(NEWS RELEASE)

Daytona Beach, FL (March 13, 2014) – Dane Westby and Yamalube/Westby Racing opened the 2014 racing season with a flourish, setting a time of 1:51.682 in the afternoon session in the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class. Dane’s time was less than 0.2 behind the fastest of the session and put him firmly in the group expected to contend for the prestigious Daytona 200 on Saturday.

“The first group of guys are all right there, and I feel like I have a good bit left,” said Westby. “After last year, I’m sneaking up on really pushing hard through the chicane. To have that in reserve and be so close, I feel really good about our pace so far. The team has worked great and the Yamalube machine has been exactly what I needed. We are going to work with the gearing just a bit to have a little more RPM coming out of the first chicane and still be good on the banking.”

Westby will qualify twice on Saturday, with the afternoon session expected to be more ideal for setting quick times at the 3.51-mile Daytona Long Course.

“The top seven bikes were really close,” said Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Jerry Reeves. “We have a good direction and we’re pleased to be in the lead group. Dane’s been riding by himself, except for a handful of laps. We’re in a good position for tomorrow’s qualifying.”

The afternoon session begins at 1:10PM local time on Saturday.