Thruxton Challenge delivers thrills at Daytona

Racing doesn't get much tighter than this—in any era.

In Monday's Thruxton Challenge race, a spec class for Triumphs of the same name that runs as part of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association Vintage Days, Jay Springsteen, Tim Joyce, Jimmy Filice and Robert McClendon battled for six full laps around the Speedway. It paid off with a last turn, slingshot pass for the win and third place being decided by less than a wheel length.

McClendon took the early lead, with Springsteen and Gary Nixon in tow. Springsteen moved up, taking over the point by the time the riders reached the infield, while Nixon moved back, handing third and then fourth to Joyce and Filice.

Joyce, who looked like his choice of gearing gave him an advantage on the long straights, got around McClendon and challenged Springsteen for the lead. By the third lap, Joyce took over the point, while McClendon and Filice would keep the lead pack tight.

By lap 5, Springsteen was back out front, and Filice and McClendon were in position to rechallenge the leaders. The racing was fierce, with Springsteen working his motorcycle hard to make up for any disadvantage on the straights, drifting his Thruxton to the edge of the track through the International Horseshoe.

A dozen bike lengths separated the four riders as they entered Nascar Turn 4 for the last time. Springsteen rode his bike high onto the banking and squared off hard, coming back down to the lower section of the track.

But Joyce timed his move perfectly. He was able to catch Springsteen’s draft and slingshot his way around. Then, making sure he held onto the lead, Joyce moved to the high side of the track. Springsteen didn’t have an answer and had to settle for second.

Not far back, Filice was able to put his own drafting move on McClendon and slowly edge around, taking third place by half a wheel.

“Jay was pushing the back end so hard out there,” Joyce said just after the race. “At the end, I got up to the wall with Jay, got that little sniff of the draft and I just came in.”

Said Springsteen: “He’s smarter than I think he is. We had a heck of a head wind coming down that straight. When you get tucked in, you can just feel the bike quivering and then you just take off.”

Filice, whose smaller size gives him a natural advantage in the drafting department, said that he hoped to move up the podium on Tuesday’s second day of AHRMA racing action.

“I’ve only been on this bike one day, so hopefully tomorrow should be even better,” he said.

© 2006, American Motorcyclist Association