The prestigious Daytona Motor Speedway hosts the Supercross series each year during the same time as Bike Week in none other than Daytona Beach, Florida. Each year it is a different race than your average supercross race. Long straight-aways, long lap times and lots and lots of sand. Some riders love it, some riders hate it, but Daytona is among the most popular races of any venue throughout time. This year for the 100% team, the Floridian round served up some positives and negatives in both classes.
For starters, Marvin Musquin and Cooper Webb both had a roller coaster of a night in very different ways. Marv chose the Accuri goggles throughout the night and showed some great speed after qualifying high and then getting second place in his heat race. While leading the main event, he almost looped out forcing him to hit the eject button into the mechanic’s area. He regrouped and managed a 5th place by the end of the race.
Coop found some trouble with Eli Tomac in the heat race, where they both went down and fought back to qualify into the main. He, though, rebounded well and built some steam throughout the main event. After a mid pack start, Cooper found himself coming through the pack and ended up in 3rd place by the end of the race.
A recent signing to the Factory Honda team after the unfortunate injuries of the other team mebers, Christian Craig has been showing he knows how to ride the 450. Nailing starts at all of the races he has participated in on the big bike, he has been up front early and remained there. He got off to a nice holeshot in the main event and just missed the podium and ended up in 4th.
The boys of the Geico Honda squad also saw some real highs and real lows. The Floridian native RJ Hampshire had a rough go in Daytona. In his heat race, Rj hit the deck hard after nose casing a jump and pile-driving him into the face of another jump. He will be out for the remainder of Supercross and we wish him a speedy recovery. Jeremy Martin on the other hand had a very progressive weekend. He’s been searching for the podium for a while now and finally found it after a taste at the Triple Crown the weekend before. He grabbed 2nd on the night and looks to continue building towards the top step.