Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/209493
FEATURE P104 A LOOK AT NEYRA RACING The team's ZX-10RR is immaculate. "Being a businessman I know the key to being a success is you have to be known, you have to be well liked, you have to be looked upon positively, you have to be a benefit to the paddock – to the AMA, to CBS and to the fans. That's the idea – to put a program together where you don't have to be on the podium every weekend, but you do have to be recognized, you have to be up front and you have to be fast. You have to have good fan interaction, look good and you have to care… really more than anything you have to care about making the sport better. Like in all motorsports you have to have the love and passion for it or you've got nothing." Nash, a former Red Bull Rookie and Supersport race winner, was appreciative that Neyra gave him an opportunity to get his feet wet in the Superbike class riding the team's Neyra Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R. "I've known Justin for a couple of years now and we were always pretty good friends," Nash explained. "We'd talk whenever I'd see him at the track. He started having my crew chief Gary Medley build his motors and Gary convinced him to let me come out and try his bike. "Justin and I really hit it off. We're just alike and we have a great time together. He ended up putting a really good program together for me to ride Superbike. I was pretty excited about it. I think we have a lot of potential. We just need to make a couple more steps and we'll be up there in the top ten for sure." In 2013 it was a learning season for the team. Running a limited schedule Nash finished a best of 13th in AMA Superbike at two races (Road America and Mid-Ohio). The team also faced a bit of an uphill battle racing a Kawasaki ZX-10R, a bike not used by many other teams in the AMA paddock. Development on the bike continued after the AMA season was over. Nash and Neyra rode together to dominate the Team Challenge Final at Daytona International Speedway last month. Nash then went on to win a pair of sprint races at the Fall Daytona event as well. "It was great to win some races and we were excited about that and the entire team was having fun," said Nash, who flirted with the CCS lap record during the weekend. "Maybe the most important part to me was being able to get the lap times where we wanted them. I was able to do three 1:46 laps in a row on Sunday. I was more comfortable on this bike than I have ever been on any motorcycle, so I think our development is going well. The team has worked really hard and we're making progress. I think things are looking up for the 2014 season and we are going to do our best to keep up the momentum." For Neyra the immediate goals are to help Nash climb the ladder in Superbike racing and to find partners to help his squad reach its potential. "I'm going to try to bring on some big sponsorships, which we really need to step up our program for next year," Neyra explains. "Hopefully we can mold this into a winning team and someday instead of looking for sponsors we'll have them looking for us, that's really the goal." CN