Gloddy qualifies first in Twins Cup debut, Hobbs leaves Daytona at top of Twins Cup points standings
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2022
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — They say first impressions are everything, and Robem Engineering Aprilia’s two full-time riders for the 2022 season — Teagg Hobbs and Ben Gloddy — had stellar debuts with their new team March 10-12 at the MotoAmerica season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Gloddy — who finished runner up in the 2021 MotoAmerica Junior Cup — claimed the class’ first-ever pole position at the historic Daytona track in his first weekend racing in Twins Cup. Hobbs scored a hard-fought second-place finish in the first Twins Cup race of 2022 and ended the event in first place in the Twins Cup points standings.
Hobbs also narrowly missed out on a second podium of the weekend but finished 0.01 second behind the team’s third rider — Aprilia test rider Tomasso Marcon — for third place in Saturday’s Race 2.
All three of the team’s riders were near the top of the time sheets aboard their Aprilia RS 660s in Thursday practice — the first time Twins Cup machines took to Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course. Marcon led the trio, finishing the session in fourth place with a lap time of 2:00.476. Hobbs was fifth fastest — less than a tenth of a second off Marcon’s time — and Gloddy was 10th.
When qualifying wrapped up on Friday morning, it was Gloddy who’d secured the first MotoAmerica Twins Cup pole position at Daytona International Speedway with a 1:59.015. Marcon qualified in second, about a quarter of a second off Gloddy’s time. Hobbs finished qualifying in seventh, giving the team three riders within the first three rows of the starting grid.
Later Friday, the first Twins Cup race at Daytona saw Robem score a podium and come a few corners shy of having three riders in the top 10 or better. Gloddy took the holeshot, and — in a wild race that saw many lead changes among a large group at the front — all three Robem riders led the field at some point during the race. On the last lap, all three bikes were running in the top five, but a mistake by Marcon while navigating the backstraight chicane unfortunately caused Marcon and Gloddy to crash out. Hobbs — who was running in second as the frontrunners entered the chicane — narrowly missed out on the win and put a Robem Engineering Aprilia on the first Twins Cup podium at Daytona.
A rainstorm Saturday morning postponed the day’s Twins Cup race until after the Daytona 200, and Gloddy nabbed his second holeshot of the weekend on the initial start. Gloddy and Marcon were running first and fourth as the field entered the backstraight chicane on Lap 1, but a series of crashes at the chicane caused the race to be stopped. On the restart, Gloddy was again leading the field into Turn 1, and Hobbs and Marcon were running in second and third at the end of Lap 1. That pair also led the field over the line on Lap 2 and were part of an eight-rider pack vying for the lead in the closing laps. As the pack approached the finish line, the Marcon and Hobbs had a couple riders draft past them but held on to secure third- and fourth-place finishes. Gloddy fell back from the leading group in the early laps but managed to finish in seventh.
The Robem Engineering Aprilia team has a six-week break before the next MotoAmerica Twins Cup round, which takes place April 22-24 at the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Ga.
Teagg Hobbs / No. 79
“The weekend in Daytona as a whole was great. Working with the Robem team was awesome and we quickly established a good rapport. The Aprilia RS 660 is a new bike for me, but the team had my bike dialed in quickly. I think I’m going to really enjoy racing the Aprilia this year. The unpredictable weather made for a rough start to the weekend, but things came together pretty easily once we got out on track. I knew Race 1 would probably come down to the last lap, and I came up a little short of the win when I made my move for the lead on the run to the checkers. The shortened Race 2 was a little more of the same, as I got pinched out of the draft as the leaders were coming to the finish line. I was hoping for better results but am happy I’m leaving Daytona with the championship points lead. This was a great first outing with the team and I’m looking forward to continuing my championship hunt at Road Atlanta.”
Ben Gloddy / No. 72
“It was a good weekend overall. We only got half the on-track sessions we were supposed to due to the weather, and I was doing my best to learn the track quickly. I struggled a bit in the first session but got a good draft at the end of qualifying to get pole position. Race 1 went well until the last lap, but I was feeling pretty good for Race 2 despite the crash. I had a good warm-up session on Saturday but got shuffled back a little bit at the end of the race thanks to the draft. But it was great running with the frontrunners in my first Twins Cup race.”
Tommaso Marcon / No. 70
“Daytona was great! It was amazing getting to race at the Speed Capital of the World, and it was a pleasure getting to race in the United States again. The track was super fun, and the banking was amazing. I’d never rode anything like that. I apologized to Ben about the ending of Race 1 but am happy about my result in Race 2. We struggled a little bit with the engine, but we will work very hard to be faster next time out. I’m hoping to be back later this year for the rounds at New Jersey and Barber and want to thank Robem Engineering and my crew who came with me to Daytona.”
Robem Engineering’s technical partners for 2022 include Aprilia Racing, Piaggio Group Americas, BK Corse, The Center for Plastic Surgery, Synchrony, Velocity Calibrations, Bitubo Suspension, Dunlop, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag, Vesrah, Sprint Filter, DID, Magura USA, Sara Chappell Photos, NGK/NTK, Blud Lubricants, Millennium Technologies, Motovation USA and SC-Project.
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Header photo: Robem Engineering Aprilia rider Teagg Hobbs (No. 79). Photo by Sara Chappell Photos
Marino Communications 