2021 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Pre-Season Rundown

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Three years of Twins Cup racing has come and gone and all three years a Suzuki SV650 has won the championship. 2021 has new surprise for us but does that mean Suzuki will not remain on top? 2021 there is a new player in form of the Aprilia RS660. The new APE makes slightly less power stock than the beef’ed up Suzuki and Yamaha’s but is well into the mid 90’s in HP after a tune, pipe and filter. There are a host of these machines joining the grid at the opening round with some very fast riders behind the bars. We will do a quick run down of our title favorites and make a few predictions along the way.

#51 Kaleb De Keyrel – Kaleb was fast and right on the heels of the 2021 champion, Rocco Landers, all year. The 51 will not be competing on the Yamaha he knows and loves, he has made a move over to the Robem Engineering team and will pilot a new Aprilia RS660. With the amount of talent Kaleb posses and how potent the new Aprilia could be, De Keyrel will be tough to beat in 2021. His teammates will be some of his toughest competition. Kaleb will win races and will come out 1st or 2nd in the championship battle.

#49 Hayden Schultz – Hayden, like Kaleb, was ultra fast all season but did miss a few rounds. Also like Kaleb, he is jumping ship from his Yamaha program and moving to the Robem Engineering team to pilot the new Aprilia. Hayden has shown he has the speed and skill to run the times, he would have been close in the title fight if he had attended all the rounds. If he is able to do so in 2021, a podium spot in the points and a possible title are in his future.

#18 Jackson Blackmon – Opposite of Hayden and Kaleb, Jackson will be leaving the Robem team and throwing a leg over a Yamaha FZ07. In pre-season testing, Jackson was under the lap record at 2 different tracks. A crash recently has him healing from an injury and will miss the opening round. Blackmon is in love with his new Yamaha and when he’s happy, he’s fast. Jackson will start his season at the 2nd MotoAmerica round. Expect victories and podiums but missing that first round is going to hurt his title chances.

#79 Teagg Hobbs – I don’t know if he’s my sleeper pick because he’s not much of a sleeper. Teagg is returning to the series on the Team Hammer/M4 Prepped Suzuki SV650 he podiumed on in 2020. This kid can can flat out rip and will 100% be contesting the #1 spot. I do no know his season plans, but the rounds he attends, watch out.

#27 Toby Khamsouk – Toby had a solid 2020 season but maybe not the one he was looking for. Showed some serious speed at times just needed a little more fight during the races. Toby will remain on the Robem Engineering team and like his teammates, will be racing an Aprilia. I’d like to see Toby on the podium, he’s got the speed.

#16 Trevor Standish – 2020 was the maiden voyage in twins racing for Trevor and he was good. Top 10 every round putting in very solid rides. I’m calling it a smart and steady learning year. He was just a hair off that top group, very close in some races. If he can squeeze just a bit more pace, he’s there in the podium fights.

#717 Jody Barry – Welcome back to MotoAmerica Jody Barry. This is a name I was happy to see on the entry list. Great character off the track and very talented on the track. Jody competed in the KTM RC Cup and was extremely competitive there. He moved up to the 600 class but didn’t quite get the funding needed to really compete so he stepped away. Now he’s back on an Aprilia RS660 and if the machine is anywhere close to sorted, he will be fast. I am very excited to see how Barry goes.

#58 Maxwell Toth – Coming from the race scene in Europe, he competed at Laguna in the Jr Cup last year and instantly made a statement. He’s now going to be racing in the Twins Cup class on the Aprilia 660, expect fast times and podium chances from the youngster.

#128 Chris Parrish – It wouldn’t be a pre-season rundown with out mention of the 2018 Twins Cup champion. The veteran Parrish will be back on his trusty Suzuki SV650 at the opening Road Atlanta. As of now Chris does not plan on running the whole season and keeping his primary focus on the WERA/N2 endurance series. We know Parrish will give it everything he’s got at the rounds he will attend.

There are a bunch of names on the entry list that I know absolutely nothing about, can’t even begin to take a guess. There is one name that has me intrigued and that is #37 Liam MacDonald. Liam is coming from New Zealand will be under the same Pure Attitude Racing tent as Trevor Standish riding the same bike as Standish, a Suzuki SV650. I know Liam has some bigger bike experience which will help on the slower twin. Maybe a podium contender?

The season kicks off this weekend at Road Atlanta and we will be treated to two twins cup races. Fingers crossed for a barn burner.

See Entry List here

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