RRX RACE REPORT: Daytona 200

RRX RACE REPORT: Daytona 200 (Pic)

Nineteen-year-old Josh Herrin won the sixty-ninth running of the Daytona 200 in an impressive display of fast riding and smart decision-making. The Graves Yamaha rider was followed by Project 1 Atlanta’s Dane Westby and 2007 winner Steve Rapp, on a Latus Motors Ducati 848.

(From left) Dane Westby, Josh Herrin, and Steve Rapp * CJ photo

The race lasted just a few turns before a red flag flew when two separate incidents took out a number of riders, including Martin Cardenas. That had some worried that it would turn into an error-ridden affair along the lines of last year’s 200, but the restart didn’t take long, and things ran relatively smoothly after that.

Up until the first of two pit stops, at around eighteen laps, the fans were treated to an incredible seven-rider battle in a lead group that comprised Herrin, GEICO/RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick, Graves Yamaha’s Tommy Aquino, Westby, Rapp, Picotte Racing’s Brett McCormick, and Aussie Dave Racing’s Kev Coghlan, with the lead being swapped on a regular basis and riders entering corners four-wide. Aquino (whose bike had been belching flames off-throttle since the start) was the first to pit, coasting into pit road out of fuel. Things got worse from there, as the Yamaha team’s dump can malfunctioned and poured fuel everywhere, and with Herrin about to pit behind him, the team had to abandon him while they attended to their other rider. Aquino did not reenter the race.

Scot Kev Coghlan completed the top five, with Vesrah Suzuki’s Cory West and GMR Racing’s Geoff May taking sixth and seventh, respectively. The top ten were rounded out by Shawn Higbee, Taylor Knapp, and Eric Wood.

After all of the top riders had pitted, things spread out a bit, with Herrin and Westby at the front, and Rapp and Eslick about seven seconds back. That’s the way they stayed through the second stop as well (which occurred on lap 39 of 57 for the top four riders), although the gaps stretched out a bit.

Other items of interest:
• Female rider Melissa Paris was just outside the top ten when she crashed on lap 50.
• Paris crashed out when she lost the front moments after being lapped by Herrin entering the chicane, suggesting that she may have been sucked into the section by the leader’s draft.
• Herrin had come up just short of winning last year’s Daytona 200 but was bettered by teammate Ben Bostrom.
• Coghlan crashed spectacularly out of the race on his very last lap, but because the riders after him were all at least a lap down, he was still credited with fifth place.
• Herrin had landed hard on his shoulder two times this week before the race–once in a crash on the track and once in a pit accident.