Joey Pascarella and Riders Discount Triumph wrapped up the 4th round of the AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona Sportbike season at Mid-Ohio with a 13th place in Saturday’s race and an 11th place finish on Sunday. While these may not be the results the team was hoping for, they did gain a great of valuable insight and data on their 2013 Triumph Daytona 675R’s throughout the weekend.
Qualifying had Pascarella starting from the 10th spot on the grid for Saturday’s race, but an issue with a hose during the warm up lap forced him to pull off and push the bike to the wall. Luckily this all occurred close enough to the pits that he was able to sprint back to the paddock. As soon as they realized what had happened, the crew worked quickly to remove the tire warmers from the backup 675R and get it off of the stands so that Pascarella could start his race in earnest – all while the rest of the competition sped away. Despite being on a bike that he hadn’t intended to race, Pascarella was able to put his head down and churn out an impressive run of steadily improving lap times that brought him back up to 13th from well behind the very back of the field.
“I was feeling good going into the first race after making some changes to the setup in order to get more rear grip,” said Pascarella on Saturday. “Unfortunately we had the water leak just before the start and I had to push the bike to the pit wall. I made it onto the backup bike and started from pit lane, so I was pretty much riding by myself for a while. On the plus side, I did get some good data for the crew and was able to put in some quick laps that ended up being faster than I had gone in any of the previous practice or qualifying sessions.”
Team manager Bree Poland added, “Even though we finished the race in 13th, I’m really glad Joey was able to get back to the pits and back out on track. Everyone else had a solid head start at that point and he was still able to put in a couple of his fastest laps of the weekend up to that point – even though he was on a bike he didn’t mean to ride. We also have to give big thanks to the AMA Pro Road Racing crew for lifting our stalled bike over the pit wall before everyone came back around track again. Not only did they get it safely out of the way in time, but they lifted it over the tall Mid-Ohio wall by hand!”
Prior to Sunday’s race, the Riders Discount Triumph crew was able make the most of the data gathered on the backup Triumph 675R used during race one by improving the setup for Pascarella. This showed in the race, when Pascarella put in substantially faster times than the day before. He ended up finishing just outside of the top ten in 11th place.
“Overall, this wasn’t the weekend that the team and I were hoping for, but we are all very determined to improve. I am looking forward to next weekend and I feel that Laguna will suit us better.”
Joey Pascarella and Riders Discount Triumph are very optimistic going forward and they are ready for the next challenge. This challenge will come in just a few days time, when the Riders Discount Triumph truck and crew arrive at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California for the 5th round of racing during the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix.
About RidersDiscount.com: RidersDiscount.com is an online retailer of quality powersports gear, apparel and accessories. A company founded by racers,RidersDiscount.com ships equipment for every riding style to customers worldwide, backed by knowledgeable sales team and excellent customer service.
Triumph Motorcycles (www.TriumphMotorcycles.com) is the British motorcycle marquee that produces a wide range of sport, cruiser, adventure and touring motorcycles. From the storied Bonneville to the class-leading Speed Triple and Daytona 675R, Triumph offers a blend of design, character and performance that result in truly distinctive motorcycles. First established in 1902 and now located in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, Triumph has always set the pace for category-winning machines. The company is solely owned by Bloor Holdings Ltd. and its North American operations are based in Atlanta.
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