CHRIS PARRISH SECURES POLE, HANK VOSSBERG COMMANDS RACE 1 IN DAYTONA WEEKEND. NEXT ROUND: 17-19 APRIL, MICHELIN RACEWAY ROAD ATLANTA
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – 8 MARCH, 2026 – The 2026 MotoAmerica Twins Cup season began in convincing fashion at the iconic Daytona International Speedway, where the Aprilia RS 660 – the model that catapulted rising star Alessandro Di Mario to back-to-back championships with Robem Engineering – was present to deliver a pole position, a race win, and one of the strongest presences on the starting grid for the 3.51-mile battle on the banks.
Chris Parrish (49 years old, from Tennessee), Ghetto Customs team, earned the first Twins Cup pole of the season aboard his Aprilia RS 660 with a 1:57.625 lap at Daytona. @BrianJNelsonPhoto
From the first practice and qualifying sessions, through both races of the opening weekend, riders aboard the Aprilia RS 660 showed pace. Chris Parrish placed his Ghetto Customs Aprilia RS 660 on pole position with a best lap of 1:57.625 during qualifying, leading a 38-rider field and showcasing the outright pace of the platform heading into the race weekend.
Race 1 delivered a breakthrough moment for Aprilia when Robem Racing Aprilia’s Hank Vossberg, a mere 15 years old, powered his RS 660 to victory, winning by a margin of 4.446 seconds, while also recording the race’s fastest lap of 1:56.846 seconds.
The result marked an early statement in the championship fight and highlighted the RS 660’s combination of speed, stability, and endurance around the banked tri-oval at Daytona. Parrish also shows promise finishing inside the top five in the first race of the season.
Race 2. Credit Brian J Nelson. Photo courtesy.
Race 2 again featured Aprilia riders in the lead group, with Vossberg battling for the lead in a red-flag abbreviated six-lap sprint. Commonplace at Daytona, the race came down to game of cat and mouse, with a slipstream dash to the finish. A mere 0.058 seconds from the victor, Vossberg finished third in a three-way fight to the finish line.
Race 2, finish line and podium. Credit Brian J Nelson. Photo courtesy.
The weekend proved the depth of the competition in Twins Cup, with 38 riders registered. Among them, 20 registered on Aprilia RS 660 machines. Heading into Road Atlanta for Round 2 of the Twins Cup Championship, Vossberg sits in second, trailing by four points, Andrew Weyh who finished a respective ninth in Race 1 and eight in Race 2 is seventh overall, and Eli Block, who registered twelfth and seventh place, rounds out the top 10 Aprilia riders in the standings in ninth overall.
Race 1 and Race 2, podium. Credit Brian J Nelson. Photo courtesy.
Hank Vossberg, #31 / Robem Racing Aprilia: “Yesterday was really good. We got a much better start yesterday and we were up with the group. I made a pass for the lead and just decided to try and break away and was able to have the pace in the infield to do it.
Hank Vossberg, 16 years old next 19 June; from Wisconsin.
It was really good and I tried to do the same thing again today, but with that red flag, we had three extra pounds in our rear tire, so it was sliding around and everything, and especially later in the race they were able to catch back up. But it was really good and just I passed them too early coming to the line and that's Daytona. We got good points and that's all that matters."
(Source: PR Aprililia Twins Cup at Daytona, by Hailey Arnold, Heartwork Agency).
THE 2026 TWINS CUP RACE CALENDAR:
MotoAmerica:
https://www.motoamerica.com/
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