Editorial Note: Twins Cup Race Two was originally scheduled for nine laps. It was shortened to six laps on the rain-delayed and condensed Saturday schedule. Then after a red flag incident on the original start, it was shortened to five laps.

More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Paasch Wins 80th Running Of The Daytona 200 By .007 Of A Second

TOBC Triumph-Mounted Brandon Paasch Wins Second Straight Daytona 200

 
DAYTONA BEACH, FL. (MAR. 12, 2022) – TOBC Racing’s Brandon Paasch executed his Daytona 200 plan to perfection, loitering around at the back of a four-rider pack until the time was right to pull the trigger on his Triumph Speed Triple RS. As it turns out, the 20-year-old had just the right amount of ammo at his disposal. He exited the chicane in fourth place, went down low on the banking, and started making moves until delivering the final dagger with a double-draft pass on Cameron Petersen and Sheridan Morais at the finish to win his second successive Daytona 200 – this one by just .007 of a second.

Paasch had spent his afternoon lurking at the back of the lead group – no matter how many riders it consisted of. But when it came down to his final pit stop, the only way he was going to be in a position to battle for victory was to take on just fuel and not tires.

The New Jerseyan got in and out of the pits quickly and found himself just behind the duo of SYNTAINICS Racing’s Morais and Squid Hunter’s Josh Hayes, the pair smartly squabbling over second and all the while pulling themselves to the back of Petersen, the South African alone and helpless as he watched his four-second lead evaporate all too quickly. Suddenly, it was a four-rider race to the finish and the man at the back was the man at the front when he needed to be. At the finish.

Paasch beat Attack Performance Yamaha’s Petersen by .007 with Morais third, another .057 behind, with Hayes fourth and .126 of a second from victory.

Fifth place went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, some 46 seconds behind Paasch, but well clear of four-time Daytona 200 winner Danny Eslick on the second TOBC Racing Triumph.

TSE Racing’s Harry Truelove, who races in the British Superbike Series, was just a tick behind Eslick at the finish and some eight seconds ahead of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Geoff May. Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Josh Herrin rounded out the top 10.

Pole-sitter Herrin was in the lead group when he ran out of fuel on his way to the first pit stop, coasting to pit lane and losing gobs of time in the process; and 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne, who qualified third-fastest, lasted only a few laps in the 200 before pulling out due to back pain from his crash in the morning warm-up session.

Paasch averaged 113.162 mph in winning the race and he also set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:49.959, en route to snagging his second Rolex watch.

Paasch, who gave Yamaha its 27th victory in the 2021 Daytona 200, brought Triumph its fourth victory in the 200 and the first since Eslick won on a TOBC Triumph in 2014.

The race was red-flagged on the seventh lap when Jose Lloreda crashed exiting the chicane, leaving debris on the racetrack.

Mission King Of The Baggers

It seems that no matter what kind of motorcycle you race at Daytona International Speedway, strategy and timing are so important on the run to the checkered flag.

In Saturday’s Mission King Of The Baggers race two, Ulsterman Jeremy McWilliams made a perfect pass, at the perfect time, to take the victory. The Mission Foods/S&S Cycle Indian Challenger racer has competed on all kinds of motorcycles, and in road races all over the world (including Daytona nearly 20 years ago), and he put his experience and racecraft to good use when he rocketed past Roland Sands Design Indian rider Bobby Fong, who was in the lead on the final lap. With the finish line in sight, McWilliams’ teammate Tyler O’Hara also drafted past Fong to take second place, relegating Fong to third. It was an all-Indian podium in the Harley-Davidson versus Indian Big Twin racing series.

Twins Cup

The final event of the day was in Twins Cup, and their second race of the weekend was, once again, action-packed. Fluid on the track caused multiple riders to crash on the opening lap, and the race was red-flagged and restarted with a five-lap sprint to the checkers. Eight riders were at the front and in it to win as the laps wound down. At the checkered flag, Cycle Tech Yamaha rider Hayden Schultz got the win, which was the first of his MotoAmerica career. Veloce Racing Aprilia’s Jody Barry finished second, just .241 of a second behind Schultz, and Italian expatriate Tommaso Marcon, .256 of a second behind Barry, rounded out the podium in third in a wild-card ride for Robem Engineering Aprilia.

