Hayes wins but Herrin leads standings

MILLVILLE, N.J. – Three-time AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike champion Josh Hayes turned 40 on Sunday at the New Jersey Lottery Devil’s Showdown. Not in years, but in career National Guard SuperBike victories, as the Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha superstar rebounded from Saturday’s disappointment with a vintage ride that served as a clear reminder that he’s still the man to beat in any given premier-class race.

While he faces long odds in his quest to claim an unprecedented fourth-straight AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike title, the Mississippian got a measure of revenge for Saturday’s contest. On Saturday, Hayes fought his way through the field after suffering an early electrical issue to take the checkered flag first, only to ultimately be dropped down to fourth in the official standings due to his third jump-start infraction of the 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season.

On Sunday, after getting away cleanly at the start, Hayes powered into turn one in third position from pole and then worked his way into the lead by the time the field returned to the start/finish straight for the first time in the 23-lap race.

Hayes’ Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha teammate, Josh Herrin, slotted in behind Hayes’ rear wheel and the two factory Yamaha pilots made a quick escape from the remainder of the pack. Herrin, who (again) capitalized on Hayes’ costly mistake on Saturday to pick up his fourth win of the season and grab the inside line to this year’s crown, tagged along for several laps before Hayes’ blistering pace finally proved too much.

With Herrin no longer in his shadow, the champ immediately ripped open a sizable advantage, which he managed for the bulk of the race. Hayes ultimately scored his seventh victory of 2013 by 3.199 seconds.

The triumph was Hayes’ eighth SuperBike win at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Afterwards, the straight-faced Yamaha ace said, “The race went pretty good. This morning I went out and put in a good string of laps so I knew I was capable of doing a lot of ’21s. I just tried to get myself to the front and see how fast I could go. I did a couple ’20s and Josh did a pretty good job — he was able to hang on while we were doing those. I just tried to keep the pressure on so I could get a little gap. It seemed like I got it and then it kind of hovered… I just tried to be steady and not make any mistakes or miss any marks. I just had a good, smooth ride and was able to bring it home.”

Herrin wouldn’t be lonely in second for long after losing Hayes’ tow, however, as he was tracked down by Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Martin Cardenas and National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Roger Hayden. They clawed their way up to make it a three-way fight for second position with just two laps to go.

Colombian Cardenas made his bid for the position on the final lap but Herrin was able to counter his pass with one of his own and hold the spot by 0.055 of a second at the stripe.

Hayden, who overtook Cardenas for third momentarily the lap before, was an interested observer in the heated battle as he accepted fourth just a half-second removed from a runner-up finish.

With just a single race left to contest, Herrin heads to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca at the end of the month with 320 points and on the verge of his first SuperBike title. Hayes and Cardenas are still alive should things go wrong for Herrin, however, holding 298 and 297 points, respectively.

A finish inside the top 10 is all Herrin needs to earn his first-ever AMA Pro title.

 Herrin said, “It feels good. It’s been since 2008 that I’ve been trying to get a championship. I’m not there yet but it’s getting closer. Today I went into the race really nervous — I’m not going to lie. I was thinking about the points and what I needed to do to get enough of a gap to where I wouldn’t have to worry too much at Laguna and I think we accomplished that.

“It’s not going to be easy to finish in the top 10 but it’s a lot of weight off my shoulder knowing that’s the goal. We’ve been working hard all year and we’ve had minimal problems and we’ve only not finished on the podium twice all year. That was something that was real important to me this year… I’m just really excited to go to Laguna.”

Cardenas is now third, 23 points back of Herrin.

The Suzuki runner said, “It was a very long and tough race; I didn’t have rest at any time. I made a good start but, at the end of the first lap, the two Josh’s passed me and they were a little bit faster than me on the first few laps. And then Danny (Eslick) and Roger tried to pass me and I had to fight back. By that time, Herrin and Hayes had a little gap and all the race I was trying to close that gap.

“I was trying as hard as I could every lap, and I saw the gap was coming down (to Herrin) little by little. On the last lap, I caught Herrin and tried to do my best to pass him and hold the position. I made an attempt, and it worked but only for a little bit and he passed me back. There was no other chance, so I had to settle for third.”

