Riders Discount Racing Triumph's Danny Eslick at the Daytona 200
Riders Discount Racing Triumph’s Danny Eslick at the Daytona 200Triumph Daytona 675RForty-seven years after the Triumph Daytona debuted to honor Buddy Elmore’s 1966 Daytona 200 victory, professional race teams are showing the venerable Daytona is again the motorcycle to beat.
The 2014 racing season began with Danny Eslick and the #69 Riders Discount Racing team becoming the first Triumph team to win the Daytona 200 since Gary Nixon in 1967. They also became the first Triumph team in history to win the Daytona 200 from the pole position, and the first Triumph to win the pole position since Paul Smart in 1971.Eslick, of Broken Arrow, Okla., dominated the race by leading 44 of the 200-mile race’s 57 laps and won with an incredible 10.975 second margin.Four of the Daytona 200’s top-10 finishers also rode a Triumph Daytona. Bobby Fong and the #50 Latus Motors/Castrol/Triumph finished fourth. Luke Stapleford and his team flew in from England with the #68 Profile Racing Triumph Daytona to finish seventh, and former Daytona 200 winner Steve Rapp finished tenth with his #15 D&D Cycles/Castrol/Triumph. The fastest lap of the race was turned in by Jason DiSalvo piloting his #40 Sportbike Track Time/Castrol/Triumph.Latus Motors/Castrol/Triumph’s Bobby Fong at GEICO Superbike ShootoutBobby Fong, of Stockton, Calif., and the Latus Motors/Castrol/Triumph team then won the opening round of the three-race GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout’s DynoJet Pro Sportbike class from the pole at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Fong and the Latus Motors Racing Triumph team then finished second at the Shootout’s next round, the Arai Pacific Nationals at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.Fong and the Latus Motors/Castrol/Triumph team are now tied for the lead heading into the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout’s May 24-25 finale at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.Eslick and the #69 Riders Discount Racing Team lead the AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona Sportbike class heading into the series’ second round at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on the weekend of May 30 through June 1.“Triumph’s back,” said Greg Heichelbech, CEO of Triumph Motorcycles America. “The Triumph family keeps getting stronger, and we’re seeing shades of racing rivalries similar to those of the late 1960s and early ‘70s when a Triumph was the motorcycle to beat. This is an extremely exciting time.”The parallel twin Triumph Tigers, then inline triple Triumph Tridents and their sister BSA Rocket IIIs, were the fastest motorcycles in the paddock in the 1960s and early 1970s. Riders and their Triumphs frequently won pole positions and races, including AMA Hall of Famers Gary Nixon and Gene Romero.Today’s riders compete with the Triumph Daytona 675R. Espoused by the motorcycle press for its intuitive handling and linear power curve, professional road racers again are making Triumph their motorcycle of choice to win poles, races and championships.
KTM RC 390 and Gordon McCall of Quail Motorcycle Gathering
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
Hello and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends.
This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Discover how the YZF-R7 provides the perfect balance of rider comfort and true supersport performance by checking it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or see it for yourself at your local dealer.
This week features Senior Editor Nic de Sena’s impressions of the new KTM RC 390. The entry-level KTM has always been an impressive motorcycle that has sold extremely well, however the factory has now taken the bike to another level, with top-spec features that are typically found on flagship machines. Clearly KTM has realized that even smaller engined machines should have high spec suspension, brakes and electronics packages. Nic tells us how well the new RC 390 is equipped, and what he thought of riding the smaller displacement rocket.
In the second segment I chat with automotive and motorcycle industry icon, Gordon McCall. Gordon is the Director of Motorsports at the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel Valley, California.
This weekend of Saturday May 14th sees the annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering re-start after its Covid-forced hiatus, and having attended every one of the previous Motorcycle Gatherings, personally I’m very happy that the event is back on the schedule. Gordon chats about the event and a little of what’s happening this year. It’s a great event and if you feel like a trip to the gorgeous Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, you’ll get to meet Gordon, Roland Sands, and of course a large number of stunning motorcycles too.
From all of us at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
