Motourage

Graves Motorsports‘ Josh Herrin issued a statement on his Facebook page yesterday in response to the suspension, probabtion and fine handed down from AMA Pro Racing for what it perceived as a dangerous maneuver during the last moments of the Daytona 200.

Herrin and Project 1 Atlanta rider Dane Westby made contact several times on the final straight. During the contact, Herrin or his bike activated Westby’s front brake lever causing him to crash and bring down trailing rider Taylor Knapp.

After reviewing the footage and talking with those involved, the AMA made the decision to impose a one race suspension, season-long probation and a $7,500 fine to the Graves Motorsports racer.

Herrin responded with this post on his Facebook page:

“Ever since I was a little kid racing mini bikes it has been my dream to become a professional racer. Five years ago, after years of hard work and dedication, I had the good fortune to achieve my goal of becoming a professional racer.

For me as a racer, it’s incredibly disappointing when I don’t win, and sometimes in the heat of the moment at a race’s conclusion, make statements which are regrettable. That said; I would like to set the records straight and say that I did not intend to get caught up in the last lap incident that jeopardized my fellow racers Dane Westby and Taylor Knapp. I am sincerely thankful that Dane and Taylor did not sustain any serious injuries.

For the record, I do not agree with the penalty that was assessed and with a clear conscience I can say that I am not guilty of what was said of my actions. I want to ensure my fans, my team, my sponsors, the AMA and my fellow riders that it has always been and will continue to be my goal to race as competitively as possible for the entertainment of everyone while staying within the AMA rules and not endangering anyone else on the track. I look forward to this matter reaching a fair resolution and participating in future AMA Pro Racing events. Thank you to everyone who has believed in me and continued to support me.

-Josh Herrin”

AMA Pro Racing announced that penalties and an accompanying fine have been assessed against Josh Herrin and Graves Motorsports, respectively, as the result of actions during the March 12 Daytona 200, specifically those related to the rider’s last-lap approach to start/finish. As per the AMA Pro Road Racing 2011 Rule Book, rules A1.1, A2.1, A2.3.p, and A2.3.u, the details of the penalties and fine are as follows:

Rider penalty: One-event suspension, to be applied at Infineon Raceway Round 2, May 13-15

Rider penalty: Season-long probation, in effect through December 31, 2011, the violation of which shall result in further and more-serious penalties

Team penalty: $7,500 fine, the entire proceeds of which will be applied to the purchase of additional Airfence

Both rider and team were notified of the above details in advance of this release, and the penalties do not prevent them from taking part in the May 2-3 official AMA Pro test at Miller Motorsports Park.

After losing out on the Daytona 200 victory in 2009, No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 rider Josh Herrin secured his name in the history books by becoming the 69th winner of the Daytona Beach classic.  Held for the second year in a row under the lights, Herrin battled a number of riders before pulling away after a super quick pit stop on lap 39.  After that, he rode with tremendous composure and skill to take the checkered flag with a 7.964 second margin of victory on the historic 3.55 mile Daytona International Speedway.

Dane Westby and his No. 2 Project 1 Yamaha YZF-R6 took a well deserved second place and up until the last pit stop, it was a two man race.  Westby showed his skill by running up front all night, trading the lead with Herrin several times over the course of the 57 lap race.  Finishing third was 2007 Daytona 200 winner Steve Rapp on his No. 15 Team Latus Motors Racing Ducati 848.  Rapp also ran up front all night and was one of five riders to lead during the race. 

Leading the field off the line was pole winner Danny Eslick on the No. 1 GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki GSX-R600 and as the field took the green flag from the standing start, fellow front row rider Martin Cardenas, riding the No. 36 Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki GSX-R600, shot into the lead and led the field through turns one and two.  In a heartbreaking moment, Cardenas had the front end slide out on him going into turn three and down he went, his race over.  It was a devastating moment for what was clearly a big pre-race favorite.  Further back in the lineup, a number of riders came together in the next turn, necessitating a red flag and immediate race stoppage and full restart from the original grid.

