Mid-Ohio SportBike: Race 1

Eslick Takes his Fourth Win at Mid-Ohio

AMA Pro Racing Press Release

Danny Eslick grabbed his fourth career AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL victory on the No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R in Race One of the Honda Super Cycle Weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Eslick started the day strong by claiming the pole in Saturday morning's final qualifying effort. The grid was set by that result as the weekend's basic qualifying and Superpole sessions were canceled due to a Friday afternoon rain shower. By the end of the race's first lap, Eslick had built up a .551 second lead over the No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R of Jamie Hacking, who steadily chipped away at the lead over the ensuing laps before taking the point in Turn 6 on Lap 7. Hacking held the lead for two laps until mechanical troubles sidelined him for the race on Lap 9.

"I got a good start, right off the bat and led a couple of laps," said Eslick. "I didn't see anybody coming through, which usually happens as everybody's really aggressive the first few laps. I knew we had kind of pulled away and then Jamie came by. I think I was on the brakes the first time and he came up. He came by me and we battled back and forth for a lap or two and when he had his problem, I almost ran up his exhaust pipe. He did a good job getting his hand up and out of the way, so good job there. It could have been real ugly in that spot."

Graves Yamaha teammates Josh Herrin and Tommy Aquino held an aggressive battle for position throughout the 21-lap sprint race. At the end of the first lap, Aquino's No. 6 Yamaha YZF-R6 led Herrin's No. 8 Yamaha YZF-R6 to the line, but the rookie couldn't hold the position and was passed by Herrin on Lap 2. The Graves duo moved up the ranks as attrition hit riders Hacking and Martin Cardenas, who was running in third position aboard the No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 before low siding at the exit of Turn 8 on Lap 5. Aquino was able to squeeze by Herrin again on Lap 9 before Herrin used a block pass on Lap 10 to get by both Aquino and Jake Zemke's No. 1X Erion Honda CBR600RR to take second position.

"I think when (Tommy) passed me, he went to put a move on Jake going into (Turn) 5 on the brakes and I just decided I am going to get both these guys and just dove in there and made a move," said Herrin. "It wasn't purposefully a block pass, but it sort of ended up being a block pass. I just rode defensive from there and luckily we held on to second."

Aquino was also able to get past Zemke, challenging Herrin for the remainder of the race and allowing Eslick to slip away to a 2.318 second lead by the end of the race. The third place finish was Aquino's his first AMA Pro podium finish.

"It was really hard," said Aquino. "I was going as hard as I could, my tires were spent and I was just trying as hard as I could to stay where I was at and try to take a position if I could. I am really happy with this podium. It is my first podium with AMA Pro Racing. I really just have to thank my team."

Zemke turned the fastest lap of the race in Lap 6 at 1:28.160 and ran as high as second before finishing fourth. Chaz Davies rounded out the top five on the No. 57 Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV1000R. Points leader Cardenas recovered to finish 12th and holds the championship lead over Eslick 264-244.

Mid-Ohio SportBike: Race 2

Eslick Wins Barn Burner in Day Two at Mid-Ohio

AMA Pro Racing Press Release

Danny Eslick's No. 9 GEICO Powersports RMR Buell 1125R came out victorious in a battle that went down to the wire with the eventual second-place No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R of Jamie Hacking in the second of two AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Six official lead changes came between the riders that claimed the top two spots over the course of the 21-lap sprint race that opened Sunday's races at the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tires.

The excitement began on the sighting lap, with Jake Zemke's No. 1X Erion Honda CBR600RR losing power in Turn 4. Last season's Formula Xtreme champion was forced to run back to the pits and start from the rear of the grid on his backup bike. A clean start followed and Eslick led the field through the first set of turns before being passed by Hacking in Turn 6. Eslick regained the top spot in Turn 1 on the following lap. That set of passes would set the tone for the two riders, occurring in the same fashion on Laps 14 and 15. Hacking recaptured the lead in Turn 6 on Lap 16 and was able to hold off a rushing Eslick for four more laps.

On the final lap, Eslick took a page from the Kawasaki rider's book and looked to the inside in Turn 6, but was unable to complete the pass. This set him up for an inside line through the Esses and the pair leaned on each other as they made their way through. The No. 9 Buell emerged as the leader and led the field to the finish.

"Jamie was real strong out of the keyhole," said Eslick. "He was strong out of it and strong into it, and I was good through the middle. We went back and forth a couple times. (The last lap pass) was the cleanest pass I could definitely make. There was some contact, but it was good. Jamie would have stuck it in there just as hard as I would have."

Josh Herrin's No. 8 Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 also presented a challenge, passing Hacking on Lap 3 and taking the lead from Eslick on Lap 7. Herrin officially led two laps, although he and Eslick traded the lead twice on Lap 8 before Eslick was able to take the lead from the Yamaha for the final time on Lap 9. Herrin finished 12th after an off-course excursion on Lap 13 allowed Hacking to challenge Eslick for the final portion of the race. In all, Hacking led for seven laps and earned his sixth podium and fifth second-place finish of the Daytona SportBike season.

"The race today was great," said Hacking. "We were pushing hard the entire race. I was stronger on this side of the race track and Danny was stronger back there in the back and it just made out for a really good race, close racing. I put everything I had into the last couple laps there and I thought I had the door closed enough. He muscled his way in there and made a clean pass. I had made that pass before and there were no hard feelings. He rode a great race, and we pulled away from everybody else this weekend."

Martin Cardenas recovered from a crash in Saturday's Daytona SportBike race to run clean and consistent, claiming the final spot on the podium aboard the No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600. The Colombian now leads the Daytona SportBike standings by 10 points over Eslick, 285-275. Hacking is close behind in third with 241 points.

"It was a hard race for me because my confidence wasn't very good after two races, two crashes," said Cardenas. "So today that was the best I could do. These guys were a little bit faster than me, and I tried to stay with them, but five laps from the end I made a mistake and almost crashed and so I decided that third place was good enough for today."

Fourth place went to the No. 54 Latus Motors Racing Buell 1125R of Taylor Knapp, who pulled double-duty this weekend racing, where he also earned a top-10 finish on the No. 44 Taylor Knapp Racing Buell 1125RR in the final American Superbike race of the weekend. Roger Hayden encountered electrical problems in Saturday's race, but had a strong showing Sunday to complete the top five on the No. 95 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. Zemke climbed 11 positions on the first lap and powered through the field to salvage a 10th place finish.

Next up for AMA Pro Daytona SportBike is a doubleheader at the Tornado Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka on the weekend of July 31-August 2.