The Horner brothers are heading back to Daytona. Instead of racing the final two rounds of the 2025 Super Hooligan Championship, the Irving Vincent team is now fully focused on returning to Daytona in 2026 – almost two decades after their historic win at the iconic US event.In a shift that reflects both pragmatism and ambition, the Irving Vincent team, led by Ken and Barry Horner, has confirmed it will not compete in the 2025 Super Hooligan rounds at Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio, as previously announced. Instead, it is aiming squarely at Daytona Bike Week in early March 2026, marking 18 years since Craig McMartin and the team stunned the field with their air-cooled V-twin to win the 2008 Daytona Battle of the Twins.

Read our Irving Vincent Articles here…

“We were originally going to do the two meetings in July and August this year,” Irving Vincent’s Ken Horner said. “But it would’ve been a huge effort for comparatively little gain. So instead, we’re putting everything into Daytona.Daytona means something – it’s not just a weekend meeting. The whole town gets taken over by bikes, there’s half a million extra people there. It’s a proper event.”

The Irving Vincents will compete in the Super Hooligan category as part of MotoAmerica’s 2026 season and the plan is to take two bikes, along with key members of the original Daytona crew.

After years of regulatory hurdles on Australian racing grids, the series represents a long-awaited stage on which Irving Vincent can finally compete, and MotoAmerica has welcomed the entry having formally confirmed its eligibility.

The Irving Vincents will compete in the Super Hooligan category as part of MotoAmerica 2026 

“The rules are a lot more generous for air-cooled because they’re just wanting variety of stuff on the grid,”  Horner said. “I think the only other air-cooled bike that will be there is an Arch, the Keanu Reeves bike. They’ve built a special one up for that series.”

Of the two Irving Vincents scheduled for Daytona, one will be the 1620cc air-cooled twin, while the other has been stretched to 1760cc, a move Ken says will improve reliability. Both are under development in the squad’s southeast-Melbourne workshop, with the project expected to debut at a club meeting at Sydney Motorsport Park in August.

The significance of the Daytona return can’t be overstated. That 2008 victory, with minimal pre-event testing, cemented the Irving Vincent name on the global racing stage. This time around they’re targeting another top result, but with more preparation and fewer unknowns.

“We know from last time how little testing we got away with – just half a day at Broadford and another at Phillip Island before we packed the bike up and shipped it to the States,”  Horner said. “I don’t think we’ll get away with doing as little this time.”

Beau Beaton remains the designated rider for the Daytona outing, with Craig McMartin – who piloted the winning bike to the landmark 2008 win – hoping to join the crew, depending on how the 2026 ASBK calendar falls.“Craig wants to come back for it,” Horner said. “And it looks like that time of year might mean there are no ASBK clashes, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Backing the effort logistically is the Horner brothers’ sparkless starter-motor business K.H. Equipment , which has a facility in Houston, Texas. Not only does it give the team a base from which to operate, but it also means the team has the option to continue competing in selected US events depending on performance, interest and scheduling.

“Houston becomes the base,” Horner explained, “The containers will go straight there and we’ll truck everything to Daytona. After that, we’ll reassess our options…”

Share this article