The third round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship marked the best one of the season to date for the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team with Josh Herrin taking a resounding victory in race two and teammate Loris Baz having an excellent ride by taking fourth.
The race weekend didn’t start as it finished. The heavens opened for race one, drenching the 4.05-mile layout with torrential rain that made staying on the track difficult as the 220-plus horsepower machines aquaplaned their way around it.
Baz led the Ducati charge in race one, taking his first podium of the season in third, with Herrin in ninth at the flag.
Race two, however, was all Herrin. Under perfect blue skies, the number 2 rocketed off the line into turn one and slammed the hammer down, setting a metronomic pace in the lead as the rest struggled to keep up.
Herrin was so far out in front that he was able to cruise around on the final lap, eventually coming home nine seconds clear of Bobby Fong. Baz just missed out on a second podium of the weekend in fourth.
It marked a turning point for the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team, which is now brimming with confidence heading into round four at Brainerd in two weeks.
2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship After Round Three
P1 – Jake Gagne 113
P2 – Cameron Beaubier 95
P3 – Bobby Fong 88
P4 – Cameron Petersen 83
P5 – Sean Dylan Kelly 83
P6 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 79
P7 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 72
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“It was a super good weekend,” Herrin enthused after race two. “The race in the rain didn’t go how I wanted, but Baz got third, so that was great for him and the team. We knew we’d be up there if the second race was dry. We got off the line well, built up a good lead early, and cruised at the end. The team did a great job setting up the Panigale V4 R—it’s always a fast bike at this track—and we’ve got a lot of good tracks for our bike coming up, but I’m going to savor this victory and get a positive snowball going for the next few rounds.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“Overall, it was a good weekend,” Baz said. “I wanted to do a little better coming here, but my first podium in the rain was great. They were crazy conditions, and the bike worked really well. In the dry we were missing a bit with the set-up, but we made a huge improvement in the warm-up session. In the second race, I was doing my qualifying pace all race long, which helped me get back into the podium fight. I couldn’t get the podium in that one, but I’m really happy for Josh and the team to have two podiums in two races at this track. I’ll do everything to be up there with him at the next round.”
The fourth round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship sees the series head northwest to Brainerd in Minnesota over the July 12-14 weekend.
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