Quotes
 
Brandon Paasch – Daytona 200 Winner

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure the whole time. There were a few times I did try to draft them, and I couldn’t get past. I was a little bit nervous, and I was like, ‘well, as long as we’re in the fight at the end, there’s nothing you can do about it.’ It’s Daytona. It’s a drafting game and sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. For me, honestly, it was just kind of sit there and wait, wait. We didn’t change the tire at the second pit stop, so I was a little bit nervous about the tire wear. I saw Cam (Petersen) had a pretty big gap, so I was just sitting behind Sheridan (Morais) and Josh (Hayes), and I was just like, ‘I see them closing. I don’t know if we’ve got enough time. I’m going to do what I can do and hopefully I can just draft these two the line.’ Then I see Cam coming closer and closer and closer and I just wait, just wait. Keep saving the tires as much as I can through that last lap. Honestly, when Sheridan and everybody started rolling out of the gap, I was a little bit like, ‘I don’t know where to put myself,’ but I saw Hayes was up high, so I kind of cut below him. I was like, I’m in a prime spot. I’m behind the front two boys. Once they went, I was like, ‘game time’. The Triumph pulls really hard when you go to the gas. So, I knew I was maybe going to have a chance at picking up mile per hour a little bit quicker than them guys. Just perfect. Just like last year.”

“This one is great, to be honest. (Josh) Herrin was on Instagram saying I’m not in his league, and then to come out here and beat him was really good for me. I’m stoked. Having all the Superbike guys out here is great. I know it’s not what they’re used to. They ride the big bikes and they’re really damn good at it. So, for them to jump back on the 600 and have a little fun with me is pretty cool. I feel lucky to be able to share the track with these guys. Hopefully, this summer I can learn a thing or two from Cam (Petersen) and the boys in Superbike.”

Cameron Petersen – Second/Daytona 200

“Yeah. I’m super happy. We came here to win. That was the goal. We did get the motorcycle capable of winning, but for my first Daytona 200 I’m super stoked to be on the podium. It’s got me wanting to come back already. I know I’m going to lose quite a lot of sleep over this one. I’m not going to lie. I think it’s going to take me a week at least to stop thinking about it. Like Shez (Morais) said, it was just so much fun. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun in a race, just battling with guys I’ve always wanted to race against. I’ve actually never gotten to ride against Josh Hayes like that, and even Shez. We’ve raced against each other a couple times but to race again and pass each other like that was pretty cool. Honestly, my team crushed the second pit stop. When I came by and everything settled down after the pit stop, I think I was like four and a half seconds in front. So, they absolutely crushed that second pit stop. They put me in the position to try and maintain that gap and win the race. Unfortunately, the guys behind me just put their heads down and slowly caught me lap by lap by lap. The last three laps it was all about just trying to pick your spot and figuring out where you wanted to be going into that last corner. I could tell coming off the chicane, he (Morais) went to three-quarter throttle, and I went to half throttle. I was just like, ‘there’s no way I’m leading coming out of this thing.’ I thought I timed it to perfection. I really did. I almost started celebrating before I got to the line. Sure enough, here comes Brandon (Paasch) on the outside and took the W. Congrats to these two guys. It was so much fun riding with them. Congrats to them. I hope we come back and do this next year.”

Sheridan Morais – Third/Daytona 200

“I love it. That was the best race of my life. So much fun. So much passing. Ridiculous. I know it’s an endurance race, 57 laps, but it felt like a sprint race. It was really, really cool.”

“The pit stops went well. The first stop for some reason, before the first straightaway, the back was locked up and I went straight on over there. So, I rejoined in 20th-something place and worked myself up to I think 12th before the red flag, and then after that it was smooth sailing. Cam (Petersen) had an amazing pit stop and he came out way in front. So, I just got tangled a little bit up with Josh (Hayes), having a good race. Finally, I got to the front and put my head down. Saw Cam and then we were in for it the last three or four laps.”

