MONTEREY, Calif. — Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin won his fifth straight MotoAmerica Superbike race on Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Herrin took full advantage of a miscue by his championship rival Cameron Beaubier to extend his eight-point championship lead to 23 points.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Beaubier led from pole position but gave way to Herrin on the third lap. From there, Herrin used his slow-the-pace strategy and led for three more laps before Beaubier went to the front again.
Just when it looked like Beaubier was ready to pull the trigger, he tucked the front in turn two and crashed. The five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion was able to remount and finish sixth, scoring 10 points that may prove valuable at season’s end.
If Herrin thought he was going to have it easy after watching Beaubier crash out, he had another thing coming in the form of Bobby Fong. Fong hounded Herrin for the duration but failed in his attempt to take victory with a last-lap, last-corner pass that came up just .367 of-a-second short at the finish line. It was Fong’s fifth second-place finish of the season.
Fong’s teammate Jake Gagne finished third for his sixth-podium finish of the season. Gagne knew he was a bit lucky with Beaubier’s crash in turn two and Sean Dylan Kelly’s crash in the Corkscrew.
Real Steel Honda’s J.D. Beach turned in a solid performance to finish fourth on his Stock 1000-spec Honda CBR1000RR-R SP, which also earned him victory in the MotoAmerica Superbike Cup Championship.
A beaten and bruised Richie Escalante was fifth on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki after a second practice crash in two days. Escalante was less than a second behind Beach at the finish and well clear of Beaubier.
After nine races, Herrin leads Beaubier, 184-161, and Gagne is third with 141 points.
