Danny Eslick (69) wins the 2014 Daytona 200
Photo via AMAProRacing.com
DAYTONA BEACH, FL — The shortened American Motorcycle Association racing season got under way this past weekend with six races on the famed 2.5-mile track that saw close finishes, dominating performances, and runaway wins.
Daytona 200
In the big race of the weekend, the 73rd annual Daytona 200, Danny Eslick rode his Riders Discount Triumph Daytona 675R away from the pack to finish a whopping 10 seconds ahead of second-place finisher RoadRace Factory/Red Bull Yamaha’s Jake Gagne. It’s Triumph’s first Daytona 200 title since Gary Nixon brought home the trophy in 1967. Jake Lewis finished third on his MotoSport.com/Meen Motorsports Yamaha R6. The 2014 edition marks the final time the race will be run by the middleweight 600cc class as the 200 jumps up to the 1000cc Superbikes next season.
Cameron Beaubier (2) won race two and Josh Hayes (4) took race one as Roger Hayden (95) took second in both races.
Photo via AMAProRacing.com
Superbike
Roger Lee Hayden came so very close in both Superbike races, losing round one by a mere .025 seconds after closing in on three-time champion Josh Hayes. Hayden pulled even with Hayes off the high-banking of NASCAR’s turn 4 but his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 couldn’t muster quite enough speed to get past Hayes’ Monster Energy/GRAVES Yamaha R1. Hayes’ teammate and 21-year-old Superbike rookie Cameron Beaubier brought home third after a handful of mistakes saw him go from first to third mid-race.
The rookie couldn’t be held back in round 2 however as the phenom surprised many in the paddock by winning on his R1, with Hayden once again finishing just behind the leader. Hayden led much of the final lap but knew that the R1 had better top speed and surrendered the lead entering NASCAR turn 4 and could not pull himself back to Beaubier using the draft. Hayden’s Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Martin Cardenas finished just behind those two after suffering a crash entering turn 1 in the first round. Hayes suffered mechanical issues on lap 9 and finished 21st. With both 2nd-place finishes, Hayden assumes the points lead as the series takes an 11-week break in between the first two rounds.
SuperSport
A pair of dominating performances by Celtic/Hudson Valley Motorcycles Suzuki riders Corey Alexander and Wyatt Ferris led to consecutive 1-2 finishes in the opening races in the AMA Pro Road Racing SuperSport class. Alexander landed the pole for round 1 and never looked back, leading all 10 laps and finishing 7.9 seconds ahead of his second-place teammate Farris. Dustin Dominguez rode his Yamaha YZF-R6 to a solid third-place finish after battling with Farris much of the race for second.
It was more of the same for Alexander in round 2 on Saturday as he raced out to an early lead and never looked back. Farris once again finished as runner-up as Suzuki swept the podium with Hayden Gillim taking third.
Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series
The always-interesting Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson series also kicked off with Kyle Wyman taking the top spot on the modified Harley-Davidson XR1200. Tyler O’Hara finished second and Gage McAllister came in third.
The race opened quickly as a group of riders, including Daytona 200 winner Danny Eslick, exchanged the lead several times. The draft was in full effect as a new leader crossed the finish line in first on nearly every lap. Eslick led coming out of the chicane on the final lap but a group of riders including Wyman, O’Hara, and McAllister stormed by to take the top spots.