Bostrom leads Yamaha Supersport 1-2

By John Hopkins

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Ben Bostrom led home Josh Herrin in a Yamaha 1-2 in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday.

Riding a factory Yamaha YZF-R6, Bostrom held off the 17-year-old Graves Motorsports Yamaha rider by a slender 0.012 seconds for the victory in a race that was threatened by rain right from the start.

Defending class champion Roger Hayden was third on his Monster Energy Kawasaki ZX-6R, just over three seconds behind.

Bostrom took the lead for the final time on lap 16 of the 22-lap race as he, Herrin and Hayden battled for the top spot. Hayden lost ground in traffic four laps from the end, leaving the two Yamahas to fight it out for the win.

Bostrom held on for first place despite leading out of the chicane on the final lap, traditionally a critical error in race strategy.

"I looked back [coming out of the chicane] thinking, 'The kid's got me beat, there's no way to win,'" said Bostrom, who had qualified on the pole. "I went low, and I think Josh meant to go low as well, and it was a 50/50 chance, the kid could have just as easily won it."

Herrin said he accidentally hit Bostrom as they headed for the finish line.

"The draft sucked me in a little bit harder than I expected," said the youngster, who led 12 laps, more than anyone else in the race.

Hayden was riding with a broken hand and bruised elbow, the legacy of a nasty Superbike qualifying fall. But he insisted the injuries didn't bother him during the Supersport race.

"Once the green flag dropped I didn't notice it," he said. "That adrenaline rush is the best pain medicine there is."

Attack Kawasaki's Chaz Davies came back from running wide in turn 1 on lap 16 to win a four-rider battle for fourth place on his ZX-6R. M4 EMGO Suzuki's Blake Young followed him across the line on his GSX-R600, with his teammate Martin Cardenas sixth and Steve Rapp seventh on the second Attack Kawasaki.

Josh Hayes led the opening lap on his Erion Honda CBR600RR but a broken exhaust forced him into the pits on lap 8. Despite resuming 37th Hayes charged his way back up to 17th by the finish.

Lions Bay, BC's Misti Hurst finished 41st on her California SB School/Kawasaki-backed ZX-6R, and Fort Saskatchewan, AB's Scott Decker was classified 43rd after completing 14 laps on his Phantom Freightliner/Suzuki Canada-sponsored GSX-R600.