the jump to match Josh and Cameron’s (Beaubier) pace. Josh helped me get into the top three in the last session. I tried to help him on the next lap by slipstreaming him but that didn’t work. But it’s OK – Josh knows I’ll help him whenever he needs it. It’s shaping up to be a good weekend for the whole Warhorse HSBK Ducati Racing Team.”
Racing action for Round 8 of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship begins at 8:30 a.m. EDT, with Baz and Herrin expected to hit the track for second qualifying at 10:20 a.m. EDT.
Race One begins on Saturday, August 17, at 3:10 p.m. EDT and Race Two is scheduled for Sunday, August 18, 2024, at 3:10 p.m. EDT.
