One of the absolute joys of the MotoAmerica Series is welcoming new riders into the fold. That phenomenon happens in at least one of the five MotoAmerica race classes at almost every round.
In the Liqui Moly Junior Cup class, new riders often join MotoAmerica right after they become 14 years old, which is the minimum age requirement to race in the class. We’ve seen that happen with several riders, including 2019 class champion Rocco Landers, who turned 14 on February 12, 2019, a couple of months before the start of the 2019 MotoAmerica Championship. Landers won his very first MotoAmerica race in the very first race of the season, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on April 6, 2019.
Ben Gloddy turned 14 on June 14, 2019, and competed in his first MotoAmerica race at Utah Motorsports Campus the very next day, on June 15, 2019. Timing is everything.
Yesterday, Blake Davis celebrated his 14th birthday. Davis has already built quite a reputation for himself as a young road racer, highlighted by being named the 2018 AMA Youth Road Racer of the Year and also winning the Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award this past October at Barber Motorsports Park.
Davis, who is from Lynchburg, Virginia, will make his MotoAmerica debut in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup class next weekend at round three of the 2020 MotoAmerica Championship, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
“I’m super excited to race in the Junior Cup class, especially because I’ll be racing against other riders on bikes that are the same as mine,” Davis said. “I usually race my Kawasaki Ninja 400 against Suzuki SV650’s, which is good training for me because I have to catch up to them in the corners. I did a track day at Road Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, and I got to ride with Dominic Doyle, Joe LiMandri, Alexis Olivera, and Jack Roach, and we were all on Kawasaki 400s, so that was a lot of fun.
“I’ve been looking forward to this first round at Road Atlanta so much that I completely forgot about my birthday. My sister Abby reminded me a couple of days ago, but I’ve been more focused on Road Atlanta than on turning 14.”
To purchase tickets for all MotoAmerica events, click HERE
For information on how to watch the MotoAmerica Series, click HERE
For the full 2020 MotoAmerica Series schedule, click HERE
