TOBC TRIUMPH WINS 80th DAYTONA 200

– Triumph Street Triple RS wins Daytona 200 on first attempt

– Brandon Paasch defends title to win second consecutive Daytona 200

– Triumph Street Triple RS sets fastest lap

– Danny Eslick has most overtakes of the race

The TOBC – Triumph racing team, supported by FreedomRoad Financing, powers
Brandon Paasch to win the 80th Daytona 200.

Coming off its first season of competition in the 2021 British Supersport
Championship, the Triumph Street Triple RS wins its American debut at the World
Center of Racing. The winning motorcycle was ridden by defending champion
Brandon Paasch, who used his experience gained in the 2021 season with the
Triumph Street Triple RS and his past success at the 200 to make the most of the
765 triple’s power around Daytona’s banking.

Paasch started P4 and made it a Triumph 1 – 2 across the stripe first time around,
and confidently keeping with the lead pack for the duration of the race. The Triumph
765 triple engine didn’t break a sweat as it endured the 57 lap, 200 mile, race to keep
Paasch in the sweet spot. Coming out of the final pit-stop Paasch found himself in
fourth, and a couple seconds outside of the lead pack. To catch-up with the front
three, putting himself in position for the win, Paasch set the fastest lap of the race at
1:49:959. On the final turn of the final lap, Paasch who was patiently waiting for his
opportunity, twisted the throttle and trusted the draft and the triple Triumph engine
to power him to the win by 0.007 of a second at the chequers.

Danny Eslick, who started P8, left the grid with a terrific start, and led the race by
the end of the first lap. From there Eslick ran with the lead pack until the red flag.
Mid-race, as a result of fighting the high-winds and spending a good amount of the
race without the benefit of a draft, Eslick lost ground and his race-lead as he drifted
into the pits on fumes. Coming out of the pit, Eslick was able to re-gain significant
ground, ending the race with a 6th place finish.

Jeremy Appleton – Global Racing Manager, Triumph Motorcycles: “The Street Triple RS proved its performance and reliability credentials with the win today. The unique nature of Daytona, with its long, high-speed banking and tight in-field showed our bike’s speed and handling abilities in Brandon’s capable hands. He had the race pace, race craft and great maturity today and this win was richly deserved. Danny also showed his class throughout the race and would, undoubtedly, have been right there at the end had the windy conditions running without a draft not slowed him on pit road. On top of the performance from Brandon and Danny, the preparation, ability, and professionalism of the TOBC racing team cannot be over-stated. The effort and attention to detail that Michelle and her whole crew put into the build-up and execution of the race is a great example of single-minded dedication to winning. With the support of FreedomRoad Financial and all the team partners, Triumph is celebrating the biggest race win for the Street Triple RS to date.

Michelle Lindsay – TOBC racing owner: “After the 2018 season, I wasn’t sure we’d be back at the top of the podium again. To win the Daytona 200 on our first race with
Triumph is more than I could have ever asked for. I’m proud of Brandon and Danny
for their performances today, and very thankful for Triumph Motorcycles and
FreedomRoad Financial for helping us even get back on the grid, Boulder Motorsports
for helping to build a winning motorcycle. I’m also extremely proud to have such an
amazing group of individuals working in my team. Their dedication and work ethic
towards getting the 765 on the podium are unparalleled. This win is truly a team
effort, and we couldn’t have brought this great crew back together if it wasn’t for the
support from our key sponsors Politus & Matovina P.A. Attorneys, Palm Beach Police
and Fire Foundation, Jay Geeker Studios, Pirelli, and K-Tech.”

Brandon Paasch – 2021 & 2022 Daytona 200 Winner: “We did it!!! It’s unbelievably surreal to be a 2-time Daytona 200 winner, but I can’t say this race didn’t play out exactly as I imagined it. After last year’s win, I knew I had a winning strategy, and after a full season on the Street Triple RS, I had complete confidence in the bike and in the preparation of the TOBC racing team, to execute it. I’m thankful for FreedomRoad Financial for helping to make this race effort possible, and for the continued support from the Classic Car Club of Manhattan, Evolve GT, and Luxe Star, and am looking forward to celebrating with the team.”

Danny Eslick – 4-time Daytona 200 Winner: “Today was tough. A couple things didn’t go my way, which kept me off the podium. Thanks to Triumph, FreedomRoad
Financial, and TOBC racing, all of the right elements were here for the win. The bike
and the team have all the right pieces for success. I’ll just have to wait a year to snag
my 5th win.”

