Triumph-owned Triumph Daytona 675 have been awarded this year’s AMA Pro Moto-GT1 class series championship. The team’s second place finish at New Jersey Motorsports Park gave them a 35-point lead in the season’s point standings, which allowed them to mathematically clinch the series title.
"After the first few rounds, it looked like we would have to win every race just to have a shot at the title. Then we won at Barber and a number of other teams had some bad luck, which helped put us back in the game," said Mark Crozier. "The team’s been fantastic, and we were very fortunate to have a number of strong finishes in the last half of the season. I couldn’t ask for anything more."
Crozier Motorsports is one of just two teams to earn two wins this season. The victories came at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., and Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. The team also has more second place finishes, with three, and more podium finishes, with five, than any other team in the series.
Among the team members who are celebrating the championship are students at Harlem High School, located just outside of Augusta, Georgia. Students in the school’s transportation department have painted all of Augusta Triumph’s Daytona 675 racing motorcycles for the last four years. The course has progressed from three to 26 students in that time, and each student gets to take some pride in being associated with the championship.
"Mark Crozier and the entire Crozier Motorsports/Augusta Triumph team have done a fantastic job with the Triumph Daytona 675," said Jim Callahan, North American Marketing Manager for Triumph Motorcycles. "Winning is very challenging at the Pro level, and the endurance racing that’s done in the AMA Pro Moto-GT series adds a whole other level of complexity. To win the championship with a race remaining says a lot about their preparation and performance. We’re honored that Mark and the team chose Triumph as its race bike of choice."
Mark Crozier has been involved in the AMA Pro Moto-GT class since its inception. The team finished second overall in 2007, ran select races in 2008, and returned this year to run the full season with a goal of winning the championship.
Moto-GT racing features teams of riders that share a single motorcycle in an endurance racing format. It is the ultimate test for roadracing motorcycles with races throughout the season lasting two hours and the season finale lasting eight hours. The Triumph Daytona 675 competes in the series’ GT1 class, which includes motorcycles of various displacements that weigh up to 385 pounds and produce no more than 130 horsepower.
The 12th and final race of the season, the 8 Hours At Daytona, is Saturday, October 17, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.