Page 25 - ISSUE2GRIDFINAL

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ATLANTA!
JOSH HERRIN : MOTUL SUPERBIKE
It was apparent that the Meen Motorsports rider had mended his woes from the week before when he laid down a 1:25.088 in Superpole, placing him in fifth position on the grid, only a couple of hundredths behind the factory supported Yamaha ride of Josh Hayes. Herrin was able to take advantage of his exceptional starting position as he shot right down the middle of the straightaway in the opening race, immediately placing himself in the battle for the podium. He tagged onto
the back of the leading group of four as they began to break away from the rest of the field, immediately forcing his way past Cameron Beaubier and Toni Elias as he took advantage of some hard riding ahead of him. The rider out of Georgia continued to make moves as he followed Hayes towards the front, discreetly tucking into second position behind the forty-two year old veteran. The two of them led the field for more than half of the race as they clicked off consistent lap times, but they weren’t able to pull away from their pursuers. It was a tightly contested battle for the top five as the laps began to wind down and tire wear began to come into play. Herrin was forced out of his rhythm by the Yoshimura Factory Suzuki of Roger Hayden on the fourteenth lap, and Beaubier and Elias soon followed. He was never able to regroup, but he kept it smooth and consistent in fifth place all the way until the checkered flag, scoring his best finish of the season thus far. The second race unraveled in a similar fashion for Herrin, but he was more reserved throughout the early laps. Instead of deploying aggressive tactics and storming his way towards the front, he was content to sit quietly at the back of the leading pack in an attempt to preserve his tire for the end of the race. The Georgia resident forced himself up the inside of his fellow Yamaha rider, Cameron Beaubier
on the sixth lap, but he wasn’t able to make the move stick and fell back to fourth position. Slowly but surely, the top three began to stretch a gap over Herrin and he decided to remain smooth and calculated all the way until the checkered flag, bettering his season best finish yet again with a fourth place.
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JOSH HERRIN
ROAD ATLANTA