Herrin looks for '200' repeat

From AMA Pro Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Fifty entries have been filed for the 70th running of the legendary Daytona 200 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race. The 57-lap contest will go green this Saturday afternoon on the 3.51-mile Long Course that combines Daytona International Speedway's high banks with its twisting infield course. This year, the classic race will be televised live on SPEED from 1:00 to 3:30pm Saturday.

Dating back to 1937, when Ed Kretz won the fist Daytona 200 on an Indian, this world-class race has served as the opening event of the American road race season. In keeping with tradition, the 70-year-old contest will again kick off the current AMA Pro Road Racing season, and with 2010 class champion Martin Cardenas having moved to AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike this year, the field is wide open.

Headlining the 2011 competitors is 2010 Daytona 200 winner Josh Herrin, who finished third in last season's final points standings with five wins to his credit. Back with his long-time Graves Motorsports crew and fielding a newly liveried Monster Energy Graves Motorsports Yamaha, Herrin's 2011 bid for title redemption begins now.

Last year's Daytona 200 Pole Position winner, Danny Eslick finished second in the 2010 class championship and also returns with his 2010 squad, GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki. The eternally hard-charging Eslick claimed three Daytona SportBike victories last year and can be expected to be high up in the mix come Saturday.

Taking over the 200 reins for Team M4 Suzuki in Cardenas' absence will be Dane Westby, who stunned many by claiming second in last year's Daytona 200 contest after leading 12 laps. Jake Zemke, who won both Daytona AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike races last year, will return to middleweight competition with the Project 1 Atlanta team, the talented Californian representing a big unknown for other riders in the class.

One of the bigger storylines in this year's Daytona 200 is the return of Kawasaki to the storied event, the green machines piloted by Team Cycle World Attack Performance's Eric Bostrom and 2010 AMA Pro SuperSport East Division Champion J. D. Beach. Bostrom will be doing double-duty this weekend, representing in the SuperBike class as well, while Beach will be making his Daytona SportBike debut after a tremendous 2010 season that saw him earn eight victories.

Several other very fast SuperSport graduates will join Beach in their first Daytona 200 on Saturday, including LTD Racing's three-time 2010 winner Huntley Nash, whose team now enjoys support from Yamaha Extended Service; Cameron Beaubier, who won last year's Daytona SuperSport Race 1 by .001 secs.; 2010 West Division Champion Joey Pascarella; and 2010 AMA Pro Top Gun Champion Tyler O'Hara.

As if the field wasn't yet deep enough, Jason DiSalvo returns to AMA Pro competition this year after running several 2010 World Supersport events, having joined the very capable Team Latus Motors Racing (which took third in last year's Daytona 200 event). P.J. Jacobsen remains with Celtic Racing for 2011 but will roll out on new machinery, the team having re-formed as a Fast By Ferracci-supported Ducati effort. And in addition to his SuperBike duties, Geoff May will be representing Erik Buell Racing in the 200.

The Vesrah Suzuki team returns with Cory West, a consistent Daytona SportBike frontrunner last year, and new team member Taylor Knapp, who finished seventh in last year's SuperBike championship as a privateer. Joining Herrin and others in the Yamaha attack will be Tommy Aquino, now with support from Yamaha Extended Service and Pat Clark Motorsports, and the HT Moto- and Yamalube-sponsored Melissa Paris.

Other riders returning to the 2011 Daytona SportBike class included Roadracingworld.com Suzuki's Santiago Villa, Barnett Performance Suzuki's Russ Wikle, the Kawasaki-mounted Fernando Amantini, and 1989 Daytona 200 winner John Ashmead (aboard a Peter Brady Racing Kawasaki).

Daytona 200 practice begins today (Thursday) with final qualifying on Friday.

The 2011 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport series has gotten off to a great start even before the season officially kicks off, with new young-guns joining the middleweight division and class sponsor Motorcycle-Superstore.com announcing its sponsorship of the Year-End Points Fund.

Last year's season opener at Daytona saw some of the best racing of the AMA Pro Road Racing weekend, as proven by a SuperSport Race 1 victory margin of 0.001 secs., and with a number of new riders stepping up to replace those who've graduated to this year's Daytona SportBike division, the 2011 season will allow for maximum opportunities to spot rising stars in the sport.

Of the six riders who won races last year, in fact, only two will be familiar to SuperSport watchers this season: Elena Myers and James Rispoli. Myers made history last year with her victory at Infineon Raceway, becoming the first female in road race history to win an AMA Pro event. She went on to take second in the 2010 AMA Pro SuperSport West Division Championship, and she returns this year aboard an M4 Suzuki with support from SuzukiScoopFans, a new Facebook activity from Suzuki.

Rispoli, who earned victory at the New Jersey Motorsports Park round, finished fifth in the 2010 East Division championship despite missing several rounds and contending a handful of 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track events. He will again be aboard an ANT-Racing.com Suzuki, with additional support from STAR School, NationalGuard.com, and the Shatki Warriors. 

Another returning 2010 frontrunner is LTD Racing Yamaha's Tomas Puerta, who finished third in the 2010 East Division point standings with a trio of second-place podium finishes and a pole position at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This year, his championship hunt will have additional support thanks to Yamaha Extended Service and he will be joined on the LTD team by David Gaviria.

Also returning to the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport class is Eric Stump, piloting a Yamaha with support from Markbuilt Race Bikes and Crossroad Powersports, Miles Thornton will be looking to move his Yamaha up the chart this year with support from Arai, Sidi, and Held USA, and Johnstown, OH's Eric Kerr will also be back for 2011, he and his family-run team fielding a Yamaha with support from RFC, Digital Impressions, and MJ USA.

A total of 40 riders have registered thus far for the opening AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport doubleheader.

Last year a new series was launched in the Kettle Moraine country of East Central Wisconsin, just up the road from Milwaukee, home of one of the most iconic manufacturers in the motorcycling universe. Another beginning will take place during the Daytona 200 Week at the famous Daytona International Speedway, as the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 series takes to the high banks for the first time in its short history.

The class' first full season will kick off at Daytona with a record entry of more than 20 Harley-Davidson XR1200 riders. Led by a number of big stars from all facets of the motorcycling world, the field will roll out on Friday at 3:15pm for a 25-mile race around the 3.51-mile Long Course at Daytona International Speedway.

The series made its debut at Road America in June of last year, and the inaugural five-race series was won convincingly by Danny Eslick aboard the GEICO Powersports RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing XR1200.

This year will see a big influx of new teams and riders for the first full season of competition aboard the big Harley-Davidson machines, which feature special but limited modifications via kits from famed high-performance exhaust and product manufacturer Vance & Hines.

One of the notable entries this season will be AMA Pro Flat Track star Joe Kopp, who will ride for Team Latus Motors Racing. Previous Daytona 200 winner Steve Rapp (2007), who contended the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike series last year, joins the 2011 XR1200 class aboard a Parts Unlimited-sponsored machine alongside Michael Barnes, who finished second in the final XR1200 race of 2010. Barnes will pilot a Drag Specialties-supported XR1200.

Another legend making a return to Daytona this year will be 'Mr. Daytona' himself, Scott Russell. Russell, five-time Daytona 200 winner and 1993 World Superbike Champion, will ride a Harley Owners Group machine that carries his plate favourite, #4.

Joining the AMA Pro road race lineup at the famed Daytona International Speedway will be a host of other activities and events including demo rides, offerings in the Daytona Motorcycle Marketplace, live entertainment, games, contests, and more. AMA Pro Fan Walk sessions will also take place on two occasions during the race weekend, during which fans will be able to circulate on pit lane to visit with AMA Pro riders and teams from every class.