Brandon Paasch: I didn't think I could win it until I'd won it

Brandon Paasch was honoured by Triumph recently with a plaque on the British brand’s Avenue of Champions following his Daytona 200 win earlier this year. 

Paasch went to the Daytona 200 this year as the defending champion, having won the race back in 2021 for Yamaha.

At the celebratory event, held by Triumph at its base in Hinckley, Visordown caught up with Paasch to talk about Triumph, the Daytona 200, and that honorary plaque.

“It’s quite special to me, for sure,” Paasch said about his unique plaque on the Triumph Avenue of Champions. “There’s Isle of Man TT winners, GP winners, and all sorts out here [...] so, it’s nice, and for me to know that every time somebody walks in and out of this building they’re going to step over my stone… it’s pretty sweet.”

Asked about the extra attention that has come with taking such an historic win for Triumph at Daytona, and whether that has brought extra pressure, Paasch said, “It’s cool for sure. I take the extra attention- yeah of course there’s pressure, you have to keep performing, but at the end of the day that keeps me pushing.”

Paasch’s win at this year’s Daytona 200 was by just 0.007 seconds in one of the most thrilling finishes you are likely to see in any racing of any kind, but on the banking of the Daytona Tri-Oval, it must be said that the sight was quite unique. 

“Honestly, I didn’t really think I could win it until I’d won it,” Paasch said, indicating the truly unpredictability of the race in Daytona. 

The spent much of 2021 riding for Simon Buckmaster’s Dynavolt Triumph team as the Street Triple RS made its racing debut in the British Supersport Championship, ahead of its World Championship debut this year in the hands of Hannes Soomer and ex-GP rider Stefano Manzi. 

About the British Championship, Paasch said, “The BSB championship is the most competitive domestic series in the world, in my opinion- honestly, I think that might be fact.” 

But, it’s not the pace at the front that makes BSB so competitive, as Paasch explained. “It’s not that the front boys are any faster than the front boys in any other series [...] I just think that the depth of the riders is a lot more dense than, say, America or wherever.”

At the 2022 season-opening British Superbike race in Silverstone, the top 20 riders were covered by 21 seconds. “I think the top 20 in BSB is a ridiculous skill level, and all them guys are on good machines,” Paasch said. 

This year, Paasch is back in the ‘States riding a Suzuki GSX-R600R in the MotoAmerica Supersport championship, although while he was over in the UK he did drop by Oulton Park for a “Pretty awesome project in the works with the people at Triumph,” according to an Instagram post from the American.