Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

In an unannounced move, AMA Pro Racing will not lock in the front row of the 63rd Daytona 200 by Arai during the first Superbike qualifying session, as has been the tradition throughout recent memory.

Instead, the Rolex Pole Position Award and the rest of the Daytona 200 grid will be determined according to the fastest times turned regardless of which of the two qualifying sessions the times are set in.

(Actually, there are four Superbike qualifying sessions at Daytona, two for slower riders and two for faster riders, as determined by practice times.)

Locking in the front row of the Superbike grid after the first qualifying session was a Daytona-only program.

The benefit for first-row qualifiers was it allowed them to use the second qualifying session for additional practice. Locked-in qualifiers of the past normally used the second qualifying session to do long-distance endurance runs to improve their race set-ups and test tires.

AMA Pro Racing is expected to issue a statement regarding the change in the Daytona qualifying procedure later today.


Update:

AMA Pro Racing Superbike Series Manager Ron Barrick told Roadracingworld.com, “Now that we’re running the condensed schedule and the guys are used to having all of the first day to practice, we, along with the Speedway, decided it was better to do it by the normal method we use at all of the races through the year and combine the times from all qualifying sessions. We didn’t think it was fair to give them just one practice and then just throw them out in the pressure cooker.”

Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom, the quickest Superbike rider Wednesday morning, agreed, saying, “If they didn’t (give both sessions to chase the pole position) you would be out their with your bike all messed up.”

After announcing the change in the Daytona 200 Superbike qualifying procedure at Wednesday’s rider’s meeting, Barrick announced that the qualifying cut-off limit for Superbike would be 110 percent of the pole position time in 2004, down from 112 percent. All of the other AMA classes will continue to use a 112 percent qualifying cut-off.