DETROIT, Michigan: Hunter Lawrence crashed in the first qualification session, but rebounded to post the fastest time overall. He will have the best gate pick in his heat.
“It sounds stupid, but I just had to nail every section of the track,” Lawrence told Peacock’s Haley Shanley. “It sounds simple, like you should be trying to do anyway, but it was really tough. The faces are really sticky and they want to grab you and send you other directions.
I like it. It’s shaping up to be a good, technical main event.”
Ken Roczen (51.565) backed up his fastest Q1 time with the second-best speed in the second session.
Malcolm Stewart (51.894) was another rider who showed significant improvement in the second session. He was third overall.
Chase Sexton (51.896) returned to racing this week and his break for injury seems to have suited him. He was fourth overall.
Justin Cooper (51.945) rounded out the top five.
Eli Tomac (52.405) struggled in both sessions and was ultimately ninth overall.
Dylan Ferrandis (52.405) posted a lap identical to Tomac in his first race back from injury.
Complete Qualification Results after Q2
Qualification 1
Roczen (51.803) topped a qualification chart for the first time this year as he sets to prove that he is a not a racer who fades in the second half of a season.
In his return to the lineup, Sexton (51.896) showed the second-fastest speed.
Cooper (51.945) landed third on the chart.
Fourth-place Justin Hill (52.274) and Jorge Prado (52.415) rounded out the top five.
Eli Tomac logged a moderate number of 52.659 seconds and was seventh in the session.
Lawrence (52.685) had a significant crash in the first session and went through on of the nets at the end of a bowl turn. He paced himself for the remainder of the session and was eighth on the chart.
Justin Bogle (55.469) was the fastest rider in Group B.
Complete Qualification 1 Results
Last week, Eli Tomac was the fastest in Birmingham qualification ahead of championship rival Hunter Lawrence, but Lawrence picked up the pace in race trim.
