MotoAmerica Rookie Sean Dylan Kelly to race Moto2 in Valencia
According to a press release by Team Hammer, the MotoAmerica 600 Supersport racer is trading his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600 in for an American Racing Team Triumph-powered KTM Moto2 machine for the season finale in Spain. The wildcard ride is there for Sean because the regular pilot, Spaniard Iker Lecuona, is running with the big dogs in MotoGP. Iker will be in the premier class next season with the Red Bull KTM Tech3 MotoGP team.
Enough about that Iker guy though, let's learn a bit more about Sean Dylan Kelly. Prior to joining Team Hammer this year, Sean spent three seasons flying around with the Red Bull Rookies cup where he had some top 10 finishes. Once on a 600 with Team Hammer, SDK proved he belonged by becoming the youngest pole sitter at the Daytona 200. He ended up second in what turned into a 4 lap sprint race due to a late-in-the-contest red flag. He finished 4th overall in the 2019 MotoAmerica season thanks to 7 podiums on the year.
As someone that is constantly talking about the state of American road racing, I am a huge fan of this. With any luck this is the first of many opportunities for not only SDK but other deserving American racers on the world stage.
All photos: Oxymoron Photography