Team HurtByAccident.com Scores Sport Twins (ST) Class Victory
In what turned out to be the tightest and most exciting class battle of the inaugural MOTO-ST Series 8 Hours At Daytona, a speedy late-race pit stop by Team HurtByAccident.com enabled rider Steven Breckenridge to cruise to victory on the No. 16 Jostens/Czaia & Gallagher, PA Suzuki SV650, alongside Floridians Nicole Hoffman and Mark Crozier.
Breckenridge rode the final stint of the race, dueling Robert Wilkey's No. 17 Kawasaki Team Green Kawasaki EX650 well into the seventh-hour of the eight-hour enduro. Wilkey, running second at the time, brought the No. 17 machine down pit road on lap 209 of the 228-lap event for a late splash of fuel, handing controls to teammate Derick Keys.
One lap later, Breckenridge brought his No. 16 bike down pit road for fuel, hurrying back to the track to maintain the lead. Unfortunately for Keys, he was forced back down pit road just one lap into his stint with apparent issues on the No. 17 bike, enabling Breckenridge to enjoy a 24.205-second cushion once the checkered flag flew. Keys finished second alongside co-riders Wilkey and Matt Lapham. In total, the ST class saw 30 lead changes among four bikes, a testament to the close competition on the track.
"This was just amazing," said Breckenridge. "The history of this place, the competition on the track, everything. I watch the Rolex Series endurance races on SPEED and see the SunTrust car at the front of the pack. Now, to ride at Daytona in the SunTrust series and win, this was great."
All three riders on the No. 16 battled for the lead throughout the race, one that saw the lead change hands virtually every lap for eight hours. The No. 16 bike led a race-high 87 laps. Hoffman, one of two female riders in the field, is a NASCAR employee and is certainly relishing her victory at the 'World Center of Racing.'
"This was a coming home for me," said Hoffman. "All
of my friends and family were here. It was wonderful. The crew did a great job, our pit stops were fast, and I can't say enough about Mark and Steve. They were outstanding throughout the whole race."
"It was such a great battle between us and the (No.) 17 guys for about two-and-a-half hours," added Crozier, from Palm Coast, Fla. "We saw this as sort of a tortoise and the hare situation. We might've been lacking a little bit in horsepower, but we know that if our stops were good and we raced smart and clean, we'd be there at the end."
Pirelli was named as the sole supplier of SunTrust MOTO-ST tires for the inaugural 8 Hours At Daytona as well as the first full season of competition in 2007. All competitors will use Sunoco GT unleaded fuel. Horsepower limits are enforced by a Dynojet chassis dynamometer.
A one-hour highlight package from Saturday's race will air on SPEED at some point in the fourth quarter of 2006.
The 2007 SunTrust MOTO-ST season opens back at Daytona International Speedway with a race scheduled for 500 kilometers on March 3-4. Tickets may be purchased online at
www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or
www.racetickets.com or by calling 1-800-PIT-SHOP.
MOTO-ST is organized by Professional Motorsports Productions of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) of Pickerington, Ohio. The Grand American Road Racing Association, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., provides the series with administrative and commercial support. The MOTO-ST advisory board features some of the most respected individuals in the world of motorsports, including AMA Hall of Fame members, respected motorcycle racing journalists and renowned officials from various forms of road racing. Learn more about MOTO-ST at
www.moto-st.com.
