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 »

America is starting to become a hotbed for wild card Claiming Rule Team entries in MotoGP. First there was Attack Performance getting awarded a wild card for the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca and the Indianapolis Grand Prix at The Brickyard. Indianapolis Motor Speedway will see another U.S.-based wild card, this time it’s Indiana-based GP Tech preparing its own CRT machine.

GP Tech has drawn wild cards at the Indianapolis Grand Prix before, in the Moto2 class. In 2010, GP Tech prepared an FTR chassis for Jason DiSalvo and in 2011, GP Tech prepared another FTR race machine for Jake Gagne. DiSalvo finished ninth in the 2010 race while Gagne (pictured above) was 31st in 2011.

This time, GP Tech is taking advantage of the new CRT classification to compete in the premier MotoGP class. While Attack Performance is mounting a Kawasaki ZX-10R engine in a custom-built frame, GP Tech is teaming up with the Vesrah Suzuki/MCJ Motorsports team to build a race bike powered by a Suzuki GSX-R1000 engine with a billet aluminum frame by BCL Motorsports. Continue Reading »

Triumph Motorcycles has signed a sponsorship agreement with Jason DiSalvo‘s riding school.

The 2011 Daytona 200 winner rides a Triumph Daytona 675R for the Latus Motors AMA Daytona Sportbike team so it’s no surprise the British manufacturer is sponsoring the Jason DiSalvo Speed Academy. DiSalvo also raced for Triumph-backed BE1 World Supersport team, and though he left the team on rather murky terms, DiSalvo and Triumph enjoy a strong working relationship.

“As much as I enjoy racing, I love to help others improve their riding abilities,” says DiSalvo. “We created the Speed Academy to help riders raise their game at the track, and with Triumph’s re-emergence into racing this partnership was a natural fit for both of us.” 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.

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Latus Motors is honoring the late Gary Nixon with a special livery for its Triumph 675R entry in the 2012 Daytona 200.

Nixon passed away last year after a heart attack but his memory will live on at Daytona. Defending Daytona 200 winner Jason DiSalvo will try to repeat on the Triumph Daytona 675R wearing leathers inspired by Nixon’s gear as well as the racing legend’s #9. The team will revert to its usual livery and DiSalvo to his usual #40 for the rest of the 2012 AMA Daytona Sportbike season.

Members of Nixon’s family will be in attendance to see the tribute to the AMA Hall of Famer. Nixon’s original Triumph race bike will also be on display at the Latus team’s garage while crew members will dress in uniforms inspired by the period in the ’70s when Nixon rode that bike.

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