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Daytona Venue Page

Daytona (MX)

Daytona Beach, FL

The World Center of Racing is one of a few venues that have hosted races in each major American series. The first ever event of the sport on Daytona’s infield was the opening round of the 1973 Pro Motocross Championship. The event switched to Supercross the next year, and quickly became one of the most prestigious events on the calendar.

Fast Facts

Venues

The iconic Daytona International Speedway is one of the most recognizable racing venues in the world. Created by NASCAR founder Bill France, the track opened in 1959, hosting the first Daytona 500. Along with NASCAR’s most famous race, the track hosts the 24 Hours of Daytona and several bike week festivities, including the Daytona Supercross. Once the final round of the Florida Winter AMA Series, the track hosted the opening round of the 1973 Motocross season and moved to Supercross for the first ever season of the series in 1974.

 

Iconic Moments

With just one race in Motocross history at Daytona, here’s a look at who won each class in March 1973.

1973 250MX Winner: Bob Grossi

Gary Bailey led the first laps of dirt bike racing at Daytona in the 250MX class. The Bultaco rider sprinted out front, but was joined by Husqvarna’s Bob Grossi and Kawasaki’s Jimmy Weinart. The trio swapped the lead in an exciting fight, with Weinart ultimately winning the moto after passing both riders. Grossi also passed Bailey, setting up a shortened final moto thanks to looming darkness. Grossi started the final moto out front with Weinart suffering a bad start. Weinart was determined to claim the win despite the rough beginning, flying through the pack and catching Grossi by the end of the race. It was too little too late though, as Grossi took the overall win on a tiebreaker, with Weinart finishing second, just 20 feet behind him.

500MX Winner: Pierre Karsmakers

Pierre Karsmakers was the class of the field in the 500MX division, going 1-2 for the overall win. John DeSoto put his Kawasaki up front early with an excellent start, but once Karsmakers caught up, it was game over. After being passed, the motor on DeSoto’s bike would eventually expire, leaving the Dutch racer alone out front. Karsmakers was content in second place in the last moto. Pushing to get near the front, he eventually settled behind Brad Lackey to win the overall, as the third moto would be cancelled.

Bryan Kenney, Daytona MX 1971
1971: First Ever Daytona

Before it was the Daytona (or even MX), this race was the final round of the Winter-AMA Series. It was a ‘loose program’. Practice started over an hour late, heats were cut down and the AMA needed to get the whole thing over with because they still had a 250cc road race to run that same day.

Gunnar Lindstrom won the 250 winner, Bryan Kenney won Open. Gary Bailey designed the course (and finished 3rd overall in 250cc).

This interactive table details the all-time Daytona Motocross stats. Who has the most starts, wins, podiums and points. Filter by class. Slide left to access more columns. Full list of stats is for Garage Members only. Join us!

All-Time Leaders

This interactive table details the Daytona winner history; who won in what year and what round was this venue.

Winner History

Race Results