Petersen showed speed straight away and topped the timesheets in the first practice session. Unfortunately, a technical issue for both him and his teammate ended their second qualifying session early, and he ultimately qualified fourth. When the lights went green, the South African got a good start from the second row of the grid and quickly made his way to the runner-up spot. He was passed a lap later and worked to close back in on the frontrunners but had some grip issues after the halfway mark. He then managed his race to finish comfortably in third and stand on the podium in his debut race with the team.
Gagne’s fast time in the first qualifying session went unchallenged, putting the defending MotoAmerica Superbike on pole position for the first race of the season. Unfortunately, a technical issue had him withdraw from the race on the warm-up lap.
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team lines up again tomorrow for Race 2, on Sunday, April 10, at the Circuit of The Americas.
