Copyright 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Five-time and current AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin was the fastest rider for the second straight day during a three-day, multi-team tire test at Daytona International Speedway, but the 32-year-old Australian ended his day Tuesday with a crash into a trackside barrier and a ride to the hospital.

Mladin ran a 1:40.309 to lead all times Tuesday, but he suffered a rare crash at approximately 4:00 p.m. local time while testing tires on his 2005 GSX-R1000 Superbike. Mladin’s friend Jason Pridmore was an eyewitness to the entire incident.

“Out of that left (new turn five), he was getting on the throttle,” Pridmore told Roadracingworld.com. “He was getting on it, getting on it. It looked like it just spun up and flicked him up, about midway between the two turns. He kind of came down on top of it, kind of saved it, but by that time he was going so fast, he was way, way past any point of braking. He kind of came down on top of it, had no control over it and was in the grass. The bike started snapping to the left. I thought it was going to highside him, but he jumped off. And when he jumped off, he just continued across the track and right into that wall, right into the barrier. The bike went up and over the (spectator) fence. It was resting in the fence. He went (tumbling) into that barrier where all the haybales and that stuff are.”

Not knowing if there were any safety workers in the area, Pridmore rode to Mladin’s aid. “I’m not a doctor, I guess I could almost be a doctor with all the injuries I’ve had,” joked Pridmore, “but it looked like he probably hit his head. He was moving all of his extremities. He was moving around a little bit. He unzipped his leathers, took his chest pad out so he could breathe a little bit. He got the wind knocked out of him pretty heavily.

“They transported him straight to Halifax (Medical Center). He took a pretty heavy hit. He was probably doing 80 mph when he went into that thing, I would say.”

Crew Chief Peter Doyle said Mladin went into the barrier feet-first and was complaining of pain in his lower left leg.

As Yoshimura Suzuki was packing up to leave the racetrack at 6:00 p.m., the mandatory time that everyone must leave the facility, Mladin had not yet been seen by a doctor at the hospital.

Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell’s Mike Ciccotto also crashed Tuesday afternoon in the chicane. According to his team, Ciccotto “hurt” his right hand and suffered a concussion but did not go to the hospital. Ciccotto’s teammate Dan Bilansky crashed without injury Tuesday morning.

Mladin’s teammate Ben Spies nearly matched the senior rider’s best time with a 1:40.411 on his GSX-R1000 Superbike. Mladin’s other teammate Aaron Yates focused on his GSX-R1000 Superstock racer until the bike died while he was going for a fast time in the closing stages of the day. Still, Yates gave a glowing report of his new GSX-R1000.

Brit Neil Hodgson was third-fastest Tuesday with a 1:41.151 on his Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin 999 Superbike. Hodgson said he was much more comfortable than on Monday and spent his time Tuesday trying to get a good balance with his Ducati and build his relationship with his new team.

American Honda’s Jake Zemke turned a 1:41.386 on his Showa-suspended CBR1000RR, good enough for the fourth-fastest time Tuesday afternoon. Zemke’s teammate Miguel Duhamel said he lowered his best Formula Xtreme lap time Tuesday by installing Ohlins suspension, but didn’t see as much success with Ohlins components on his CBR1000RR Superbike. Duhamel was ninth-fastest overall Tuesday afternoon with a 1:42.134 on his Superbike.

Jason DiSalvo was the fastest man on both his factory Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport bike and his Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock machine Tuesday. Riding his YZF-R1, DiSalvo turned a 1:41.498 on his last lap of the day and was fifth-fastest overall.

The test will conclude on Wednesday.

Tuesday Afternoon’s Best Lap Times (as supplied by AMA Pro Racing):

1. Mat Mladin, Suz GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:40. 309
2. Ben Spies, Suz GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:40.411
3. Neil Hodgson, Duc 999F05 Superbike, 1:41.151
4. Jake Zemke, Hon CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:41.386
5. Jason DiSalvo, Yam YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:41.498
6. Eric Bostrom, Duc 999F05 Superbike, 1:42.026
7. Damon Buckmaster, Yam YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:42.117
8. Miguel Duhamel, Hon CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:42.134
9. Aaron Yates, Suz GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:42.479
10. Steve Rapp, Suz GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:42.540
11. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:42.571
12. Tommy Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R Superstock, 1:42.708
13. Vincent Haskovec, Suz GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:42.719
14. Josh Hayes, Kaw ZX-10R Superbike, 1:42.945
15. Aaron Gobert, Yam YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:43.547
16. Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R Superstock, 1:44.035
17. Miguel Duhamel, Hon CBR600RR Formula Xtreme, 1:44.602
18. Michael Barnes, Yam YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:44.955
19. Aaron Gobert, Yam YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:45.101
20. Geoff May, Suz GSX-R600 Supersport, 1:45.169
21. Damon Buckmaster, Yam YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:45.228
22. Matt Lynn, Suz GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:46.673
23. Alex Gobert, Hon CBR600RR Formula Xtreme, 1:46.847
24. Mike Ciccotto, Buell XB12R Formula Xtreme, 1:46.906
25. Ben Attard, Kaw ZX-6RR Formula Xtreme, 1:47.741
26. Matt Lynn, Suz GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:48.023
27. Taylor Knapp, Yam YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:49.723
28. Dan Bilansky, Buell XB12R Formula Xtreme, 1:55.574