Andy DiBrino turned 21 a few days before his Superstock 600 race in the 2015 MotoAmerica series on Saturday and Sunday at Barber Motosports Park and was hoping it might turn into a special weekend.
It did, but not what he was thinking.
DiBrino did notch another Top 10 finish in Race 2 on Sunday with a ninth-place but he wasn't all that happy with his 12th place showing on Saturday for Race 1. Nevertheless, he noted the finishes added together came to 21.
"I really liked the track. I gave it everything I had, but I wasn't getting up to speed quick enough," DiBrino said. "I'd go faster each session, but too little too late."
DiBrino said his team made a lot of changes to the chassis and suspension but the track is tough to make passes. Barber has 17 total corners, the second highest in the circuit and the most for any of the tracks scheduled for the Superstock 600. It's nearly half as long as the prior round at Road America.
The Barber round, held in Birmingham, AL, is the fifth of the year for the retooled AMA Superbike series but considered the fourth for the Superstock 600 since a conflict in Austin to open the season kept it off the schedule.
In Race 1, DiBrino got stuck in a pack battling for the 11th - 13th spots and settled on 12th. In Race 2, he got held up by slower riders as he hung around again in the 12th spot but finally managed to make a pass in the final laps, nearly got into the eighth spot, but finished ninth.
"My lap times were consistent with everyone up to fourth-place. I just started too far back since I qualified 14th," he said.
DiBrino said the team has made great progress with bike set-up and he is looking forward to the three-mile Miller Motosports Park in Utah at the end of the month.
"I'm excited because my bike will be able to stretch its legs there, and it's a track I know and love," he said.
Elsewhere, Joe Roberts who rides on the Wheels in Motion/MotoSport.com/Meen Yamaha team and leads the Superstock 600 series, continues to dominate posting two more wins and he now has won six of the eight races held. He also recorded his fourth straight pole position. His two primary competitors Richie Escalante and Travis Wyman, who trailed Roberts by six and seven points, respectively, entering Barber, had decent weekends but lost a lot of ground.
"It was a really good weekend. I like Barber a lot and have done the double here before in my first ever pro race back in 2013," Roberts said. "I can't thank my team enough and all my family and friends who have supported me to get me here. I am looking forward to Miller Motorsports park, which is another one of my favorite tracks."
Escalante took second in Race 1 and third in Race 2; Wyman finished seventh in Race 1 and fifth in Race 2. Escalante is now 20 points back from Roberts and Wyman is 37 points from first. DiBrino entered the round in sixth-place but fell to seventh, just three back from Bryce Prince.
In the Supersport Championship series, Josh Herrin, who also rides for the Wheels in Motion/Motosport.com/Meen Yamaha team, recorded his first pole position with the team and second of his career. Both races went down to the wire with Herrin losing some ground in his race for the crown finishing just .26 seconds behind JD Beach in Race 1 and half a second in Race 2. Herrin and Beach were tied in points coming into Barber, each with three wins. Herrin is now 10 points out of first-place.
"The extreme heat definitely made an impact this weekend. The bike felt different than it did during qualifying when it was cooler and I was able to do a 1.26.6 rather easily." Herrin said. "We have been down more than 10 points in the championship this season and I don't doubt that we will shorten the gap at Miller and keep on challenging for the championship."
Superstock 600 Standings
- Joe Roberts - MotoSport rider (170)
- Richie Escalante (150)
- Travis Wyman (133)
- Wyatt Farris (93)
- Nick McFadden (73)
- Bryce Prince (62)
- Andy DiBrino - MotoSport rider (59)
- Jason Aguilar (57)
- Michael Gilbert (50)
- Christian Crosslin (36)
Supersport Standings
- JD Beach (190)
- Josh Herrin - MotoSport rider (180)
- Garrett Gerloff (150)
- David Anthony (97)
- Tomas Puerta (97)
- Ben Young (86)
- Bobby Fong (78)
- Kyle Wyman (64)
- Cameron Peterson (59)
- Kaleb de Keyrel (48)
