Certainly, the Daytona 200 race no longer has the luster of the legendary event that it was in the 70s, at the time when factories hired teams of half a dozen drivers to try to snatch a world-famous victory there.
Today, the motorcycles no longer have anything to do with those of the Grands Prix and the information concerning the event which takes place under the Florida sun is so limited that it should not interest many more people than the paddock itself…
But a race is a race and, both because it is the first of the year and because it still evokes something for old nostalgic people, let's summarize it in a few lines.
Virus obliges, it was without any spectators that the tests and the race of the 600 cm³ motorcycles took place generally similar to those of the MotoAmerica championship, while 71 pilots are committed to this 79th edition which takes place over 57 laps.
After Valentine Debise in 2017, we were particularly expecting the participation of the French TT specialist Timothée Monot, but the latter was ultimately unable to travel to the USA following complications traveling to this country. For the record, and still among the followers of the Isle of Man, Michael Dunlop was present on the handlebars of his Kawasaki ZX-6R.
The last reigning winner (2019, since the race did not take place in 2020), Kyle Wyman, was the fastest Friday, during the first of three qualifying sessions on the track which includes both a road course and the famous Daytona International Speedway oval. On his Yamaha R6, the one who will also participate in the MotoAmerica championship with a Ducati achieved 1'49.879 ahead Sean Dylan Kelly (18 years old) and his Suzuki equipped with Dunlop from the M4 team of Team Hammer who had dominated the free practice sessions.
We found this hierarchy again during the second qualifying session, this time with a best time of 1'49.288 for the Yamaha rider. However, the order was reversed during the last session and it is therefore Sean Dylan Kelly snatched pole position in 1'48.896 ahead Kyle Wyman, the two drivers being the only ones to lap below the 1'50 mark.
The 25-minute warm-up on Saturday morning still saw the domination of the blue Suzuki, even if its driver focused on doing as many laps as possible to assess the life of his tires.
So things seemed clear… but the race was going to reveal surprises to us!
Logically, Sean Dylan Kelly was at the forefront from the start of the race in front Kyle Wyman but, on the 19th lap, the latter hit a backmarker, causing the race to be interrupted.
On resumption, Sean Dylan Kelly continued his road towards a victory which seemed all the more promised to him as he once again assumed command from the 40th lap.
It was without counting on Brandon Pasch, 19, 3 British Moto2019 champion, who started 5th despite an injury to his left ankle. Riding his private Yamaha R6 equipped with Pirelli, the young rider from New Jersey waited for the last stint to make up for a six-second gap before switching to slipstream at the finish line.
A masterful maneuver which gave him an advantage of 0,03 seconds, and a victory all the more beautiful as Brandon Paasch had announced that in the event of victory he would donate half of his winnings ($175 and a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch) to the family of Lloyd Bayley, a driver who was his mentor and who tragically lost his life at Homestead-Miami Speedway during a motorcycle race late last year. Chronic Motorsports will match the amount donated.
Photo credit: Brian J. Nelson / www.roadracingworld.com
