AMA Superbikes to Race Daytona 200 in 2015

The 2015 Daytona 200 will be contested with Superbikes as AMA Pro Racing‘s premiere event will once again feature its top-tier racing class.

“Getting the Superbikes back in the Daytona 200 has been a fan request for years and we’re thrilled to be making this announcement,” says Michael Gentry, chief operating officer of AMA Pro Racing. “The Daytona 200 is America’s premier motorcycle race, and our goal is to once again feature the biggest names in motorcycle road racing in the event.”

The Superbike class competed in the Daytona 200 from 1985 to 2004 but since then, the endurance race has featured the smaller-displacement Formula Xtreme and Daytona Sportbike classes. The 2014 Daytona 200 will again showcase the 600cc Sportbike class, with the Superbike class competing in a pair of 15-lap sprints.

But next year, the literbike class will again be the highlight at Daytona International Speedway for the 74th running of the race. Even if it is more than a year away, several racers, race teams and manufacturers expressed enthusiasm for the change, including five-time Daytona 200 winner Scott Russell.

“As a former winner of the biggest motorcycle race in America, I’m happy to hear that the SuperBikes will be back in the Daytona 200,” says Russell, who many refer to as Mr. Daytona. “It’ll create more interest when we have all of the top riders back in the big race at Daytona. I think this is an extremely important move, and it makes me very happy.”

The racing class isn’t the only thing that will change with the 2015 Daytona 200. Next year’s race will be held over 69 laps on Daytona’s 2.91-mile short course instead of the 57-laps on the 3.51-lap course scheduled for this year.

[Source: AMA Pro Racing]