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"¡Dale!"
That’s what we imagine rapper, NASCAR team owner, and general legend Pitbull said on Tuesday when it was announced that his Trackhouse Racing team was set to start motorcycle racing in 2024.
Trackhouse first entered the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021 and almost immediately found success.
It expanded to two cars in 2022 and the team won three races between drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez. Both made the series playoffs and Chastain made it all the way to the championship race at Phoenix. He eventually finished as the series runner-up behind Joey Logano.
While Suarez missed the playoffs in 2023, Chastain made it yet again and the team won three races yet again, including New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen winning his first ever start.
Now the team appears to be ready for bigger (and perhaps better things).
While the NASCAR Cup Series team will remain in place and the organization’s focus, Trackhouse announced Tuesday that it has signed a three-year deal with motorcycle manufacturer Aprilla to enter the MotoGP series beginning in 2024.
MotoGP is widely considered the highest level of motorcycle racing in the world. Miguel Oliveira, a five-time MotoGP race winner, and young rider Raul Fernandez were named as the team’s drivers in 2024.
“This is a monumental moment for Trackhouse Entertainment Group,” team co-owner Justin Marks said in a press release. “It has been in the ethos of Trackhouse since the very first day to put in the work, have the vision, and deploy the enthusiasm and passion necessary to build one of the most valuable motorsports entertainment companies in the world. Our entry into the MotoGP World Championship is another step in the execution of that vision.”
Trackhouse becomes the only American team currently on the MotoGP grid.
American riders dominated the series in the 1980s and early 1990s. But the late Nicky Hayden was the last American to win a series championship in 2006.
No American rider has won a race since Ben Spies in 2011. And there hasn’t been a full-time American rider since 2015.
With Trackhouse now on board, that could well change in the near future.