Jeremy McWilliams – King Of The Baggers Winner

“I kind of learned how to ride it off Tyler (O’Hara). Give him all the credit for that because he rides it differently than I do. I came along not knowing and riding it a little bit like a sportbike, and that’s not how it works. It just needs to be nursed a little bit differently. It’s got so much torque that you’ve got to change your throttle position and stuff. You’ve got to learn how to do that because it’s got an incredible amount of go off the bottom. So, you can see me spinning up and that’s still me learning. Still not quite there yet. I struggled off six. I’ve been struggling off six the whole way through. I probably haven’t been using the RPM range as well as I should be over the whole weekend. I did have the slightly different aero on. I was short-shifting a little. I didn’t learn how to draft until discussing it with Tyler, really. The drafting was the big thing at the end of the day. Getting across the line, Bobby (Fong) went low, and I stayed high thinking, ‘Should I be down there, or should I be up here?’ I think it was 16 years or 17 years ago, so I kind of forgot how to draft like this. It’s a very unique racetrack. Very special. And it’s very special just to be here and standing on top of the box. That’s not really what I expected. I’d be really happy to just get on the podium. I was a bit disappointed coming up short yesterday. Today made it all up for it. It’s a great team scenario where we can all speak openly and try to help each other.”

Hayden Schultz – Twins Cup Winner

“It’s incredible. I’m not that old, but I’ve been doing this for a while. This has got to be season eight or nine of me racing in MotoAmerica. I haven’t made a full season. To come so close whether it’s in Twins or KTM Cup and not get it, it drives me absolutely crazy. Last year, to get second in the championship and not get a win and see the other guys get wins, just drives you crazy through the off-season. The last couple months, I’ve been working really, really hard. My team has been putting a ton of effort into our program. I felt like we were really prepared for Daytona. So, to have what happened yesterday I was gutted to throw that race away because I know we have the speed to win and to pull off what we did today. So, that made today that much sweeter. If I would have had to drive home knowing that I threw away a grand opportunity to get a win or at least start the season on the podium, that would have been a really difficult few weeks. I’m so excited that we finally got it done. I just want to try to use this momentum to get through the rest of the season and see if we can rack up a few podiums. It’s going to be really tough. This class is absolutely stacked this year. These guys are so fast. I know my work is cut out for me because it’s going to be extremely difficult. I’m going to keep putting in the work and try to keep improving as a rider just to continue to make moments like this happen.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati:

A Disappointing Daytona 200 For Josh Herrin

The Great Race Becomes the One That Got Away For Josh Herrin and The Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Team

Sunnyvale, Calif., March 12, 2022 – Josh Herrin and the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC team suffered the wrath of the Daytona 200 in a trying Saturday in Florida, sealing a 10th place finish in the 80th running of the Great Race.

Herrin qualified the stunning Ducati Panigale V2 on pole position, sending the hopes of the international Ducatisti sky high as the machine made its competitive American debut.

The 2022 Daytona 200 resembled a sprint race for the first half of the event, with times under a second slower than Herrin’s pole time from Saturday’s Time Attack of 1:50.088.

Unfortunately, the battle or Ducati was over before the first pit stop, as a misjudgment on fuel mileage saw Herrin lose nearly a lap in the pits getting a top up. Herrin and the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC team powered on, clocking fast laps over and over but it was not enough to close the gaps to the leaders.

It was nonetheless an excellent performance from the Californian as he and the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC team prepare for the 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship, with the first round scheduled for Road Atlanta on April 22-24.

2022 Daytona 200 Results

P1 – Brandon Paasch (Triumph)

P2 – Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)

P3 – Sheridan Morais (Yamaha)

P4 – Josh Hayes (Yamaha)

P5 – Richie Escalante (Suzuki)

P10 – Josh Herrin (Ducati)

Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – Ducati #2) : “The race was going really well,” Herrin said. “We decided to go with a harder compound tire at the beginning of the race, which we decided as a team. We were able to keep the pace, so it was a good choice, but I was uncomfortable on the harder compound and hadn’t tested a lot of laps on it. So we decided during the red flag that we were going to switch to the softer compound when we came in for the first pit stop. Also, the tire pressure dropped a few pounds and that might have been the reason why the tire didn’t feel great before the red flag but we corrected it. We were able to lead most of the time after the red flag but we stayed out a little bit too long and ran out of fuel. Luckily it was enough to coast back in but we lost was too much time. We mounted up the softer tires, so it basically turned into a 40-lap sprint race for me, which was difficult, but we could do the same lap time as the leader even without the draft, so that was positive,” Herrin continued. “Obviously we wanted to come here and win as there’s a lot of effort for one race but it’s a good test for the season. We’ll leave here with our heads held high knowing we had the pace to win.”

