Rahal Ducati Moto Took On Their First Daytona 200!
Last weekend, the Rahal Ducati Moto team took on their very first MotoAmerica race weekend in the Supersport class at the 82nd Running of the Daytona 200! Kayla Yaakov, PJ Jacobsen, and Corey Alexander took to the iconic Daytona circuit where they overcame adversity, gained valuable experience, and delivered solid rides in their first outing. After valuable practice sessions, the team worked hard to adjust and prepare the Panigale V2 motorcycles for qualifying, where the riders set their starting positions for Saturday’s race.
Rider of the #19 Xpel Panigale V2, Kayla Yaakov qualified P17 with a time of 1:50:227, and took the green flag from P18. While Corey Alexander, rider of the #23 Roller Die + Forming Ducati Panigale V2 secured a P19 starting position. Both riders grew confidence in the adjustments made by the team and unlocked solid speed during the sessions. Unfortunately, technical gremlins with the electronics of the bike hindered the #15 Xpel Ducati Panigale V2 for PJ Jacobsen throughout the session where he qualified P26 and would start P31. The team worked incredibly hard in preparation of Saturday’s race to ensure the team would hit the ground running.
Saturday saw sunshine at Daytona International Speedway, and an exciting Daytona 200 where all three riders overcame obstacles and completed the 57 lap race. Kayla Yaakov drove an impressive race in her first Daytona 200, and made the most of each opportunity. Speaking about the weekend Kayla remarked, “My first ever Daytona 200 was definitely a bit intense. It was a really tough race, but I had a lot of fun. It was a pretty big group but we separated pretty quickly because of a bike blowing up in front of us pretty early on. Overall we know what we need to improve on which is a big help and we honestly took this weekend as a test run. We accomplished everything we needed to, and now we go on to more testing at Road Atlanta and delivering.” Kayla delivered a strong result, finishing her first Daytona 200 just outside the top 10 in P12.
The team’s modifications to the #15 Xpel Ducati quieted the electronic obstacles, and PJ Jacbosen rode his Panigale V2 to finish P14. “It was a pretty rough race for us, to be honest”, said Jacobsen. “As a team, we learned a lot and will have to move forward and use what we’ve learned from this first experience entering into MotoAmerica. It was good that Kayla, Corey, and I got laps around here on the bikes. I think it’s time to go back to the drawing board now and figure everything out to be prepared for this MotoAmerica season, where points matter and the championship matters.”
On the #23 Roller Die + Forming Ducati, Corey Alexander drove a solid race, crossing the checkered flag P19. Unexpected complications presented themselves when two engines failed ahead of Corey, spraying oil onto his helmet and Panigale V2, which posed a hindrance throughout the race, but did not prohibit him from driving a consistent race, and bringing home a solid result in the team’s first outing. “We were very happy to finish our first Daytona 200 with all three bikes - definitely not the result we hoped for but to be able to finish without any major mechanical issues and get a decent result was positive. We learned a lot heading into the season and we are excited for Atlanta and continuing to build up from where we finished at the end of this race”, said Corey.
Team Principal Ben Spies had this to say about Rahal Ducati Moto’s inaugural Daytona 200 - “It was a pretty decent day. We came in here, which was a big feat to get the results that we wanted, and we know that. With all things considered, it went pretty well. PJ lost two days and had one real practice session this morning. He showed a lot of potential in the race with some good lap times. We couldn’t hold the pace that we wanted but they showed some promise with it. Kayla, riding in her first Daytona 200, being 16 years old, and with the field she was against, did exactly what we talked about. She executed her race perfectly. Corey had a really good race too. It was really unfortunate for him because two engines got blown right in front of him, so he had oil on his windscreen and pretty much ran off the track, which cost him lots of time. With all things considered, from what we faced and what we had to work through during the weekend, both bikes finished the race, pit stops were solid, we just needed more time at the end of the day. This was a big test session for us and we got the data we needed to lead with and will keep taking steps forward.”
A weekend full of valuable information and experience gained in Daytona for the team, as they look to Rounds 1 & 2 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on April 20th & 21st.
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