Cameron Beaubier led a parade of Yamaha YZF-R6 racebikes to win the 72nd running of the famed Daytona 200. The Yamaha Extended Service Graves Yamaha rider started from pole position and led for 50 of 57 laps before winning by a 22.254-second margin.

Behind Beaubier were four other R6 riders including his teammate Garret Gerloff who finished second. The Y.E.S. riders were followed by Bobby Fong of Triple Crown /RMR, and the RoadRace Factory team’s Jake Gagne and JD Beach. The five Yamaha riders were also the only five to finish on the lead lap.

The race was clean of the red flags that were common in recent runnings of the Daytona 200, but it also lacked the dramatic 0.048-second victory by Joey Pascarella in last year’s race. The 2013 race did produce some noteworthy results however. Continue Reading »

Michael Jordan Motorsports revealed its racing livery for its 2013 AMA Superbike Championship Suzuki GSX-R1000 racebikes. The 2013 racebikes will sport a wavy blue camo pattern inspired by the new Nike Air Jordan XX8 sneaker. The team unveiled the new livery on the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) in Chicago, where the team was founded and, more notably, where team owner Michael Jordan won six NBA championships with the Bulls.

The two-time AMA Daytona Sportbike Champion Danny Eslick joins the team after racing last season with the Erik Buell Racing team. Eslick will ride the #23 Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. He’ll be teamed with the Roger Hayden who returns for 2013 riding the #54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. Continue Reading »

Latus Motors Racing announced it will compete in the 2013 Daytona 200 with Jason DiSalvo, Elena Myers and Kenny Riedmann on the Triumph Daytona 675R.

DiSalvo should be considered one of the favorites for the Daytona 200. DiSalvo won the 2011 edition of the race on a Ducati 848 for Latus, and nearly did it again in 2012, finishing second on a Triumph Daytona 675R sporting a special livery in tribute to Gary Nixon. Amazingly, DiSalvo was just 0.048 seconds behind the winner Joey Pascarella despite having to make an early pit stop to replace his rear tire.

“I’m really happy to be back on the Latus Motors Racing team and can’t wait to get back to Daytona’s high banks,” said DiSalvo. “I’m especially excited about the opportunity to have Kenny and Elena as teammates. The past few seasons with Latus and Triumph have been awesome, and I’m so happy to continue this great relationship. We’re going to have some great racing.” Continue Reading »

AMA Pro Racing released a preliminary calendar for its 2013 Road Racing season. The tentative schedule contains nine confirmed rounds with another two to be confirmed. Next season will again see four classes of racing: AMA Pro National Guard Superbike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona Sportbike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport, and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson series which returns under its new name.

The 2013 season kicks off March 14-16 at Daytona International Speedway for the 72nd running of the Daytona 200. The 2013 season will also see AMA Pro Racing once again sharing the stage with both MotoGP and the World Superbike World Championship.

The Superbike, Sportbike and SuperSport classes will be at Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., July 19-21 with MotoGP for the U.S. Grand Prix. The Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series will be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Aug. 16-18 with MotoGP and the Moto2 World Championship for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. AMA Pro Racing will go back to Laguna Seca on Sept. 27-29 along with WSBK. Continue Reading »

Apparently winning isn’t enough to pay the bills any more, not even if the victory comes at the storied Daytona 200. The 2012 Daytona 200-winning Project 1 Atlanta team has folded after unable to secure funding for the rest of the season.

Project 1 Atlanta, and racer Joey Pascarella, stunned AMA Pro Racing fans with a Cinderella story victory at the Daytona 200. A bare-bones outfit, the team’s Daytona effort was primarily funded by former racer Jim Bronson in support of the March of Dimes. The team didn’t even sport any Yamaha logos on its race-winning R6.

According to RoadracingWorld, team owner Perry Melneciuc tried to negotiate a deal with Yamaha for a performance bonus and promotional opportunities but the two sides could not come to an agreement. Melneciuc was left with the difficult decision to abandon plans to continue racing the rest of the season. Continue Reading »

The 2012 Daytona 200 delivered another fairy-tale finish with underdog privateer Joey Pascarella and the Project 1 Atlanta team fending off a pack of three other racers to win by a slim 0.048 second margin.

Competing in just his first Daytona 200, 19-year-old Pascarella from Victorville, Calif., held the lead for 41 out of 57 laps to finish first ahead of a last year’s winner Jason DiSalvo while Cameron Beaubier squeezed by 2010 Daytona Sportbike Champion Martin Cardenas in a photo-finish to take third.

For the Project 1 Atlanta team, the win marked a dramatic turnaround from a let down in 2011. Despite finishing third in the 2011 Daytona 200 with rider Jake Zemke taking the pole, the team was unable to secure funding to continue the rest of the season. The team came back this year with little funding – Pascarella’s YZF-R6 doesn’t even have a Yamaha logo on it – with its main goal to raise awareness for the March of Dimes children’s charity.

Continue Reading »

Tommy Hayden has signed on to race in the 2012 Daytona 200 for the Graves Yamaha team as an replacement for injured rider Garrett Gerloff.

Gerloff broke his right femur in the first Daytona Sportbike class practice session for the Daytona 200, leaving Yamaha little time to find a replacement. Hayden had raced for Yamaha before, and those old ties reconnected quickly in time for the season opening race.

“The last thing a rider wants to do is replace an injured rider,” says Hayden. “But, I rode for Yamaha a few years back, and they have always treated me like a special member of their family. I couldn’t be happier to be back!” Continue Reading »

Roger Hayden will not compete in the 2009 Daytona 200 after being granted a leave of absence by the Monster Energy Kawasaki race team.

Mike Preston, Kawasaki Road Racing manager, says the leave is due to personal reasons.

“Roger is a valued member of the extended Kawasaki family, and the relationship is one of mutual respect and understanding. We look forward to him rejoining the team as soon as possible,” says Preston.

Former Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookie Cup racer Leandro Mercado will fill in for Hayden to join Jamie Hacking in riding the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R in the historic race. The 17-year-old from Argentina finished third in the 2008 AMA U.S. Rookies Cup with two wins and six podium results.

Continue Reading »

UPDATE: 2009 Daytona Bike Week Report and the Daytona Girls Photo Gallery.

The 68th Daytona Beach Bike Week officially kicks off today and will run until Sunday, March 8th. The event has become the unofficial start of the motorcycle season and claims to be the world’s largest motorcycle event. Go to the Official Bike Week site to get all the info for accommodations, restaurants and a calendar of events.

Continue Reading »

2008 was an interesting year in the world of motorcycles. But the biggest stories of 2008 have left some big questions for 2009. What’s in store for the New Year? We’ll soon find out. Here are some of the top news stories for 2008. Continue Reading »