Motorcycles and news

“The bike was fast, the tires were good, and the team pulled out some great pit stops,” said Rapp. “To win at Daytona, that’s what you need. It feels great to not only win, but to be able to reward your team for the time they invest in you. It’s a way of giving back.”

Teammate Ben Attard finished a close second and marked the second time this week that Kawasaki took the top two positions, following Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden and Jamie Hacking’s one-two finish in AMA Supersport on Thursday.

Attard also put in an impressive performance, taking advantage of quick and efficient pit stops that eventually lead him to gain four positions on the track.

“I think we recorded the fastest pit time ever at Daytona in the 66 years they’ve been doing it,” said Attard about his pit stops. “It was unbelievable.”

Attack Perfomance owner and team manager Richard Stamboli added, “Our team has been putting in 16-hour days preparing for this race. Everyone gave 100 percent. It was a team effort and I’m so pleased by the results.”

Rapp and Attard’s finishing positions this weekend in the Daytona 200 marked the first time Kawasaki had captured the top two positions in the prestigious race.

In AMA Superbike, Monster Energy Kawasaki riders Hayden and Hacking qualified fourth and 10th, respectively, but ran into some unfortunate luck in the main event. Hacking went down in turn one after tangling with another rider. A few moments later, Hayden, who was running strong in the fifth position and looking to make a move on fourth, lost the back end and was sent to the ground.

Neither rider was able to continue the race but walked away uninjured from the crashes.

“We really don’t know what happened out there,” said Hayden. “We can’t figure out whether I got on the gas too hard, because everything looked the same as the lap before. Whenever you crash and don’t know why, you want to figure out the mistake so it doesn’t happen again and we will.”

Monster Energy Kawasaki and Attack Kawasaki will return to action on April 20 at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.

AMA Superbike Championship
Dayton International Speedway ­ Daytona Beach
March 10, 2007

1. STEVE RAPP, MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF., ATTACK KAWASAKI
2. BEN ATTARD, MURRIETA, CALIF., ATTACK KAWASAKI
3. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla., Suzuki
4. Chaz Davies, Nyack, N.Y., Yamaha
5. Jason Disalvo, Stafford, N.Y., Yamaha
6. Joshua Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Honda
7. Pascal Picotte, Ct Cecile De Milton, QC, Suzuki
8. Ryan Elleby, Powder Springs, Ga., Honda
9. Joshua Day, Orlando, Fla., Yamaha
10. Bostjan Pintar, Slovania, Yamaha

AMA Superbike