Yamaha’s Josh Herrin (photo by Brian J. Nelson)
Though the 2015 MotoAmerica Supersport season began somewhat slow for Wheels In Motion/Meen Motorsports Yamaha’s Josh Herrin, he redeemed himself during Saturday’s race one at Road Atlanta.
Herrin, who competed last year in Moto2, was able to beat Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves Motorsports Yamaha teammates Garrett Gerloff and JD Beach to the checkered flag, making for an all-Yamaha YZF-R6 podium. This was Herrin’s first race win since winning at 2013 New Jersey Motorsports Park during his AMA SuperBike title-winning year. Herrin also won 15 AMA Sportbike races aboard a Yamaha R6.
Herrin took the win by a mere 0.428 of a second, with Beach finishing a further 3.2 seconds back.
“Just being able to come back, it’s really important,” Herrin said. “I know there was a lot of people doubting us. Daytona went good, but I know these guys weren’t there and at COTA we were riding in the rain so this was our first dry race with all these guys. I thought it was really important for me to get the win just so I could have a strong year. I’ve been struggling a lot in practice this weekend trying to keep up with this guy [Gerloff] and I was getting real nervous right before the race, getting nauseous.
“I was just wondering if we were going to be able to keep the pace because we weren’t very fast this morning in the dry. It kept me on my toes, but that’s the first race I’ve ever been able to win from the front… I think since New Jersey in 2009 with [Jake] Zemke. It feels good to be able to do that many laps in row by myself and have a good pace. I’m excited about it for sure.”
Yamaha’s Garret Gerloff (photo by Brian J. Nelson)
These three riders also finished on Sunday’s race two podium, but this time it was Gerloff who took the top honors. He beat Herrin by an impressive 8.630 seconds and Beach crossed the line in third.
Yamalube/Graves Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff dominated today’s race to become the third different Supersport winner in the three-race old season. Gerloff beat Saturday’s winner Josh Herrin by 8.630 seconds. Gerloff’s teammate JD Beach finished third for the second straight day on his Yamaha R6.
This was Gerloff’s debut Supersport win after opening the season with two second-place finishes.
“It’s good to finally get one out of the way,” Gerloff said. “I know I can keep doing it whether it’s wet or dry. The race went really well. As soon as I got a little bit of a gap, I relaxed a lot. That was a big help. I just tried to ride my own race and monitor the gap. It feels awesome.”
Gerloff now leads the championship by eight points, 65-57, over Beach, who won the season opener at Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Herrin moves to third with 54 points.
Yamaha’s Joe Roberts (photo by Brian J. Nelson)
The Superstock 600 class, which runs with Supersport, was dominated by Herrin’s teammate, Joe Roberts, who earned five AMA SuperSport races ahead of 2015 MotoAmerica.
Roberts won both races in Road Atlanta. As in the Supsport class, Yamaha machinery topped the podium in both Superstock races. Roberts was joined on the race-one podium by Yamaha’s Richie Excalante and Yamaha’s Travis Wyman, respectively. In race two, he was joined on the podium by Wyman and Yamaha’s Wyatt Farris, respectively.
“Yesterday was a tough race because I was pushing hard the whole time,” Roberts said Sunday following the race-two win. “It was a little hotter yesterday than today, but I think today was where I had the most pressure on me with the situation with the track drying out and us being on rain tires. You really had to keep your focus in that race so I think today was a little tougher than yesterday.”
2015 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Supersport Results, race one:
- Josh Herrin (Yamaha)
- Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha)
- JD Beach (Yamaha)
- David Anthony (Suzuki)
- Tomas Puerta (Yamaha)
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- Tucker Lancaster (Kawasaki)
- Ben Young (Yamaha)
- Kaleb De Keyrel (Yamaha)
- Corey Alexander (Yamaha)
2015 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Superstock Results, race one:
- Joe Roberts (Yamaha)
- Richie Escalante (Yamaha)
- Travis Wyman (Yamaha)
- Wyatt Farris (Yamaha)
- JC Camacho (Yamaha)
- Nick McFadden (Suzuki)
- Hayden Schultz (Yamaha)
- Andy DiBrino (Yamaha)
- Gavin Elstad (Honda)
- Ryan Jones (Honda)
2015 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Supersport Results, race two:
- Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha)
- Josh Herrin (Yamaha)
- JD Beach (Yamaha)
- Tomas Puerta (Yamaha)
- David Anthony (Suzuki)
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- Ben Young (Yamaha)
- Kyle Wyman (Yamaha)
- Hayden Gillim (MV Agusta)
- Javelin Broderick (Kawasaki)
2015 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Superstock Results, race two:
- Joe Roberts (Yamaha)
- Travis Wyman (Yamaha)
- Wyatt Farris (Yamaha)
- Richie Escalante (Yamaha)
- Andy DiBrino (Yamaha)
- Nick McFadden (Suzuki)
- Ryan Jones (Honda)
- Bryce Prince (Yamaha)
- Michael Gilbert (Yamaha)
- Gavin Elstad (Yamaha)
The post 2015 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Supersport Results & Recap appeared first on Ultimate MotorCycling Magazine.