Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Bikes rolled out onto the track at 10:37 a.m. today at Daytona International Speedway to begin the annual Dunlop tire tests. The test was scheduled to start Monday, December 9 and end today, but rain on Monday and Tuesday forced riders to sit out the first two days. Tuesday, officials extended the test until 1:00 p.m. local time Thursday, December 12.

The delayed start on Wednesday was not directly due to rain. Riders waited until the west banking of the speedway tri-oval dried before heading out.

The banking is so steep that portions of the track remain shaded from sunlight until the sun climbs higher in the sky.

The first factory rider to go on course was Kawasaki’s Tony Meiring on his ZX-6RR. Meiring was quickly followed by several other riders.

Technically, Brian Parriott was the first rider to go on course during the three-day test. Parriott actually took to the wet 3.56-mile road course Monday morning on a BMW Boxer Cup racebike supplied by BMW North America. Parriott was again the first rider out on Wednesday.

BMW’s appearance at the test was a special deal set up between BMW, Dunlop, Daytona International Speedway and AMA Pro Racing. The most surprising element was that Parriott rode on Metzeler/Pirelli DOT-labeled tires with special permission from Dunlop National Road Race Manager Jim Allen, as a courtesy to the AMA Pro Racing and the Speedway.

“We’re trying to downplay that part of the deal. Jim Allen was very generous. It was very nice of him,” said BMW North America Aftermarket Consultant Richard Dampf. Dampf was involved with the BMW Legends race program. “We’re just testing clutches. The lap times aren’t very important. That’s why we aren’t worried about the damp track.”

Gerald Young, a BMW North America employee who works as an instructor at AMI, also made laps on a BMW Boxer Cup bike on Monday morning but did not run Wednesday morning.

Young and Parriott will join Jimmy Lewis, Jay Springsteen and an undecided fifth rider as BMW North America’s tentative team line-up in the BMW Boxer Cup race. The controversial BMW Boxer Cup race is scheduled as a support race for the AMA Superbike weekend at Daytona in 2003. Other BMW Boxer Cup racebikes will be supplied for American journalists and VIPs to run in the March race.

Another new face appeared on pit lane Friday morning. HRC test rider Gaku Kamada suited up and took one of Miguel Duhamel’s RC51 Superbikes out. “He was here for testing in August,” said American Honda Team Coordinator Ray Plumb. “He has a very good feel for some things.”

Most of the factory riders pitted after their first lap or first few laps of the track. As the riders returned to the pits, mechanics pulled most bikes’ lower fairings off and put torque wrenches on bolts, apparently looking for fluid leaks and loose fasteners. One rider who didn’t pit after his first few laps was Parts Unlimited PJ1 Erion Honda’s Roger Lee Hayden. Hayden was the first rider to crash, falling at approximately 10:50 a.m. local time.

“I lost the rear over in the second horseshoe,” said Hayden, who was uninjured in the highside. “I don’t know what happened.”

Neither Hayden nor his mechanics knew if they would be able to get Hayden’s bike back on track. Evidently the parts supply for the new Honda CBR600RR is low.

Teams are expected to test straight through Wednesday, skipping the lunch break, and be back on track at 9:00 a.m. Thursday morning. Rain is forecast for Thursday but not expected to arrive in the Daytona Beach area until the afternoon, after the test is scheduled to end.