At Round Seven of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship Josh Herrin was assessed a six-grid-spot penalty for crashing and taking out title contender Roger Hayden on the first lap of Race One. Then Herrin suffered mechanical problems with his HelmetSounds.com/Western Services/Meen Motorsports Yamaha Superbike in Race Two, further hindering his performance. Then Herrin found out that Meen Motorsports wasn’t going to attend Round Eight at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (PittRace) in protest of Herrin’s penalty, according to a press release issued by the team, leaving Herrin without a ride.
Rather than mope around at home, Herrin flew to PittRace at his own expense and spent the weekend talking to teams about riding opportunities and interacting with spectators to “support the series and his sponsors,” he said.
Apparently, that was a smart move on Herrin’s part because when Monster Energy/Yamalube Yamaha Superbike rider Cameron Beaubier suffered what turned out to be a season-ending shoulder injury in Race Two at PittRace, Yamaha Motorsports, Racing Division Manager Keith McCarty selected Herrin to fill in for Beaubier for the remainder of the 2017 season.
“When I found out we weren’t going to Pittsburgh I tried to find the positive,” Herrin told Roadracingworld.com Thursday. “I’ve always been a firm believer that when things are going bad there’s always something good right around the corner. So I think going to Pittsburgh was important.
“It was unfortunate [that Beaubier got hurt]. I know the feeling and what he’s going through, missing the last two rounds. It happened to me in 2012. So it’s something that sucks.
“I’ve never been the replacement rider, though. So that’s something new for me. I’m bummed out for him, for sure, but I think it was a good idea to get [the injury] taken care of so he’s strong going into the off-season and can go testing and stuff.”
Asked what he expects from the factory YZF-R1 Superbike and himself this coming weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Herrin said, “It’s a R1. It’s not going to be totally different, but I don’t want to expect too much out of myself because we only have two rounds to ride it. I would like to be fighting for wins. Obviously, the bike is capable of doing it. I’d like to be up there fighting for the wins. I think that they wanted me to come ride it to finish the races. They want someone to finish the races. That’s my number one priority. My second priority is getting on the podium, and if I can I want to win.
“I’m not going to make any bonehead moves. I know that I’m on a bike that’s competitive and I don’t have to be there the first lap in order to tag along for the whole race. If I get a bad start I’m just going to be patient and fight my way through. Hopefully, we don’t have that happen and we can just be there the whole race. Hopefully something good comes out of it and we can make these guys happy.”