More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, LLC:

TOP FIVE FOR SUZUKI’S ESCALANTE IN HIS FIRST DAYTONA 200 

BREA, Calif., March 13, 2022 — Richie Escalante registered a top-five effort for Suzuki and Team Hammer in Saturday’s 80th running of the legendary Daytona 200. Aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600, Escalante opened the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season in encouraging fashion.

Escalante led the race at times and carded a solid fifth. Fellow Team Hammer pilot Geoff May earned eighth with a strong and steady performance over the 200 miles. Sam Lochoff showed potential for a good result before a long pit stop dashed his shot at victory before ultimately finishing a disappointing 19th.

The 57-lap event is a quest for both speed and endurance and this year’s running was no different. 2020 MotoAmerica Supersport champion Escalante demonstrated the poise to challenge for the win early in his first attempt at the Daytona 200, battling for the lead prior to, and after, an early-race red flag.

Measured, calm, and lightning-quick during his time at the front, Escalante’s form provided early optimism for a trophy-winning finish. He was joined in offering that hope by Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate, Samuel Lochoff, as well as VisionWheel.com/Discount Tire/KWS Motorsports Suzuki’s Geoff May, the two running together near the lead pack.

Escalante lost touch with the front after the first round of pit stops and turned impressive lap times, but was unable to catch the lead pack again.

“I’m super happy to finish – that’s most important,” Escalante said. “It was my first time to work with the team over a full race weekend, and I was excited to work with my new crew.

“The race was not easy. I did my best. I made a couple of mistakes, and we had a couple of delays in the pit stops. After that, I was just looking for a rhythm lap by lap and to finish the race. I’m pleased to have had this experience… it’s a historic race, and I’m happy to have more time with the team. Now we’ll focus on the future, training, and racing in Superbike.”

Meanwhile, the cagey May kept his head down throughout the race and added an eighth-place result to the tally. May took on fuel only during his final pit stop as the veteran improved his position throughout the race.

The Daytona 200 is notorious for the obstacles and chaos it presents to its challengers, and those often-inevitable variables negatively impacted Sam Lochoff’s bid for a stellar result.

Just before the race, a Team Hammer crew member experienced a medical emergency. His transport to the medical center and subsequent absence contributed to confusion and a mechanical issue during Lochoff’s stop following his first stint.

“I was behind the front group quite a bit there but with four laps to go before the first pit stop, I started closing the gap,” said Lochoff. “Unfortunately, our eight-second pit stop turned into a three-minute delay. After I went back out, I rode faster than most of the riders in front of me but when you are two or three laps down in last place, it wasn’t ideal.”

Lochoff returned to the fray three laps back and last in the order, but the young South African continued charging. He was rewarded for his determination by breaking into the top 20, claiming 19th in the end.

“I came into the race anticipating a win or to get on the podium, so the result isn’t what I wanted but I was happy to finish the race, given the circumstances,” he continued. “The team worked hard, and I felt good about my pace.”

Escalante will be joined by Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Jake Lewis as they begin their MotoAmerica Superbike championship campaigns in earnest when the domestic series joins the global superstars of the MotoGP World Championship at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on April 8-10.

ABOUT TEAM HAMMER 

The 2022 season marks Team Hammer’s 42nd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 128 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 332 times, and have won 11 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport.) The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won four F-USA Championships.

ABOUT VISION WHEEL

Founded in 1976, Vision Wheel is one of the nation’s leading providers of custom wheels for cars and trucks, and one of the first manufacturers of custom wheels and tires for ATVs, UTVs, and golf carts. Vision Wheel looks beyond the current trends and to the future in developing, manufacturing, and distributing its wheels. Vision’s lines of street, race, off-road, American Muscle, and Milanni wheels are distributed nationally and internationally through a trusted network of distributors. Vision Wheel also produces the Vision It AR app to allow users to see how their wheel of choice will look on their vehicle before purchase and installation. For more information on Vision Wheel, visit www.visionwheel.com.

ABOUT SUZUKI

Suzuki Motor USA, LLC. (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automotive Parts, Accessories, and ECSTAR Oils & Chemicals via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors, and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.

