Herrin Edges Rapp in Daytona SportBike

Henny Ray Abrams | June 5, 2010

ELKHART LAKE, WI, JUNE 5: Team Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin mimicked his senior teammate by winning a photo finish, but under more difficult conditions, at Road America.Just as Team Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes had done in the previous race, Herrin led out of the final corner and held off a furious attack to win his third race of the year. Hayes held off Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden. For Herrin, it was Latus Racing’s Steve Rapp (Duc) who pressed him to the line, finishing second by .008 of a second. (Hayes officially finished tied with Hayden, though a finish line photo showed the difference as the width of the front wheel.)The win also puts Herrin into the championship lead with 190 to 184 for Geico Powersports/RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick, a distant fifth today. M4 Monster Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, who’d led and had been part of the lead battle late into the 13-lap race, finished five-plus seconds back in third. Cardenas sits third in the championship with 154 points.There were a few raindrops on the television lenses from the start of the race, not that the riders seemed to notice. Within a few laps there was a clear pecking order, with Cardenas in front of Herrin and Rapp and Seller off the back, but hopeful.Herrin and Cardenas swapped the lead until the sixth lap when Rapp took over for the first time as the rain began to intensify.Rapp held the point for a lap, then it was back to Herrin for laps eight through ten, with Seller now part of the mix and eager to make his mark.Starting the 11th lap Seller took the lead into turn one as Rapp pushed Herrin wide to take second. But it didn’t stick. Herrin made a double pass out of turn three to take the lead as the lap count ran down.Seller lost touch with the leaders when he got caught behind a lapper out of the Carousel. It would now be a three-rider race to the end.Rapp crossed the line ending the 11th lap with .437 of a second in hand, the biggest lead of the race until the next lap when the gap was .454 of a second. But it was meaningless.Herrin charged at Rapp and went in front on the approach to turn five as the lead two left Cardenas to a secure third.Rapp closed on Herrin out of the final corner when the Yamaha rider made a small mistake, but it wasn’t enough. Herrin weaved a bit on the run to the flag to win by a little over a wheel width.Cardenas ended his streak of win or crash by finishing third. In the first seven races he’d won four times and crashed three times.Seller ended up alone in fourth, as did Eslick in fifth.Celtic Racing’s P.J. Jacobsen emerged from a three-rider battle to finish sixth, his best ever in Daytona SportBike. Late in the race he pulled away from Fernando Amantini (Kaw) and Kris Turner, who was just back.Project 1 Atlanta’s Dane Westby recovered from an early off-track excursion while in pursuit of Rapp to finish ninth.

Results:

1. Josh Herrin (Yamaha)

2. Steve Rapp (Ducati)

3. Martin Cardenas (Suzuki)

4. Clinton Seller (Yamaha)

5. Danny Eslick (Suzuki)

6. P.J. Jacobsen (Suzuki)

7. Fernando Amantini (Kawasaki)

8. Kris Turner (Suzuki)

9. Dane Westby (Yamaha)

10. Jimmy Wood (Kawasaki)