One rider, P.J. Jacobson, was transported from the scene to Halifax Hospital but was later released.  Four other riders were examined at the infield care center and released and one rider, Bostjan Skubic, later complained of dizziness, was taken to Halifax for precautionary evaluation and was later released.  After a brief delay, the race was restarted and this time the field had three riders go off in turn one but with no impact on the race.  A tight group of 10 riders were drafting and swapping positions, with many changes every lap. Rapp, Herrin, Eslick, Team Graves Yamaha teammate Tommy Aquino, Kev Coghlan riding the Aussie Dave Racing Yamaha, Westby and more were all part of the action. 

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Josh Hayes (No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1), Josh Herrin (No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) and Yamaha doubled up to close out the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season with a pair of repeat race wins Sunday in the AMA Pro Superbike Championships on Thunderbolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP).

Hayes won his fourth straight and seventh overall AMA Pro American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited race of the year while Herrin also went four for four with AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL victories.  Both riders moved to second in their respective series’ championships after winning the Saturday finals and then locked the runner-up positions down in Sunday’s season-ending races.

For the second-straight day, Hayes had a classic battle with recently crowned 2009 American Superbike Champion Mat Mladin (No. 1 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000).  This time Mladin’s teammate Tommy Hayden(No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) was also in the mix with each rider taking turns up front before Hayes took the lead for good on Lap 15.  The race saw seven official at-the-line lead changes between the three riders with the total more than doubling when multiple lead swaps within a lap were taken into account.

“It was one of those deals where I just tried to keep myself close to the front,” Hayes said.  “I rode as hard as I could the whole race.  I had to keep putting together good laps to see if I could keep the pressure on.  The Yamaha was great.  It was a great bike to ride this weekend.  I’m really proud of how the end of the season has come around.  Congratulations to Mat on his career.  Like I said on the podium, I only hope that I can achieve half of what he’s done in his career.”

Mladin was making his final American Superbike start in a record-setting career and raced true to form before gearbox issues emerged in the later part of the race.  Mladin is retiring with an unmatched total of seven AMA Pro American Superbike championships and a record 82 career victories.

“Today was a really good race,” Mladin said.  “I felt pretty good for most of it.  I really didn’t want to be in second place and I was trying to lead and was doing as much as I could from the front.  We put it in as much as we could.  About 10 laps to go, I couldn’t get the thing in fifth gear.  I had to go straight through to sixth and in the end we just couldn’t keep up.”

Hayes crossed the finish line 2.254 seconds ahead Mladin while Aaron Yates (No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) was third for the second straight day. Mladin passed Yates on the last lap to take second.

“It feels really good to be up here and finish the year out with a few decent finishes,” said Yates, who posted his sixth podium finish of the season.  “Racing with Josh and Mat, it feels good to be up here and running with them.  Mat definitely wasn’t joking about it not getting into fifth gear back there.  It was twice running up through the bridge there that we got pretty close.  I thought I was going to run right over him or into him.  I got by Mat on the front straight and he came by me on that last lap, came up beside me, got on the brakes and I thought he was done, then he just slipped off to the inside.”

Three-time 2009 race winner Larry Pegram (No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R) finished fourth to improve on Saturday’s fifth place showing while Neil Hodgson (No. 100 Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR) had his best result since finishing second in the Daytona opener to round out the top five.

Pegram jumped to fourth in the final American Superbike standings with 347 points, one spot behind Hayden, who locked down third with 373 points.  Hayden stepped up to challenge Hayes in the closing laps of the race but was uninjured when he lowsided after just taking the lead a little under three laps from the finish.

“I really wanted to win a race before the year was over and I wanted to try and get second in the championship, and I knew that one would take care of the other,” Hayden said.  “I just made a little mistake, went in a corner a little too hot and lost the front. It’s a shame. On the one hand, I’m bummed and on the other hand, I left it all out there and that was one thing I wanted to make sure and do today. We learned a lot and we’re looking forward to next year.”

Ben Bostrom (No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1) was also uninjured when he lowsided two laps into the race, but he still finished fifth in the final American Superbike championship standings with 333 points.

Sunday’s American Superbike final and other action from the New Jersey AMA Pro Superbike Championships can be seen in late-night coverage tonight on SPEED tonight at 12:30 a.m. ET (9:30 p.m. PT).
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AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines.  From its Daytona Beach headquarters, the organization operates and manages AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT.  AMA Pro Racing also manages and works closely with the day-to-day operational organizations of the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship and the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship Series in addition to other two-wheel and ATV series.  Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.