The Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship will be well-represented once again at this year’s 83rd running of the Daytona 200, with three talented Canadians set to enter the prestigious event in Florida this week.
Headlining the group is 2024’s breakout star Trevor Daley, who will return to Daytona International Speedway after a stellar debut last season.
Daley finished 20th out of 62 starters in his first trip to the event, overcoming some mid-race drama in a performance that was even more impressive than his strong result showed, running in contention for at least a top-15 finish for majority of the race.
The Mississauga, Ontario native will hope to capitalize on that pace this time around as he returns aboard his OneSpeedInc Racing Team Suzuki GSX-R750, headlining a deep crop of Bridgestone riders in the 57-lap open-tire event.
Daley’s strong result in Daytona last season helped set up a career year north of the border, scoring his first two career Pro Superbike victories and adding three more wins in the Pro Sport Bike division.
A pair of other riders will be hoping to gain some similar momentum to kickstart their racing season, with Alex Michel the only other returnee from 2024.
Michel’s first trip to Daytona was overshadowed by the performances of Ben Young (ninth) and Daley, amongst others, but the 21-year-old out of Montreal, Quebec quietly put together an excellent race as he climbed 25 positions (the second-most of any rider) to finish 28th.
The SpeedFactory67 Kawasaki rider – affectionally called the “silent assassin” of the CSBK paddock – proved he has the long-run pace and racecraft to fight through the field, meaning a better qualifying result on Friday may be all that separates Michel from the top-20 in his return to Florida.
Michel has been training already in Florida – as has Daley – and will try to make it a pair of CSBK riders inside that top-20 group for the second year in a row, something that has not happened since the event was rebranded under MotoAmerica in 2021.
The last CSBK representative heading to Daytona will be making his debut at the 200-miler, as Dylan Bauer will take his Goatshop Yamaha to Florida for the first time in his career.
Bauer has raced sporadically since his stunning podium at Grand Bend in 2018 and pole position the following year, but the 24-year-old proved last season he hasn’t lost any of his pace, taking a pair of top-five Sport Bike finishes and a career-best seventh in Pro Superbike.
The unfamiliarity with both the circuit and the team/endurance atmosphere will be a tough challenge for Bauer to overcome, though the Breslau, Ontario native will not be one to count out this weekend as he tries to join his fellow Canadians at the front.
Also making the trip to Daytona will be teenage phenom Mavrick Cyr, though last year’s Pro Sport Bike runner-up has unfortunately abandoned plans to contest the 200-mile feature and will instead compete in the Twins division.
Cyr finished a strong 30th last season and was planning to return with Celtic HSBK Ducati in 2025, though a late switch will see the 19-year-old hop aboard his father’s privateer Aprilia machine in the Twins Cup season opener.
The 83rd running of the Daytona 200 will kick off with official practice on Thursday, before qualifying sets the grid on Friday for the historic race on Saturday.
Results from CSBK riders at Daytona will be updated throughout the weekend on the official website.
