Those who followed MotoAmerica in our columns know the name Attack Performance well, since it is the official Yamaha team in the American Superbike, and its flagship rider, Jake Gagne, won no more and no less than 17 races out of the 20 that included the championship in 2020. , including 16 consecutive!
The figures therefore speak for themselves and when the team announces that it will also tackle the 80th edition of the Daytona 200 this year, we can immediately place it among the contenders for the trophy, especially since the R6 used will be in the official colors of the 60th anniversary of the Iwata firm in Grand Prix, that is to say white with the red Speed Blocks (and not yellow, color of Yamaha USA).
Cherry on the cake, the bike presented already sports the #32, that of the reigning USA Superbike champion, Jake Gagne !
The weekend of March 12 in Florida will therefore be an event not to be missed, if only because 2022 also marks the rapprochement between the most famous race in the USA and MotoAmerica, or even with World Supersport 2022, from which it takes on the equivalence of motorcycles this year.. Triumph 765, Ducati Panigale V2 and other MV Agusta F3 will therefore be alongside the usual Yamaha YZF-R6, Suzuki GSX-R600 and Kawasaki ZX-6R: the opportunity to see, before the start of WorldSBK, if the equivalence implemented place is really fair…
Anecdotally, the weekend will even include the opening round of the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers championship: we can't wait to see these big whales at the top of the famous banking...
On the other hand, the Daytona 200 race, with $175 in prize money, will not count for the MotoAmerica championship and will remain an event in itself. Remember that it was born on the beach at Daytona in 000 before moving to Bill France's “World Center of Racing” in 1927.
Nine world champions, including six Americans (Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and Nicky Hayden) and an Italian (Giacomo Agostini) won the Daytona 200, while the AMA Superbike champions Scott Russell (1992, '94, '95, '97 and '98) and Miguel Duhamel (1991, '96, '99, 2003, 2005) have each won the Daytona 200 five times.
Wayne Rainey, President of MotoAmerica and winner of the Daytona 200 in 1987: “ The Daytona 200 is known around the world for being one of the most exciting motorcycle races in the world. We are proud to work with the Daytona International Speedway, AMA and FIM North America organizations to continue to build the importance of the Daytona 200. With the new rules in place, we hope this will open the door to more of manufacturers and teams who will join us in March. This will be a great way to start the 2022 season. And, wow, the Baggers on banking! What a spectacle it will be. Obviously, this is MotoAmerica's first trip to Daytona, and it's my first return to the Speedway since 2008. I'm looking forward to what's going to be a really cool weekend. »
We have certainly still not regained the former glory of the legendary event, but we are undoubtedly moving in the right direction...
