ROAD RACER SEAN DYLAN KELLY
P78
Interview
SEN SATION
Sunshine State
Could Sean Dylan Kelly be America's
next great road racer?
BY LARRY LAWRENCE / PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J. NELSON AND LAWRENCE
Sixteen-year-old
Sean Dylan Kelly
is the youngest
rider ever to
qualify on the
pole for the
Daytona 200.
S
ean Dylan Kelly has had a pretty good spring so far. The 16-year-old Floridian
became the youngest pole setter in Daytona 200 history. He then came within two-
tenths of a second of winning the famous race, finishing second to Kyle Wyman.
He then finished on the podium (third) in his MotoAmerica Supersport debut riding a
Suzuki GSX-R600 for the powerful M4 Ecstar Suzuki squad.
Kelly is coming off multiple seasons of international competition, including the last three
as a full-time participant in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. There, he demonstrated
marked improvement each season and came to MotoAmerica riding the momentum of a
championship top-10 ranking in the 2018 Rookies Cup with seven top-10 race finishes.
Immediately before his Rookies Cup adventure, the Hollywood, Florida resident burst
onto the global racing scene with a spectacular performance in the 2015 KTM RC390
Cup World Finals. Kelly showcased his immense potential by scoring the Race One vic-
tory and finishing the World Finals ranked second overall. That same season, Kelly won
the RC390 Cup Championship in the Bike Racing Mexico series. Kelly also boasts an
extensive list of accomplishments at the club level, both in road racing and supermoto.