More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:

Pirelli Storms to Third Consecutive Daytona 200 Victory

Brandon Paasch, Cam Peterson, and Sheridan Morais Make it an all Pirelli Podium Sweep using DIABLO™ Superbike Slicks

DAYTONA, Fla. (March 12, 2022) – Pirelli Tire North America stormed to victory and a one, two, three finish at the 80th running of the Daytona 200. The victory marked the second consecutive at Daytona for TOBC Racing rider Brandon Paasch who relied on the performance of the DIABLO™ Superbike range in each of his successes. Attack Performance Yamaha rider Cam Peterson came up 0.007 short to finish second, followed by fellow South African Sheridan Morais in third aboard his Syntainics / Penz13 racing machine, making it an all Pirelli podium sweep for the first time in the event’s history.

“Man, what a race,” said Paasch. “I kind of hung back early to let everyone settle in before making my moves and we got going just in time. That was a close finish and the slingshot worked out perfectly. My team decided to not change tires on our last pit stop, which definitely was a gamble, but it showed how much traction was left in my Pirelli’s as we came to the final stretch. A huge thank you to Pirelli for their efforts that have played a big part in my Daytona 200 victories!”

The 57-lap shootout proved to be an all-out battle as riders exchanged passes for the podium positions lap-after-lap. Paasch used patience for the majority of the race, running just inside the top-five with his sights locked in on the front-runners. As riders began to make their final pit stops, Paasch found himself out front before making a pit stop of his own, allowing Peterson to inherit the lead with 12-laps remaining. Paasch and the TOBC Racing team elected to pit for fuel only after seeing how well the DIABLO™ Superbike slicks continued to hold up. He would return to the track in second but was quickly shuffled to fourth, as he got back up to speed.

“My team absolutely crushed that second pit stop, which put me in a great position,” said Peterson. “I was kind of out there in no man’s land with a little bit of traffic and no draft. I came around to the finish and thought I had put myself in the perfect position, and at the last second, I could feel Brandon there and tried to push up on him. It was a fun race and a good confidence builder.”

Paasch and Morais used one another to begin a push towards the front, slowly closing in on the rear wheel of Peterson with just three laps to go.  With the race to the checkered flag on, it was Paasch who proved to have a brilliant strategy holding back throughout the race and using a slingshot move down the final straight to take the victory by just 0.007 seconds over Peterson. Morais was just behind the lead duo to complete the podium in third, 0.057 seconds behind the winner.

The victory marks the first time that Pirelli has won the Daytona 200 three consecutive times. Kyle Wyman won in 2019 and Paasch in 2021 and 2022. No race was held in 2021.

“I wanted to break away so bad, but it just seemed impossible,” said Morais. “That was a fun race. Probably the most fun I have ever had in a race. Every lap someone was there. I thought Cam should have had that race, but we put our heads down and managed to close that gap and it was a battle to the finish.”

Paasch’s race-winning Triumph set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:49.959 and was equipped with a 120/70R17 DIABLO Superbike SC2 front and 190/60R17 Daytona rear tire.

“What an incredible way to cap off the weekend here at Daytona,” said Oscar Solis, senior racing manager, Pirelli. “To be able to win this iconic event for the third consecutive time is special and to do it by sweeping the podium just makes it that much sweeter! It was a tight race to the finish and having so many Pirelli riders battling for the win just shows how capable the DIABLO™ Superbike range is. Congratulations to Brandon on the win and Cam and Sheridan on their podiums!”

In addition to capturing the top three spots, Pirelli showed its domination with six riders in the top eight positions, including TOBC Racings Danny Eslick sixth, TSE Racing’s Harry Truelove seventh, and Vision Wheel / Discount Tire / KWS Motorsports rider Geoff May eighth. With MotoAmerica and Daytona allowing riders to choose the tire brand of their choice, more than half of the grid elected to run Pirelli.

