HONOS Superbike rider Josh Herrin finished Saturday’s race one in an uncharacteristic tenth place despite the fact that he was fourth in the morning’s Superpole session and started from the inside of the second row on the grid.
What happened?
We spoke to Scheibe Racing team owner and crew chief, and he said not-so-simply, “It was a combination of several factors.”
The biggest of those factors is that this is Herrin’s first time ever at New Jersey Motorsports Park on the #2 Scheibe Racing BMW S 1000 RR. And, with Friday’s rain, the damp track conditions, and the rivulets of runoff on the track, the team’s strategy on Friday was to be one of the top-nine fastest Superbikes and put themselves in Superpole. The team did exactly that, with Herrin going ninth-fastest overall in Friday’s combined qualifying practice sessions.
Saturday morning’s Superbike Free Practice 3 was a critical session for Herrin and the team since the track was completely dry and the skies were clear. They worked on the dry setup and were clearly rewarded in Superpole with the fourth-fastest laptime.
In the afternoon’s race, however, Herrin didn’t get a great start and when he got up to speed and started clicking off some fast laps, his Dunlop rear tire momentarily lost grip in a turn, and he nearly highsided. With his confidence compromised, Herrin lost the plot and brought the bike home in tenth.
According to Scheibe, “We just haven’t had enough dry track time with our new rider to dial the bike in to everyone’s satisfaction.” Scheibe added that the Sunday morning Superbike warmup is another critical session for Herrin and the team. “We are expecting a better result today,” Scheibe added.
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