Gagne got the weekend off to a great start, breaking the track record in Friday’s first qualifying session and went unchallenged to earn the first Superbike pole of the season. He got off to a good start in second behind fellow Yamaha rider Mathew Scholtz and then surged into the lead on the second lap. Before the prospect of a thrilling race-long battle could begin, Gagne had a technical issue before the start of Lap 3, forcing the Californian to withdraw early.
It was a tough start to the weekend for Herrin with only one session on track on the Friday. The 2013 Superbike Champion bounced back to qualify fifth and got a decent start inside the top five. He made his move to fourth after the halfway mark, but the leaders had already amassed a comfortable gap. With five laps to go, the frontrunner made an error and crashed out of the race, enabling Herrin to advance to third and hold his position to the checkered flag for a solid first race back on the Yamaha R1.
The Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team returns to action tomorrow for Race Two at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Sunday, May 2.