Jordan Suzuki’s Danny Eslick starred in the race’s early stages, dicing back and forth with Cardenas and Hayden while contesting third position. Eventually he fell off that chase and into a fifth-place finish — his ninth top-five of the 2013 campaign.

KTM/HMC Racing’s Chris Fillmore shook Team HERO EBR’s Geoff May and made a late run on Eslick, ultimately coming up just over a second short while claiming sixth position.

May finished a lonely seventh while Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing’s Larry Pegram was an equally clear eighth.

Fillmore’s KTM teammate Taylor Knapp won out in a race-long scrap for ninth ahead of 10th-place finisher David Anthony (Motosport.com Motul Fly Racing) and 11th-placed Aaron Yates (Team Amsoil/HERO EBR).

Cameron Beaubier won AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race number 11 of the 2013 season in dominating fashion, logging a 7.693-second victory over his Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha teammate Garrett Gerloff. Bobby Fong and D&D Cycles/Castrol/Triumph returned to the podium with a strong third place.

Beaubier got away quickly and consolidated his lead. After a red flag, he did it again to extend his record the day after he clinched the 2013 championship, proving himself to be the class of the field as both Jake Lewis (Meen Motorsports) and Jake Gagne (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull) crashed out of second place.

“Going into today, it was a relief wrapping up the championship, and I went into today with no pressure. I tried to get a good start and put my head down,” said Beaubier after the win. “For the restart, I was trying to be really aggressive. I didn’t know both Jakes crashed until I came in but I have to give it up to my team. It feels good having won one more race and be the champion.”

Gerloff’s second place was a nice rebound after a fall on Saturday. Fong was able to return to the podium after earning third at Daytona.

Benny Solis earned his best result yet in the class after a spirited four-rider fight for fourth. The M4 Hotbodies Racing pilot beat Latus Motors Racing’s Jason DiSalvo, GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing’s Dane Westby and Jake Zemke on the Riders Discount Racing Triumph for the position.

The 2013 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport East Division championship came down to 18 laps of furious action in New Jersey, and Corey Alexander won the championship by a sole point over Hayden Gillim in a thrilling race won by overall Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport champion Tomas Puerta of RoadRace Factory/Red Bull.

Team 95’s Gillim was able to beat National Guard/Celtic Racing’s Alexander and finish second, while Alexander took third place over MotoSport.com RSRacecraft’s Stefano Mesa at the stripe by just 0.013 of a second.

Aerostar Global/Suburban Harley-Davison’s Steve Rapp strengthened his bid to secure his first career GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing championship Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Rapp returned to his winning ways as he claimed his fifth AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series victory of the season in dominant fashion.

Rapp gapped the field from the start, opening up nearly a full second of padding on the race’s opening lap. The veteran ace proceeded to manage his advantage from there, working up a margin of nearly five seconds before ultimately calling off the dogs and cruising to the checkered flag with 2.160 seconds in hand.

The blowout win — along with the bonus points he earned for his record-breaking pole lap and leading the most laps — extends Rapp’s XR Showdown lead to 22 points with just the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca finale left to decide the 2013 AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series title.

Rapp’s Suburban Harley-Davidson teammate, Ben Carlson, Harv’s Harley-Davidson’s Travis Wyman, and Eco Fuel Saver/Scrubblade’s Tyler O’Hara waged an early slugfest for second position.

That battle was more than doubled up as Designstar3.com/Empire Harley-Davidson’s ’12 NJMP winner Shane Narbonne, MOB Racing’s Eric Stump, Kyle Wyman Racing’s Kyle Wyman, and defending champ Michael Barnes (Spyke’s Harley-Davidson) closed in and ultimately joined the podium tussle.

After considerable jockeying for position, O’Hara successfully worked his way past a very racey Stump to steal second position at the flag by just fractions of a second.

The 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season will conclude in two weeks as the series returns to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. to join the FIM Superbike World Championship on Sept. 27-29.

SuperBike Race 1 Results (Saturday)

Race Time: 28:52.676
Margin of Victory: 0.456
Best Race Lap: Martin Cardenas (1:21.330)

SuperBike Race 2 Results (Sunday)

Race Time: 31:24.008
Margin of Victory: 3.199
Best Race Lap: Josh Hayes (1:20.716)

SuperBike Point Standings (Top 16)

–From AMA Pro Racing

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