Gabriel Da Silva wins 2020 Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award
Florida resident among four AMA awards recipients at 2020 AMA Road Race Grand Championship
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — Gabriel Da Silva was named the 2020 Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award winner, one of four riders to receive AMA awards at the 2020 AMA Road Race Grand Championship on Oct. 25 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.
Da Silva, 16, from Vero Beach, Fla., competed in AMA 600 Superbike Expert and AMA 600 Superstock Expert, winning those classes on a Yamaha YZF-R6 by a combined margin of 13.02 seconds. He also finished second on the same motorcycle in AMA 1000 Superbike Expert.
This is the third AMA Road Racing Grand National Championship victory that Da Silva has earned at the 2.38-mile, 17-turn Alabama circuit. He won the AMA 600 Superstock Expert title in 2019.
“I was pretty surprised to win it,” Da Silva said of the Horizon Award. “I met Nicky—also, his parents—at a couple of MotoGP events.”
Da Silva especially admires one of Hayden’s former teammates, two-time MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner.
“I really liked the way he rode and how fast he was,” he said.
The Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award is awarded to the rider showing the most promise for success in the professional ranks. Past winners of the award have included Blake Davis, Dallas Daniels, Jody Barry, Xavier Zayat, Anthony Mazziotto III, Hayden Gillim, Jake Lewis, Miles Thornton, Blake Young and Ben Spies.
Da Silva hopes to continue his racing career in the MotoAmerica Series in 2021.
Other AMA awards recipients at Barber Motorsports Park included AMA Youth Road Racer of the Year Alessandro DiMario, of Lexington, Ky.; AMA Vet/Senior Road Racer of the Year Kevin Callaway, of Detroit, Mich.; and AMA Novice Road Racer of the Year Ian Cattanach, of Beverly Hills, Mich.
The official U.S. amateur road racing championship, sanctioned by the AMA and operated by WERA Motorcycle Racing Inc., featured 14 Expert and Novice competition classes for motorcycles ranging in displacement from 400cc to 1,000cc. The event was held in conjunction with the 48th annual WERA Grand National Finals.
“Congratulations to Gabriel, Alessandro, Kevin, Ian and all of our class champions,” AMA Track Racing Manager Ken Saillant said. “We had good weather on Sunday with great racing. We thank WERA Motorcycle Roadracing for organizing another excellent event.”
For more information about AMA road racing, visit americanmotorcyclist.com/racing/road-racing.
2020 AMA Road Race Grand Championship Class Champions
AMA 1000 Superbike Expert: Taylor Knapp, Harvest, Ala.
AMA 1000 Superbike Novice: Cory Lang, Cincinnati, Ohio
AMA 1000 Superstock Expert: Taylor Knapp, Harvest, Ala.
AMA 1000 Superstock Novice: Craig Frantz, Uhrichsville, Ohio
AMA 600 Superbike Expert: Gabriel Da Silva, Vero Beach, Fla.
AMA 600 Superbike Novice: Tony McKnight, Charleston, S.C.
AMA 600 Superstock Expert: Gabriel Da Silva, Vero Beach, Fla.
AMA 600 Superstock Novice: Micah Hand, Grovetown, Ga.
AMA 400 Superstock Expert: Michael Killian, Trussville, Ala.
AMA 400 Superstock Novice: Alessandro DiMario, Lexington, Ky.
AMA Lightweight Twins Superbike Expert: Kayla Yaakov, Biglerville, Pa.
AMA Lightweight Twins Superbike Novice: Ian Cattanach, Beverly Hills, Mich.
AMA Lightweight Twins Superstock Expert: Rodney Vest, North Topsail Beach, NC
AMA Lightweight Twins Superstock Novice: Nick Hafele, Cincinnati, Ohio