2011 Barber AMA SportBike: Race 2 Results

AMA Daytona SportBike

Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin had something to prove – and points to regain – in Sunday’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Race 2, and when the light went green at Sunday’s Barber Motorsports Park contest, that’s exactly what he did.

After stalking GEICO Powersports/RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick through the majority of the hard-fought race, Herrin turned the misery of yesterday’s DNF into a very sweet .022-second margin of victory, then celebrated by scaling an enormous fence to cheers from fans.

Josh Herrin (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) says: “I consider this my home race, and I was really excited. I did the Track Walk yesterday and told a couple fans I’d climb the fence, and they were pretty excited about it. So, I thought I would be nice to the fans,” added the rider who’d just taken a win in 96-degree heat, “to get them out of the shade up there.”

Saturday’s seized engine may come back to haunt Herrin in the overall points chase, but for today, the Yamaha rider – followed across the line by Eslick and GB Bike Parts Racing’s Cameron Beaubier – is back on top. Only on top of the Barber podium, however, as it’s Eslick who’s taken over the championship points lead now, becoming the fourth rider to do so this year.

For Celtic Racing/Fast by Ferracci’s PJ Jacobsen, Sunday’s event was eerily and unpleasantly similar to yesterday’s, in which he crashed out early in the race after leading briefly. In Sunday’s contest, he lost that lead to a string of other riders before sliding out, but he was far from the only front-runner to suffer sideline fate: M4 Suzuki’s Dane Westby followed suit after running as high as third, with former points-leader Cory West (Vesrah Suzuki) ran off just minutes later while trying to move up from fourth. (West was able to reenter, ultimately finishing 20th.)

As Herrin put steadily increasing pressure on Eslick while clearly planning a last-minute attack, it was Y.E.S./Pat Clark/Grave Yamaha’s Tommy Aquino who grabbed the spotlight, putting on a performance unlike anything the 19-year-old’s shown the paddock this year. Though Beaubier ultimately got him at the last minute — “It was a little close,” said Beaubier, “but I had to do it” — Aquino demonstrated he’s still got what it takes to land on the box.

When the white flag flew and the last lap unspooled, Herrin’s attack, which he later labeled part of a “just I hope I can get it, and hope it’ll stick” strategy, let loose on the string of final corners, delivered Herrin to the finish-line less than three tenths ahead of Eslick.

Danny Eslick (GEICO Suzuki GSX-R 600) says: “I can say I got beat. There’s not much else to it. I led every lap down to the last corner pretty much, and he was definitely in a good position. After following me for 20 laps, he knew exactly where I was going on every lap. He definitely had options, and I didn’t know where [the attack] was going to come from, but at that point I knew it was coming pretty quick.”

When asked how the riders handled today’s heat, Eslick quipped, “The same as we do whenever it’s cold – we’re not the smartest people out here.”

Cameron Beaubier (GB Bikes Parts Racing Yamaha YZF-R6) later described his strategy as “just trying not to make any mistakes at the beginning. I knew if I didn’t charge hard enough at beginning, I wouldn’t be there at end,” he continued. “It was a really tough race. I had a couple hard moments trying to keep up, but it was an awesome race.”

Behind Beaubier, Aquino, Taylor Knapp (Vesrah Suzuki), Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing), Kris Turner (Turner’s Cycle Racing), Tyler O’Hara (GP Bike Parts Racing), Barrett Long (Longevity Racing), and Tyler Odom (Don Odom Racing) rounded out the top ten.

The AMA Pro Road Racing Championship heads to Lexington, Ohio’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the July 8-10 weekend, Round 6 on the series calendar. For tickets and information, visit midohio.com or call (419) 884-4000.

2011 AMA Daytona SportBike: Barber Motorsports Park Results

Pos	No.	Rider(s)	Team	Bike	Interval	Gap	Best Lap	Points
1.	8	Josh Herrin	Monster Energy Graves Yamaha	Yamaha YZF-R6	21 Laps	WINNER	1:31.046	0
2.	69	Danny Eslick	Richie Morris Racing	Suzuki GSX-R600	0.022	0.022	1:31.022	0
3.	116	Cameron Beaubier	GP Bike Parts Racing	Yamaha YZF-R6	0.187	0.165	1:30.584	0
4.	6	Tommy Aquino	Yamaha Extended Service, Pat Clark Sports, Graves, Yamaha	Yamaha YZF-R6	0.448	0.260	1:31.332	0
5.	44	Taylor Knapp	Vesrah Suzuki	Suzuki GSX-R600	4.854	4.406	1:31.143	0
6.	40	Jason DiSalvo	Team Latus Motors Racing	Ducati 848	14.432	9.578	1:31.397	0
7.	38	Kris Turner	Turner`s Cycle Racing	Suzuki GSX-R600	14.707	0.274	1:31.035	0
8.	129	Tyler OHara	GP Bike Parts Racing	Yamaha YZF-R6	38.605	23.897	1:32.610	0
9.	29	Barrett Long	Longevity Racing	Ducati 848	38.619	0.013	1:32.383	0
10.	46	Tyler Odom	Don Odom Racing	Honda CBR600RR	45.133	6.514	1:33.010	0
11.	32	Santiago Villa	M4 Suzuki	Suzuki GSX-R600	47.033	1.899	1:32.988	0
12.	45	David Sadowski, Jr.	Top Shelf Motorcycles Racing	Ducati 848	1:08.580	21.547	1:34.141	0
13.	77	Matthew Sadowski	Top Shelf Motorcycles Racing	Ducati 848	1:08.604	0.023	1:33.857	0
14.	81	Wes Humphryes	Humphryes Racing	Suzuki GSX-R600	1:20.560	11.956	1:34.156	0
15.	11	Michael Morgan	Autolite RIM Racing	Suzuki GSX-R600	1:22.306	1.745	1:34.464	0
16.	159	Matt Hall	CS Carey Racing	Yamaha YZF-R6	1:24.688	2.382	1:34.784	0
17.	42	Kenny Riedmann	Kenny Riedmann	Triumph Daytona 675	1:28.291	3.602	1:35.187	0
18.	50	Dirk Sanchez	Sons Mexico	Ducati 848	20 Laps	1 Lap	1:36.225	0
19.	175	Sam Rozynski	Triple Crown Industries	Yamaha YZF-R6	28.791	28.791	1:36.776	0
20.	57	Cory West	Vesrah Suzuki	Suzuki GSX-R600	49.599	20.808	1:31.197	0
21.	5	Dane Westby	M4 Suzuki	Suzuki GSX-R600	8 Laps	12 Laps	1:30.721	0
22.	9	PJ Jacobsen	Celtic Racing	Ducati 848	3:42.981	3:42.981	1:31.364	0
23.	20	Paul Allison	Triple Crown Industries	Yamaha YZF-R6	7 Laps	1 Lap	1:32.244	0
24.	75	Huntley Nash	LTD Racing Y.E.S Yamaha	Yamaha YZF-R6	6 Laps	1 Lap	1:32.466	0
25.	76	Ricky Corey	GP Bike Parts Racing	Yamaha YZF-R6	2 Laps	4 Laps	1:33.003	0
26.	13	Melissa Paris	HT Moto Yamaha	Yamaha YZF-R6	8.209	8.209	1:36.303	0
27.	118	Nahun Alvarez	NA Racing – MFM	Honda CBR600RR	5:56.219	5:48.010	1:37.343	0
28.	7	Fernando Amantini	Team Amantini	Kawasaki ZX-6R	1 Lap	1 Lap	1:36.029	0