Josh Hayes of Erion Racing Places 2nd in Daytona 200 by Honda at Daytona International Speedway

Erion Racing’s Josh Hayes held off Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo in a nine-lap shootout to come in second in the Daytona 200 By Honda at Daytona International Speedway. Jake Zemke of American Honda won the event.

Team Erion's Josh Hayes
Team Erion's Josh Hayes
Hayes was delighted to come in second. “The good news is American Honda is not racing in that class for the rest of the season,” said team owner Kevin Erion. “The other good news is we beat Yamaha.” Erion Racing is American Honda’s official factory-supported race team.

Erion Racing used K&N Engineering’s Performance Replacement Air Filter (HA-6003) on its CBR600RR at Daytona. “The K&N filter performed superbly,” said Kevin. “We did not change it at all during the difficult 200 mile Daytona race.”

Motorcycle road racing is a demanding motorsport. “The AMA Superbike Series puts the riders to the test. Competitors are in peak physical condition and must cope with extreme demands of repetitive G-loads endured during maximum breaking, wrestle lightweight, maximum-horsepower machines through high-speed corners at the limit of traction and multi-process thousands of information bits received through their hands, feet, knees, ears and eyes in mere fractions of a second,” states a news release from Team Erion.

“We now know we can beat Yamaha, a full-factory team with a lot more money,” said Kevin. “They are coming into every race with a huge economic scale and its own in-house racing program. For instance, if we spend one million, they will spend six or seven million and we have to compete against that.”

The K&N motorcycle filter allows us to push the envelope and get more horsepower, Kevin said. “We have seen performance gains on our dynamometer, up to a 2 hp gain with the K&N filter,” he said. “Anytime we can gain horsepower with the K&N filter it’s cost effective.”

Team Erion's Honda CBR600RR
Team Erion's Honda CBR600RR
Kevin Erion was a competitive AMA rider in the late 1980s, winning two AMA Pro Twins championships. His Team Erion has an impressive record in AMA road racing. In the AMA’s big-bore Formula Xtreme Series, Erion Racing posted nine of nine race wins in 1999; the most consecutive races won by a single rider (Kurtis Roberts, six in 2000); the most consecutive pole positions (eight in 2000); and the most class championships, four in five years. The team also won two 600 Supersport championships with the Honda CBR600 series.

In 2006, Team Erion is going after its first AMA Superstock title. “We’re excited to be part of the K&N family,” said Kevin. “The K&N products fits the model of Erion Racing, both are well constructed.”

Also check out the AMA Superbike Series Team Erion video.

Follow Team Erion's progress throughout the racing season at the K&N news site.  Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your town.