Words and photos from Gizmo Racing Yamaha
Challenging Conditions at Daytona International Speedway for Round 8
The Sunshine State lived up to its reputation in name only for Round 8 at Daytona International Speedway. Overcast skies, brisk winds, and a demanding, sand-laden track presented significant challenges for our athletes.
250 Class Recap
In qualifying, our 250 East riders of Valentin Guillod, Bryce Shelly, and CJ Benard secured positions inside a stacked field, finishing 14th, 21st, and 24th respectively.
In Heat Race #1, Guillod and Benard were running strong in 9th and 10th through the halfway point. Unfortunately, Benard drifted too close to the edge of the sand section and went down. The deep sand made recovery difficult, and after getting his bike stuck while attempting to rejoin the race, he was forced to drag it free before continuing. The incident dropped him to the back of the field for the second consecutive week in a Heat Race, resulting in an unfavorable gate pick for the LCQ. Benard’s night concluded with a 16th-place finish in the LCQ.
Guillod, however, maintained his 9th-place position in the Heat Race, earning a transfer to the 250 Main Event. This is his FIRST 250SX Main Event appearance of his accomplished career. He went on to secure a solid 14th-place finish in the Main.
Shelly faced a challenging evening in both his Heat and LCQ races, consistently battling near the transfer positions. Difficult starts in both races left him fighting through the pack, and despite strong efforts in the short sprint formats, he narrowly missed qualifying for the Main Event. Shelly finished 11th in his Heat Race and 6th in the LCQ, just two positions shy of a transfer spot in each qualifier.
450 Class Recap
In the 450 class, Freddie Noren delivered another consistent qualifying performance, finishing 18th overall for the second consecutive week. This time, he capitalized in the Heat Race by maintaining a clean, mistake-free ride to secure a direct transfer to the Main Event.
In the 450 Main Event, Noren launched just outside the top ten. Mid-race vision issues affected his lap times, and a minor crash around the halfway mark cost him additional positions. He quickly remounted and pushed through to finish 18th.
Overall, the team showed growth and resilience in tough Daytona conditions, building on lessons learned from the previous round. We look forward to returning to the indoor setting at Lucas Oil Stadium next week as the season continues.
#39 Valentin Guillod
Valentin had this to say after the race, “16 years after watching my first supercross in Anaheim 2010, I didn’t think I would qualify for a SX Main Event at 33 years old. It was a great experience, each session I learned and progressed. Daytona was more of a SMX style track for me and my speed in the whoops was great. I’m going to continue to improve! Thanks to the Team and Sponsors for making a dream come true.”
#63 – Freddie Noren
Freddie said, “Much better weekend and it was nice to go straight through the Heat Race into the Main Event. I didn’t feel super fast this weekend necessarily, but a lot more consistent with minimizing my mistakes. Though I did fall once in the Main Event, I was able to finish 18th for some solid points. I’m happy about that, but there’s definitely a lot more!”
#80 – Bryce Shelly
“I felt decent on the bike heading into the Night Show. In the Heat Race, I battled up to 11th not getting into the transfer position for the Main Event which sent me to the LCQ. In the LCQ, I didn’t capitalize on the first couple of laps to get into a qualifying position and ended up 6th, just short of transfer position. I am going to work on starts and first lap intensity this week heading into Indianapolis.”, said Bryce after the race.
#775 – CJ Benard
“First time at Daytona and WOW, that track is gnarly! I learned a lot and felt like I had good pace. In the Heat Race I ended up going down. However, I’m learning & building, so I’ll take the positives into the next Round.”, is what CJ has to say after the Event.
