Four-time AMA Pro National Champion road racer Danny Eslick will be competing on his TOBC Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 in the Superstock 1000 class during the MotoAmerica season-opening event this coming weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) thanks to his suspension being lifted by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).
Eslick was suspended by the AMA from all AMA-sanctioned racing activities after he was arrested on the felony charge of Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer March 8 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
That suspension caused Eslick to miss the 75th Daytona 200 on March 12 and end his bid to become the first rider to ever win the Daytona 200 three times in a row.
On March 14, Eslick reached a deal with prosecutors that saw him plea No Contest to the misdemeanor charge of Battery in exchange for Eslick agreeing to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and seek treatment if it was deemed necessary, enter a two-day anger management course, and consume no drugs or alcohol while on probation, according to a report in the Daytona Beach News Journal.
“Danny Eslick’s suspension has been modified,” Bill Cumbow, AMA Director of Racing, told Roadracingworld.com Wednesday at COTA. “Taking all [things] into consideration, we have reduced his suspension to a 12-month probation. His probation has very specific stipulations, including him not violating his court-ordered probation and him not violating any other significant rules or regulations.”
“I just want to thank TOBC Racing and Yamaha and everyone who has stuck behind me through all of this,” said Eslick. “Hopefully, I can go repay them with some wins or maybe a Championship this year. I know the Yamaha R1 is an awesome motorcycle, and the TOBC Racing crew has been working their butts off to get everything ready for me.
“This will be my first time at Circuit of The Americas. I definitely have a long road ahead this weekend, but hopefully I get up to speed fairly quickly. Learning a new bike and a new track all in the same weekend is going to be a bit tough, but we’ve been working hard this winter and I think I should be able to figure out the track pretty quickly and race for a podium if not a win.”
Asked what he was taking away from the whole experience, Eslick said, “There’s definitely something to be learned from it. Everyone knows that I like to have a little fun, and that one definitely got the better of me. The story that’s out there was blown way out of proportion. That’s why it was in the newspapers. I can’t really take that back, but that’s what all the haters are going to read and believe. I’ve just got to be thankful for the people who stuck behind me.
“Nobody out here is perfect. I’m sure I’m not the first person in the paddock to get in trouble. It is what it is. I’m the one who got publicized for the whole deal. It’s very unfortunate. It’s something I probably could have avoided on my part, but I’m just glad to be back out here racing bikes.”
Eslick said that leading up to his plea deal the Daytona Beach Police Officer who arrested him changed his official arrest report, bringing it closer inline with Eslick’s recollection of events, but that amended police report has not been made available to media outlets.