More, from a press release issued by Robem Engineering Aprilia:

Robem Engineering riders score pole, two podium finishes in MotoAmerica Twins Cup competition at Daytona

Gloddy qualifies first in Twins Cup debut, Hobbs leaves Daytona at top of Twins Cup points standings
 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — They say first impressions are everything, and Robem Engineering Aprilia’s two full-time riders for the 2022 season — Teagg Hobbs and Ben Gloddy — had stellar debuts with their new team March 10-12 at the MotoAmerica season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Gloddy — who finished runner up in the 2021 MotoAmerica Junior Cup — claimed the class’ first-ever pole position at the historic Daytona track in his first weekend racing in Twins Cup. Hobbs scored a hard-fought second-place finish in the first Twins Cup race of 2022 and ended the event in first place in the Twins Cup points standings.

Hobbs also narrowly missed out on a second podium of the weekend but finished 0.01 second behind the team’s third rider — Aprilia test rider Tomasso Marcon — for third place in Saturday’s Race 2.

All three of the team’s riders were near the top of the time sheets aboard their Aprilia RS 660s in Thursday practice — the first time Twins Cup machines took to Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course. Marcon led the trio, finishing the session in fourth place with a lap time of 2:00.476. Hobbs was fifth fastest — less than a tenth of a second off Marcon’s time — and Gloddy was 10th.

When qualifying wrapped up on Friday morning, it was Gloddy who’d secured the first MotoAmerica Twins Cup pole position at Daytona International Speedway with a 1:59.015. Marcon qualified in second, about a quarter of a second off Gloddy’s time. Hobbs finished qualifying in seventh, giving the team three riders within the first three rows of the starting grid.

Later Friday, the first Twins Cup race at Daytona saw Robem score a podium and come a few corners shy of having three riders in the top 10 or better. Gloddy took the holeshot, and — in a wild race that saw many lead changes among a large group at the front — all three Robem riders led the field at some point during the race. On the last lap, all three bikes were running in the top five, but a mistake by Marcon while navigating the backstraight chicane unfortunately caused Marcon and Gloddy to crash out. Hobbs — who was running in second as the frontrunners entered the chicane — narrowly missed out on the win and put a Robem Engineering Aprilia on the first Twins Cup podium at Daytona.

A rainstorm Saturday morning postponed the day’s Twins Cup race until after the Daytona 200, and Gloddy nabbed his second holeshot of the weekend on the initial start. Gloddy and Marcon were running first and fourth as the field entered the backstraight chicane on Lap 1, but a series of crashes at the chicane caused the race to be stopped. On the restart, Gloddy was again leading the field into Turn 1, and Hobbs and Marcon were running in second and third at the end of Lap 1. That pair also led the field over the line on Lap 2 and were part of an eight-rider pack vying for the lead in the closing laps. As the pack approached the finish line, the Marcon and Hobbs had a couple riders draft past them but held on to secure third- and fourth-place finishes. Gloddy fell back from the leading group in the early laps but managed to finish in seventh.

The Robem Engineering Aprilia team has a six-week break before the next MotoAmerica Twins Cup round, which takes place April 22-24 at the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Ga.

Teagg Hobbs / No. 79

“The weekend in Daytona as a whole was great. Working with the Robem team was awesome and we quickly established a good rapport. The Aprilia RS 660 is a new bike for me, but the team had my bike dialed in quickly. I think I’m going to really enjoy racing the Aprilia this year. The unpredictable weather made for a rough start to the weekend, but things came together pretty easily once we got out on track. I knew Race 1 would probably come down to the last lap, and I came up a little short of the win when I made my move for the lead on the run to the checkers. The shortened Race 2 was a little more of the same, as I got pinched out of the draft as the leaders were coming to the finish line. I was hoping for better results but am happy I’m leaving Daytona with the championship points lead. This was a great first outing with the team and I’m looking forward to continuing my championship hunt at Road Atlanta.”

Ben Gloddy / No. 72

“It was a good weekend overall. We only got half the on-track sessions we were supposed to due to the weather, and I was doing my best to learn the track quickly. I struggled a bit in the first session but got a good draft at the end of qualifying to get pole position. Race 1 went well until the last lap, but I was feeling pretty good for Race 2 despite the crash. I had a good warm-up session on Saturday but got shuffled back a little bit at the end of the race thanks to the draft. But it was great running with the frontrunners in my first Twins Cup race.”

Tommaso Marcon / No. 70

“Daytona was great! It was amazing getting to race at the Speed Capital of the World, and it was a pleasure getting to race in the United States again. The track was super fun, and the banking was amazing. I’d never rode anything like that. I apologized to Ben about the ending of Race 1 but am happy about my result in Race 2. We struggled a little bit with the engine, but we will work very hard to be faster next time out. I’m hoping to be back later this year for the rounds at New Jersey and Barber and want to thank Robem Engineering and my crew who came with me to Daytona.”

