Weekend Takeaways // Daytona

The Daytona weekend is in the rearview, and while it's a completely different beast compared to the rest of the calendar, it still gave us plenty to take away as the MotoAmerica season got underway.

In our first edition of Weekend Takeaways, here's what stood out coming out of round one.

Supersport

One thing is clear right away—this class is going to be a problem in the best way this year.

Starting at the top, Josh Herrin picked up right where you'd expect. Back on the Ducati V2 full-time, he rolled into Daytona slightly injured from a training crash and didn't miss a beat. The win is one thing—but being nearly a full second faster than the field says everything you need to know.

Behind him, there's no shortage of pressure building. Ty Scott came out swinging on the 750 with pole and a second-place finish, and Kayla Yaakov looks as fit and dialed-in as we've seen her, with a clear boost from working alongside PJ Jacobsen in the offseason.

Then there's Darryn Binder. Daytona is about as tough a place as it gets to figure things out, and he got up to speed quickly. That's only going to make things more interesting as the year goes on.

Twins Cup

Two races in, and it looks like we've got 7–8 riders who can all run the same pace. It didn't fully turn into an all-out pack war at the front, but the depth is there, and that's going to show up more as the season settles in.

Sam Drane leaves Daytona with the points lead after a 2-1 weekend with Estenson Racing, an impressive way to kick things off as he balances both Talent Cup and Twins Cup this season.

Hank Vossberg made a serious statement in Race 1, putting 4.4 seconds on the field, and while Race 2 tightened up, he was still right there in the mix. Add in Team Hammer's Bodie Paige and Matthew Chapin—who just missed the win by .01—and you've got a group that's going to keep this thing unpredictable.

King of the Baggers

For the last few years, Daytona has been Kyle Wyman's territory in King of the Baggers. That changed this weekend.

The Vance & Hines factory Indian team showed up with serious pace, sweeping both races and the Mission Foods Challenge. On a track like Daytona, that's not something you can ignore.

The Harley-Davidson camp was confident all weekend that things will look different when we get to the rest of the schedule—but losing ground here is new, and it sets the tone early.

Either way, the fight is on this season.

SuperHooligan

Coming into 2026, getting this class balanced was priority number one—and early signs say they've done a solid job.

Daytona is the perfect place to test that, and through two races, it looks like things are in a much better spot. Big lead groups, multiple manufacturers in the mix, and a lot more unpredictability at the front.

Yes, the results still show Saddlemen Harley-Davidson on top both days, but there were plenty of riders in position to challenge for podiums—and even wins—throughout the weekend. That's a big shift from where things were.

We'll know more once the series hits traditional road courses, but for now, this is a strong step in the right direction.