Suzuki's Danny Eslick (#1) took the win in Race 2 ahead of Ducati's Steve Rapp and Bobby Fong at Mid-Ohio.
Defending Daytona SportBike champ Danny Eslick claimed victory in the Sunday's DSB race at Mid-Ohio. The Suzuki rider was joined on the Race 2 steps by a pair of Ducatis in the form of Steve Rapp and Bobby Fong.
It was actually Team Graves Yamaha's Josh Herrin who took the early lead, with a quick start off the line from his pole position. Herrin was followed by Eslick and Herrin’s teammate, Tommy Aquino. In the opening laps Eslick and Herrin traded the lead back and forth, while Monster Energy Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas ran fifth behind DNA Energy Ducati rider Fong.
Just a third of the way into the event Cardenas moved up to third after Aquino got pushed back to fifth. With less than a second separating Cardenas from Eslick, the Columbian charged ahead of both Fong and Eslick to take the lead. The first half of the contest saw the top-six riders all within a second of each other as the battle up front continued between Eslick and now Cardenas.
Herrin once again introduced himself at the front of the pack on Lap 8 after making some quick passes, but it didn’t last long as he too was pushed out of the lead by Eslick.
With the final laps ticking away Herrin stayed close to Eslick in second-place. Making much improvement in the final laps was Ducati’s Steve Rapp, who broke into the top-four and continued to sneak around both Fong and Aquino for second-place after Herrin dropped all the way down to 15th.
The final laps saw Eslick’s lead grow as he began separating himself from the field. With Rapp unable to match the leader’s pace, the Suzuki rider crossed the finish line 4.481 seconds ahead of Rapp who took second. Fong rode a consistent race to take third across the line with Aquino not too far behind in fourth. After having lead at one point in the race, Cardenas finished Race 2 in fifth.
2010 Daytona Sportbike Mid-Ohio Race 2 Results:
1. Danny Eslick (Suzuki)
2. Steve Rapp (Ducati)
3. Bobby Fong (Ducati)
Monster Energy Suzuki's Martin Cardenas had the lead briefly in Race 2 but ended the contest in fifth.
4. Tommy Aquino (Yamaha)
5. Martin Cardenas (Suzuki)
6. P. J. Jacobsen (Suzuki)
7. Cory West (Suzuki)
8. Josh Day (Yamaha)
9. Fernando Amantini (Kawasaki)
10. Kris Turner (Suzuki)
11. Tony Kasper (Yamaha)
12. Chris Fillmore (Suzuki)
13. Russ Wikle (Suzuki)
14. Michael Barnes (Yamaha)
15. Kyle Wyman (Yamaha)
2010 Daytona Sportbike Championship Points:
1. Josh Herrin, 249
2. Danny Eslick, 247
3. Martin Cardenas, 222
4. Steve Rapp, 190
5. Cory West, 164
6. Dane Westby, 157
7. Tommy Aquino, 137
8. Bobby Fong, 122
9. Chris Fillmore, 115
10. Clinton Seller, 113
