Jake Lewis, the 2013 AMA GoPro Daytona Sportbike Rookie of the Year, kicked off the 2014 AMA Pro Road Racing season with a third place finish in the 73rd annual Daytona 200. Lewis, and rookie teammate Tucker Lancaster, started the weekend strong with Lewis qualifying his 2014 Yamaha YZF R6 on the front row in third position, while Lancaster put his bike 27th on the grid despite a minor get off.
During the 200 mile race, Lewis kept a steady pace, running consistent times on his MotoSport.com Meen Yamaha. Completing the 57 lap race, Lewis captured third place after an exceptionally well final pit stop by his Meen Motorsports crew, leaving Daytona second in championship points.
"I had a few problems during the first stint of the race so I could not run the pace I would have liked to with the riders at the front, but there is nothing to be disappointed about being in the victory circle after 200 miles, 57 laps," Lewis said.
Jake Lewis (right) celebrates Third-place
Coming off a difficult qualifying, due to limited seat time, Daytona Sportbike rookie Tucker Lancaster was unable to finish the race because of a mechanical issue. The young Daytona Sportbike rookie, out of Lincoln, California, now sets his sights on running with the front of the pack at the next AMA round in Road America.
"It definitely was not my best weekend given my small crash in qualifying and the DNF in the Daytona 200, but I learned a lot in my first AMA Pro race and I cannot wait to see what we can do on my MotoSport.com Meen Yamaha in Road America. I can't thank the team enough for working so hard this weekend," says Lancaster.
In Supersport, #146 Andre Ochs started the weekend off qualifying his MotoSport.com Meen Yamaha in seventh position. In race one Ochs ran with the lead group, finishing overall in 10th place, setting the fastest trap speed of 183 mph. After making some minor adjustments the Meen Team rider was in place for a good position in race two, yet because of a technical error, the 17-year old rider, out of Temecula, CA started on the back of the grid in 37th position. Overcoming the challenge, Ochs set his weekend personal best time of 1.53.0, the second fastest lap of the race, finishing 18th.
"I had a great first weekend with my new Meen Motorsports crew. We all worked really hard and will keep on making improvements to get better with each race. I look forward to coming back even stronger at the next round in Road America," Ochs said.
"Our entire team worked very hard coming into this race, especially the riders, and I am happy that the MotoSport.com Meen Yamaha made it to the Winner's Circle with Jake. It was quite unfortunate what happened to Tucker, yet it is Daytona and mechanicals are always a potential issue given the unusual wear and tear circumstances. I know in Road America he will have a better opportunity at showcasing his natural talent. I was very pleased with our Supersport rider Andre, who showed us he has the speed to run with the front. With some more seat time I am confident he will put the Yamaha R6 on the podium," said Meen Motorsports team owner Ameen Sajjadi.
Meen Motorsports would like to thank their following sponsors, MotoSport.com, Yamaha Racing, Graves Motorsports, Roclun International, Yamalube, Yamaha Generators, MOTO-D, Core Moto, Bursig, Dynojet, Shorai, Cortech, Shoei, Next Moto Champion, Designstar3.com, Motopia, Pacific Track Time, Vortex, D.I.D, Sharkskinz, Zerogravity, Concept 5, Drippinwet and G Squared Studio.
