Three years in a row now TSE Racing has finished on the podium of the Daytona 200. The last two years have been with rider Cory West taking 2nd place both times. 2016 the team finished in 3rd place with rider Wyatt Farris.
Due to Cory sustaining a thumb injury in August of 2017 the team was unable to do any testing until the week leading into the event. The team had a private test day at Jennings GP March 13th to test out the new motor and to get Cory back up to speed. Even though Cory sustained his injury in August he hadn’t been on a road race bike since April.
March 16th was the start of practice and qualifying for the 200, where Cory qualified in eighth place for the start of the race. After 2 red flags, within the first 10 laps, the race finally got into full swing.
Cory had been running about 6th place before the first round of pit stops started. With quick work from the TSE Racing crew, they were able to get Cory back out on track to grab 3rd place. Cory grabbed 2nd shortly after and stayed there for the remainder of the race. Cory rode a fantastic race and the team couldn’t be more pleased with the performance he gave.
This year after post-race tech there were no questions on the legality of the TSE Racing R6. Last year after an unclear writing of the CCS rules Cory was DQ’d out of 2nd place. (76th Daytona 200, 2017) TSE Racing appealed, and Cory was reinstated 2nd’ place. Now with clear definition of the rule TSE Racing prepped their 2016 Yamaha R6 to prove their result from last year was a legitimate result with no intention of trying to cheat.
Cory West – “We had another tough battle on our hands for this year’s 200. There was more competition than last year but we got the bike working well and showed good speed in the warm-up. Once the race settled in I was in the lead pack and feeling comfy. There was a lot of attrition throughout the race, but the TSE crew got me in and out of the pits quickly. The Pirelli tires worked perfectly throughout the whole race. We lost touch of the leader early on but held onto another strong 2nd place finish. You can bet we all learned a few more things so we can come back stronger next year. Big thanks to everyone that helped out and that continues to believe in me!”
Meghan Ryan, Team Manager – “The main goal is to win obviously, but it’s racing and nothing is ever a given. The whole team worked really hard over the off season to make the bike the best that we could. We started working with Scott Jensen from Moto Garage, located in Loveland, CO, at the end of the 2017 season. We decided to continue that relationship for the 2018 season. Scott gave us a strong motor that did everything we could have asked for. Pirelli also came on board again this year and we couldn’t have asked for a better tire to give us the performance and durability that Pirelli has. We would also like the welcome and thank Motul for coming on board to help us out. We look forward to building our relationship with them for the remainder of the 2018 season, and hopefully more years to come. It is now time to start preparing for the 78th running of the Daytona 200.”
TSE Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors and crew for the continued support and dedication they bring to the team. Trackside Suspension & Engineering, Pirelli, Moto Garage, Bliss Machine LTD., Motul, Penske, SBS, Engine Ice, Pop Shadow Decals, iOneMoto, Core Moto, Zero Gravity, World Wide Bearings, H&E Services, VP Racing Fuels and Moto-D Racing.