Story by Greg Drevenstedt | Photos by the author & Kevin Duke
Bike Week, held in Daytona Beach, Florida, is the traditional kickoff for the new riding and racing season. This year’s rally, held Feb. 27 through March 8, marked the 85th anniversary of one of the world’s largest motorcycle events. Based on cellphone tracking data acquired by the City of Daytona Beach, more than 420,000 visitors came to the area during the 10‑-day rally.
Riders come from far and wide to attend Bike Week. For those who live in northern climates, heading south allows them to get some riding in before the spring thaw begins. Weather was perfect this year, with highs mostly in the 70s and only a brief rain shower on the first Saturday of the rally.
Bike Week is one of those events where you wish you could be in two (or three) places at once, and trying to see and do it all will leave you exhausted but satisfied at the end of each day. All week the calendar is packed with custom bike shows, audio shows, stunt shows, group rides, demo rides, swap meets, meet‑-and‑-greets, concerts, vendor marketplaces, races, and more. Plus there’s the nonstop scene on Bethune Boulevard and Main Street.
In Rumblings (page 18) you’ll find highlights for season‑-opening races at Daytona International Speedway in American Flat Track, King Of The Baggers, and Super Hooligan.
On Feb. 28, the first Saturday of Bike Week, the Speedway hosted Round 8 of the Monster Energy Supercross series. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Eli Tomac captured his eighth 450 SX victory at Daytona, the most by any competitor at the venue. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) and Ken Roczen (Suzuki) rounded out the podium.
More history was made during the Daytona 200, held on March 7. Eighteen‑-year‑-old Kayla Yaakov became the first woman in the 84‑-year history of the race to stand on the podium. She made a decisive late‑-race pass to secure 3rd place and write her name in the history books.
“I just really invested in myself this off‑-season,” Yaakov said after the race. “I’m in the best mindset and condition I’ve ever been in. I focused on putting myself in the right position and staying calm. It was a great race.”
Multi‑-time MotoAmerica champion Josh Herrin continued his remarkable run at the Speedway, winning his fourth straight Daytona 200 victory.
BMW also celebrated a historic milestone: the 50th anniversary of Steve McLaughlin’s victory in the very first Superbike race at Daytona on March 6, 1976, and Reg Pridmore winning the inaugural AMA Superbike Championship that same year. Pridmore’s R90S racebike was on display at the Speedway, and Nate Kern’s R 1300 R wore special livery with McLaughlin’s “83” on the number plates for the opening round of the Super Hooligan series.
Visit OfficialBikeWeek.com for more information. If you can’t wait until next year, Daytona Beach hosts the 34th annual Biketoberfest on Oct. 15‑-18. Visit DaytonaBeach.com/Biketoberfest to learn more.