Herrin does the double at VIR
AMA Pro Racing Press Release
Race 1
Josh Herrin (No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) took the lead from fifth on the grid on the first lap and then had to pass Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) twice on the last lap to score his first AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL race win.
It was the third Daytona SportBike victory of the year for Team Graves Yamaha and Herrin's first victory in AMA Pro Road Racing competition since winning in AMA Pro SuperSport at Barber Motorsports Park last year. Bostrom won the season-opening Daytona 200 and at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in July in a pair of Daytona SportBike cameo appearances for Team Graves Yamaha earlier this season.
Herrin battled at the front of the field for the entire race but led just the first and final laps and only two others in the 23-lap race. He charged by DiSalvo in Turn 1 on the last lap only to have the Suzuki rider retake the top spot a few corners later. Herrin then regrouped and slipped past DiSalvo in the Turn 16 downhill run leading up to the front straight. DiSalvo made a final move as the leaders crossed the finish line but Herrin held him off for a tight .010 of a second victory.
"At the start of the race I just had to stuff it in there," Herrin said. "I think I passed six guys right there. I didn't think I was going to make it but I did. From there on out it was a pretty smooth race, no big moments. I try not to be a real contact racer. I tried to pass Jason as clean as I could and I didn't feel any contact. My Yamaha's been working really awesome today and I just can't thank my crew enough."
DiSalvo finished second for the third time this year and scored his sixth overall top-three finish. He charged to the lead Saturday after starting ninth after an accident in yesterday's Superpole qualifying.
"I just felt really, really good making passes out there today, which I needed to," said DiSalvo, who was not injured in yesterday's spill. "That was one of the biggest things that I focused on after yesterday, because I knew I'd be coming from ninth. Just figuring out what I needed to do to get from ninth to first, and we did it, we just couldn't hold on. I knew I had the pace. I didn't really expect Josh to come with me, but he did and he put up a great fight at the end. The pass up at the top of the hill was good. I leaned on him a little bit, because at that point that's really all I could do. It was a good race. Tomorrow I just hope to be one spot higher."
Jamie Hacking (No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) finished third for his first podium result since finishing second at Mid-Ohio.
"It was a good race," Hacking said. "I'm still waiting for that win. I know Josh probably feels good, it feels good to actually get a win. It's been a couple of years for me now. We're not giving up for sure. Josh made us look bad there on the start. He came from my row and I don't know how he made it in there in Turn 1, but it was a hell of a ride that he did and he didn't touch anybody."
Jake Zemke (No. 1x Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) and DiSalvo each led a race-high eight laps, with the Honda rider up front for Laps 2 through 9. Zemke finished fourth while Steve Rapp (No. 48 Bazzaz/Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6) rounded out the top five for his best finish since placing third in the Saturday final at Infineon.
The race's only other leader was Herrin's teammate Tommy Aquino (No. 6 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) who was uninjured when he lowsided in Turn 16 battling for the lead on Lap 15. First-time pole-sitter Taylor Knapp (No. 54 Latus Motors Racing Buell 1125R) was also running up front when he lowsided in Turn 3 one lap after Aquino's incident. Knapp was uninjured.
Championship contenders Danny Eslick (No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R) and Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) never played a factor and had quiet runs to seventh and ninth, respectively. Cardenas raced despite a broken hand from a Friday practice crash but only lost two points to Eslick after Saturday's race. Eslick is on top with 332 points, Cardenas in second with 330 markers and Herrin closed on the top duo in third with 291 points.
Race 2
Josh Herrin (No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) went two-for-two and earned the title of Big Kahuna for sweeping the weekend's races at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). In another AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL thriller, Herrin withstood a late charge from a resurgent Danny Eslick (No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R), who crossed the finish line 1.874 seconds behind the winner. Herrin's teammate Tommy Aquino (No. 6 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) rebounded from a spill in yesterday's final to finish third.
"That was a real fun race," Herrin said. "As soon as I heard the Buell coming I just tried to hold him off for a couple more laps so I could I run away. It ended up working out exactly how I wanted to. My pit board said there were three laps left, and there were four laps left, so I actually had to make an extra lap. It was a really good race, everybody rode a good race, it was clean and lots of fun."
After an uneventful ride to seventh place yesterday, Eslick returned to form on Sunday and charged to the front from 12th on the grid. On Lap 19 alone he moved from fifth to second, taking the final spot in a daring move by Herrin in the dirt. Herrin took the spot back later in the lap but both riders were battling for first place the lap after that when leader Roger Hayden (No. 95 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) over shot a corner.
"I guess I forgot about the championship for awhile, I don't know," Eslick said. "I didn't really think about it too much, just tried to ride a good, hard race and go forward. We made some changes overnight to the bike, nothing real major. We knew it wasn't anything real big that was holding us back, just made some adjustments on the shock and changed the gearing a little bit. Just those two small things made all the difference. We were able to run the pace there at the beginning or at least stay consistent and not let the guys get too far away, just run good laps. I knew I had something going I just didn't know I was going to be that strong at the end."
Aquino, who has hit the podium at least once per weekend in the last three events, had high praise for his Team Graves Yamaha crew that worked on his bike until the early morning hours last night.
"My team did such a great job," Aquino said. "They put a lot of work in. I did buy a big Band-Aid magnet at the store to bring some humor to it. They made the bike to almost perfectly how it was yesterday. I felt really good yesterday, just where I was today. The race was crazy. I was at the back, at the front. The race was just really hard, it was hot out there."
Pole-sitter Taylor Knapp (No. 54 Latus Motors Racing Buell 1125R) also recovered from a Saturday lowside to finish fourth while Hayden, who led a race-high 14 laps, completed the top five. Knapp led the opening laps of the race and the only other leader was Jake Zemke (No. 1x Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR), who ended up seventh after running up front for three laps.
Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) finished 11th as he struggled with a broken right hand sustained in Friday's practice session. That result and a ninth place finish in Saturday's Daytona SportBike final has seen him lose 17 points to championship leader Eslick after coming into the race tied at the top of the standings. Eslick now has 357 points, Cardenas has 340 markers and Herrin further improved in third with 321 points.
Sunday's race was red flagged and completely restarted after an opening lap incident in Turn 1 that saw riders Melissa Paris (No. 13 MarkBilt Yamaha YZF-R6) and Brent Lyskawa transported to Danville Regional Medical Center (DRMC). Paris suffered a tibia/fibula fracture of her right leg. Lyskawa's precautionary CT scan was negative.
Later in the Daytona SportBike race, Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) was treated at the track medical facility after his right knee hit a curb at speed while running third. DiSalvo rode his bike off course and retired after the incident. He was examined and released by the VIR Medical Staff after X-Rays were negative. DiSalvo has a deep bruise on his right knee.
