There was never much of a doubt that Josh Herrin was going to wrap up the 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship at some point during the eighth round of the series at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Herrin, though, wanted to put a bow on the title in race one on Saturday and that’s what he did, riding his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V2 to second place to wrap up the title.
The championship was Herrin’s third and comes after his 2013 AMA Superbike Championship and his 2016 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 crown.
The race was won by four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes, the veteran’s second win of the Supersport season and his fifth podium of the year.
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race – Martinez!
The ladies of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. program held their penultimate round at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and they kicked off Saturday with their feature race. Crystal Martinez was the fastest rider in Saturday morning’s Practice 2, and it portended things to come for the Californian, who also earned the pole position for the race. Martinez had her hands full in the race, and it looked like Illinois rider Chloe Peterson was going to get the victory. However, on the final lap, Martinez took advantage of a missed shift by Peterson and overtook her right before the finish line. Washington-based rider Jennifer Chancellor completed the podium in third.
“I was going to try and catch the draft,” Martinez said. “But I was a little too far at that moment. So, when I heard her miss a shift, I took that opportunity. I’m like, ‘Just go, just go, just go.’ So, I just full-pinned and full send, and off I went.”
Supersport – Hayes’ Day, Herrin’s Year
In Supersport race one, two Joshes had memorable days. First of all, four-time Superbike Champion Josh Hayes won the battle when he took the victory aboard his Squid Hunter Yamaha. But it was, appropriately, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Josh Herrin who won the war. Aboard his Ducati Panigale V2, Herrin clinched the 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship, the third AMA-sanctioned professional road racing title of his career.
Herrin did what he needed to do, which was to finish ahead of Landers Racing Yamaha’s Rocco Landers. While Hayes pulled a gap at the front to win by a little over four-and-a-half seconds, Herrin and Landers diced back and forth until Herrin got in front of Landers for good and cemented his title with a second-place finish, while Landers came home in third.
“I wanted to come out here and fight the best that I could and give it the beans,” Hayes said. “First off, congrats to Josh (Herrin). We’ve been around this racetrack together for a long time. I’ve been on track with him this year, like at Virginia. His riding has really come around. He’s always been fast, but he’s kind of filled in a few gaps. I think that he’s doing a fantastic job. Really happy. I’ve been watching from the side of the track when I haven’t been on track, and he’s been steady. Every week, he finds a way to be there. That’s what you’ve got to do. Today, it doesn’t matter how things are going. It’s always hard when you’ve got something on the line.”
“I’m super-stoked to wrap the title up today,” Herrin said. “That was our goal this weekend. We needed to finish in front of Rocco Landers to get the championship and luckily, we were able to do that. It was a hard fight, and this wasn’t something that came easy. Now, we can go into the last three races with that weight off our shoulders and have some fun. It will be interesting to see how the weather is tomorrow with the rain forecast, but either way, I’m looking forward to a few stress-free races and then to get home and have some family time and let this all soak in.”
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup – Local Knowledge
Home-track advantage definitely came into play in SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race one as the podium was made up of riders who are all from the Northeast and consider New Jersey Motorsports Park their local track. Hammonton, New Jersey’s Gus Rodio prevailed with the victory aboard his Rodio Racing Kawasaki, while Bauce Racing/JL62 Team Kawasaki’s Joseph LiMandri Jr., who hails from Garden City, New York, was second. Third place went to new BARTCON Racing Kawasaki team member Spencer Humphreys, who is from Easton, Pennsylvania.
There was a lot of dicing for the lead, as is usually the case with MotoAmerica’s class of entry-level road racers, but on the final run to the checkers, Rodio had a clear path to the front, and he took advantage of it to win the race by just .016 of a second.
“I knew based on club racing here, racing here last year, and the year before, I knew that I would possibly be able to draft my way to the lead,” Rodio said. “Of course, when there are three guys at the front rubbing elbows, they’re slowing way down. So, I knew. It was a good spot for me to be in. I would be a lot madder had the result been different. But I kind of knew that something to the finish was going to happen. I was carrying a lot more speed, just in the draft. Nobody around me, nobody touching me. I knew it would kind of work out.”
REV’IT! Twins Cup – Davis Domination
The day concluded with the REV’IT! Twins Cup class’s one race of the weekend, and it was a good one. Blake Davis notched his third win of the season aboard his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha, and he did so in surprisingly dominant fashion. The 16-year-old stretched out a gap of more than three seconds by the time he took the checkered flag. Meanwhile, Robem Engineering Aprilia teammates Ben Gloddy and Teagg Hobbs finished second and third, respectively.
“I was kind of a little nervous,” Davis said. “I didn’t know how far they were behind me. We changed up the pit board a little bit this time. So, I think maybe we can change it back. I was a little confused. But it was really good. Definitely amazing that I could do this today, and that the other championship contenders finished a little bit back. So, that helped a lot. Super excited going into Barber. Definitely think I can do this. So, it’s on.”
