Danny Eslick (#1) rode well under pressure in the second DSB contest for the win ahead of Josh Herrin (#6).
In the second Daytona SportBike race Geico Powersports Suzuki’s Danny Eslick got another early lead in the contest ahead of Team Graves Yamaha’s Tommy Aquino and Vesrah Suzuki’s Cory West. Project 1 Atlanta’s Dane Westby and DNA Energy Drink Ducati’s Bobby Fong rounded out the top-five in the opening laps, but that order was to change repeatedly throughout the event.
On Lap 3 Aquino took the lead over Eslick, while West advanced into second-place. Despite getting a strong start, Westby fell all the way back to eighth as Rapp moved up the order into fifth. M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas had a difficult start, but by Lap 4 the Colombian was up to sixth and making quick progress through the field. Competition was extremely tough at the front where less than a second separated the top-seven riders. Also entering the picture was Team Graves Yamaha’s Josh Graves, who took over sixth-place from Cardenas. With Aquino and West battling for the lead, Eslick seized the opportunity to pass both for the lead. Aquino, however, came back on the next lap to regain his position and the lead as Cardenas and Herrin moved up to fourth and fifth respectively. Over the next few laps Aquino and Eslick traded the lead back and forth, with Eslick making his pass on the Yamaha rider stick on Lap 14.
Meanwhile, Steve Rapp’s strong performance in Race 2 was shattered when he went down and couldn’t continue.
With only 0.013 seconds separating Eslick from Aquino, Herrin, made his move ahead of the two and assumed the lead with only a few laps remaining. Heading into the final lap Eslick made a final pass on Herrin, and crossed the finish line by more than half a second from the Yamaha rider. Cardenas persevered throughout the contest and finished third while Celtic Racing’s P.J. Jacobsen and Aquino rounded out the top-five finishers.
Daytona SportBike New Jersey Race 1 Results:
1. Danny Eslick (Suzuki)
2. Josh Herrin (Yamaha)
Josh Herrin (#6) had the lead heading into the final lap but was overtaken by Eslick. Herrin is currently second in the championship and trails Eslick by 11 points.
3. Martin Cardenas (Suzuki)
4. P.J. Jacobsen (Suzuki)
5. Tommy Aquino (Yamaha)
6. Dane Westby (Yamaha)
7. Bobby Fong (Ducati)
8. Paul Allison (Yamaha)
9. Michael Beck (Ducati)
10. Russ Wikle (Suzuki)
11. Kyle Wyman (Yamaha)
12. Mike Selpe (Yamaha)
13. Fernando Amantini (Kawasaki)
14. Santiago Villa (Suzuki)
15. Reese Wacker (Suzuki)
2010 Daytona SportBike Championship Points:
1. Danny Eslick, 356
2. Josh Herrin, 345
3. Martin Cardenas, 344
4. Steve Rapp, 267
5. Cory West, 209