Robem Engineering’s technical partners for 2022 include Aprilia Racing, Piaggio Group Americas, BK Corse, The Center for Plastic Surgery, Synchrony, Velocity Calibrations, Bitubo Suspension, Dunlop, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag, Vesrah, Sprint Filter, DID, Magura USA, Sara Chappell Photos, NGK/NTK, Blud Lubricants, Millennium Technologies, Motovation USA and SC-Project.

More, from a press release issued by Pure Attitude Racing:

Speed deficit costs Pure Attitude Racing at Daytona International Speedway

The Pure Attitude Racing team kickstarted their 2022 MotoAmerica season in Daytona this past weekend, securing a double top-twenty finish despite their limitations of competing with an underpowered machine due to essential parts not being delivered on time.

Despite the clear power deficit, it was decided that the team would still compete at the iconic Daytona International Speedway in Florida to give riders Trevor Standish and Liam MacDonald valuable seat time ahead of the team’s home race at Road Atlanta in April.

Both riders rode a solid weekend providing feedback that should enable them to race with the front group from Round 2 onwards, the team leaving Daytona more than satisfied with their efforts.

Trevor Standish: “I was running by myself for the whole of qualifying, but I didn’t want to pull in as I knew we needed data and as many laps as possible. I improved my time over what I had achieved in FP1 but knew it would be a tough weekend, races wise. I got boxed in a bit at the start of Race 1 but at the flag finished inside the top twenty, which given the circumstances I’m happy with. Race 2 was a five-lap sprint, and I was able to make a better start but just like in Race 1 I was unable to do anything more as the bike was just too slow, for the reasons we all knew before coming to Daytona. The positive thing is the bike handles great. I know we have a lot more potential in the bike and in myself and I am excited to show our true pace when we move to Atlanta.”

Liam MacDonald: “I wasn’t overly stoked with Race 1, there are things I wish I had done differently but it was impossible with the speed deficit we had. I was trying so hard to make up the time in the corners but would lose it all on the banks. I rode the last couple of laps in a smart way, and just tried to learn as much as I could. I was really frustrated before the race started and thought that the number of laps we were given because of the rain delays was a bit of joke. Overall though I am happy with how I rode, and how the team and I were able to improve my feeling during the weekend which enabled me to finish inside the top twenty even though we were losing over 15mph – which is a straight-line speed disadvantage that nobody would have been able to overcome. Leaving Daytona, I feel a lot better with how I am riding compared to last year and I am confident then we get our full spec engines for Round 2 that I will be able to achieve some good results.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati:

Shelina Moreda Seals Top 10 at Daytona

Round One of the 2022 Super Hooligans National Championship Sees Moreda in Eighth Place.

Sunnyvale, Calif. – In what was her first experience with the Ducati Hypermotard 950 SP in Super Hooligan competition, Shelina Moreda put in a brilliant ride at Daytona for the opening round of the 2022 Super Hooligan National Championship.

Despite the second race of the weekend being canceled due to the persistent rain, Moreda qualified the Nowaskey Extreme Performance She’z Racing Ducati Hypermotard 950 SP in eighth place and raced to the same position in Saturday’s Race One.

The result sees Moreda in eighth heading into round two at Road Atlanta on April 22-24.

MotoAmerica RSD Super Hooligan National Championship—Daytona Race One

P1 – Andy DiBrino (KTM)

P2 – Cory West (Ind)

P3 – Tyler O’Hara (Ind)

P4 – Nate Kern (Ind)

P5 – Patricia Fernandez (Ind)

P8 – Shelina Moreda (Duc)

Shelina Moreda (Nowaskey Extreme Performance She’z Racing – Ducati #93): “What a weekend!” Shelina enthused. “Even though the second race was cancelled I feel like I got to know the Ducati Hypermotard 950 SP really quickly and managed to put it to work quite well. I was nervous taking that bike on the banking because we had pretty limited testing, but it handled the demands of this track really well. We had to make a few aero adjustments over the course of the weekend, which is to be expected for such a high-speed course, and then I was able to drop the lap times pretty quickly for the race. This is a unique place for any motorcycle, so to see how well the Hypermotard did was really encouraging. I had a blast on it and am really looking forward to the next race.”