AMA XR1200 Series News
RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing rider Danny Eslick took his second consecutive victory in the AMA Pro Racing Vance &Hines XR1200 Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 19, emerging victorious from a three-way battle between himself, RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing teammate Jake Holden, and HOG Racing’s Shawn Higbee, a veteran of the 1990s-era AMA Harley-Davidson 883 Twin Sports series.
Higbee, starting from the third spot on the grid, passed second place Holden in turn one on the start, dropped back to third later in the opening lap, and chased Holden for several laps until taking over the second spot for good on lap 7.
Higbee then briefly battled Eslick for the lead until settling comfortably into a second as Holden dropped back. Eslick held off Higbee at the end of the 17-lap race by a 1.726-second margin, with Holden a further 12.5 seconds back. For Eslick, who also competes in the AMA Daytona SportBike class, it was his second class win of the day.
Travis Wyman held fourth place until lap 14, when he made a dramatic save in the gravel trap exiting the final corner onto the front straight, keeping his Harv’s Harley-Davidson XR1200 upright before skidding to a stop and along the outside wall. His subsequent retirement ceded fourth position to his brother, Kyle Wyman, riding for RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing.
Eric Stump (Doc’s Harley-Davidson), John Ashmead (Brady-Schwemmer Racing), and Paul James (James Gang/Hoban Brothers/H-D of Appleton) rounded out the running order.
Danny Eslick says: “I had a lot of confidence from the win at Road America. We had a super close race with me and Jake at Road America, and I kind of expected the same thing in Ohio with Shawn in there too, because he was showing some good speed.”
“But Jake had some set up issues [in the race] and Shawn had some set backs with a couple of crashes, so I was able to pull away a little bit and get a comfortable win.”
Shawn Higbee says “Racing the X1200 brought back some good memories. I was pleased that we were competitive right away. I think 2nd place was a decent showing for the limited time [we had] on the bike.”
The Vance & Hines XR1200 series returns for the third of five rounds at VIRginia International Raceway Aug. 14-15.
