DAYTONA SPORTBIKE
AMA GO PRO DAYTONA SPORTBIKE SERIES
ROUND 1/MARCH 15, 2014
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY/DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA
P60
stops, which the good teams
were doing in around 10 sec-
onds, four riders, Eslick, Westby,
Gagne and DiSalvo emerged in
a lead pack. Even though there
was another round of stops
scheduled, you had the feeling
it just might be a quartet of rid-
ers going for the win on the last
lap, but a crash by Westby and
DiSalvo on lap 38 going into turn
one broke up the gang.
BRITISH INVASION
A pair of Brits named
Luke came over to race
in the Daytona 200 in
preparation for the Brit-
ish Supersport Series.
Luke Mossey and Luke
Stapleford were both
making their second
appearances in the 200
and both improved on
their performances from
2013.
Mossey finished a
credible 13th on his GB
Racing Yamaha R6, but it
was Stapleford who turned
in an inspired performance,
taking seventh on a Profile
Racing Triumph Daytona 675. A Brit on a British bike
proving to be a great combination.
"I had a real strong first sector," Stapleford explained.
"We decided to go for a strategy of not changing the
front tire. Maybe we should
have tried a tire change, but
I'm really happy with a top 10
- this is what we came here
for. I'd like to do a few more
Daytona 200s, so we're
building for the future really."
Stapleford said not
changing the front tire made
the end of the race chal-
lenging.
"The front really starting
to tuck," he said. "The last
few laps was all about nurs-
ing it home really."
Mossy is a three-time top-
10 British Supersport Series
finisher with three career
podiums in that championship. Stapleford was runner-up
in last year's Metzeler National Superstock 600 Champi-
onship after two victories and a second place in the final
three races took him to within a point of the title.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
LARRY
LAWRENCE
Luke Stapleford finished
seventh in the Daytona
200.
Fellow Brit Luke Mossey
ended up 13
th
The 200 gets started with pole-
sitter Eslick (69) leading the way
over Jake Lewis (85), JD Beach (6)
and the rest of the 39-rider field.