2022 Daytona 200 Race Results (Pirelli riders in bold):

Brandon Paasch

Cam Peterson

Sheridan Morais

Josh Hayes

Richie Escalante

Danny Eslick

Harry Truelove

Geoff May

For more information about the complete line of Pirelli motorcycle tires, please visit Pirelli.com

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Petersen Scores Runner-Up Finish in Daytona 200 Debut

Attack Performance Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen came just shy of the MotoAmerica Supersport win in a photo finish at today’s Daytona 200 at the Daytona International Speedway. Jake Gagne had a crash during the morning warm-up and tried to race but ultimately withdrew.

It was a lot of firsts for Petersen at the 80th running of the Daytona 200 – his first race with the new team, first time racing at the legendary speedway, first endurance race, and the first time racing a Yamaha R6 – but the South African impressed straight away. He set provisional pole on Thursday and had a solid overall qualifying result in sixth with limited track time.

Petersen got a good start from the second row of the grid and was in the mix with the lead group. He was third when the red flag was drawn on Lap 7, so he lined up on the front row for the restart. Petersen got another good start, put in some consistently fast laps, and kept his cool as riders jostled for position and exchanged the lead multiple times. After a quick second pit stop, he found himself with an over four-second lead, but in the final laps, the competition closed the gap. It came down to the wire with an exciting drafting battle to the finish line, with Petersen crossing the line .007 of a second shy of the win.

His teammate Gagne had a good qualifying effort in third to put the Attack Performance Yamaha R6 on the front row of the grid. Unfortunately, it was a rough start to the day for the defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion, who crashed during the practice session after his pit stop. He lined up for the race to try for a good result but was just too sore and withdrew before the red flag.

The team now has its eyes set on another Superbike crown as they head to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, on April 8-10, for the MotoAmerica season opener during the Grand Prix of the Americas.

Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager

“This was kind of a shop project to show how good the R6 is, even with the new rules, and to see if it’s really competitive. It turned out pretty good. The Yamaha was very, very competitive; I think it was one of the fastest bikes on the racetrack. It led almost every lap until the end, and we just got nipped at the line. So, we’re pretty satisfied with the way the whole thing went down.

“It was definitely a very rough weekend with very limited track time and a schedule that was constantly changing with the weather, but we adjusted really well. Our team did a great job, and Cameron had a great ride. It was his first time racing here and racing an R6, so with what little track time we had and finishing second at the Daytona 200 is impressive. We are really looking forward to starting the Superbike season and expect great things.”

Cameron Petersen – Attack Performance Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing

“Honestly, that’s the most fun I’ve ever had on a motorcycle. I didn’t know what to expect in my first endurance race, but I didn’t expect it to be like that. The first little bit of the race was like a sprint race. There were some do-or-die moves going on, but it made it so much fun.

“The team absolutely crushed the second pit stop and put us in a really good position to win the race. Then it was just a little bit unfortunate; I got stuck in no man’s land and didn’t have a tow or a draft or anybody to really work with, and then a couple of lappers got in my way. At that point, I knew that they (Sheridan Morais, Josh Hayes, and Brandon Paasch) were going to be there at the end of the race so I might as well just roll off a little bit, play it safe, and start working on my strategy to see where I wanted to put myself on the last lap so I could get that tow to the line. I honestly thought I timed it to perfection, and at the last second, Brandon got a two-rider draft and just got me at the line. I think I’m going to lose a little bit of sleep thinking about this one for a while, but I’m super stoked to get on the podium at my first Daytona 200. I’m already thinking about next year.”

Jake Gagne – Attack Performance Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing

“It was a tough end to the weekend because we were feeling better every session, and it was nice to qualify well. This morning in the warm-up, we were just practicing pit stops and I ran off in there, didn’t have the brakes, and hit the wall pretty hard. I was just feeling beat up in a couple of different areas of my body and knew it would be tough to get back out there and race, but I wanted to at least try. I just didn’t have the strength to fight up front and didn’t really want to ride around 57 laps in the back of the pack or anything like that. We’re ready to go superbike racing, and luckily we’re in good shape for that. I’m excited to get the season started at CoTA.”