From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

HODGSON AND BOSTROM TEST AT DAYTONA SPEEDWAY

Daytona International Speedway (Florida), Thursday 6 January 2005:

Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin riders Neil Hodgson and Eric Bostrom completed three promising days of testing with their Ducati 999s at the Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday. The duo began preparations for the 2005 AMA Superbike campaign which is scheduled to begin at Daytona in March.

Both riders recorded impressive top speeds on the recently revised 3.0 mile (4.8 km) circuit. Hodgson’s Ducati 999 was the fastest bike at the test, having motored through the speed trap at 194.635 mph according to the AMA’s timing equipment.

Neil was particularly impressive in his first US test as an AMA Superbike regular, the British rider turning in a positive 1:40.711 on the final day, which was good enough for third quickest overall. The former World Superbike champion got up to speed on the unique Daytona speed bowl best known for its fearsome banked sections.

“It’s really good to be here. I love Daytona and its history and I like racing on classic circuits like this,” said the 31-year old Isle of Man resident. “It was a bit of an eye-opener, coming here. It looks a lot easier on television, that’s all I can say — you know, (with) the banking and everything. But it’s exciting!”

“It was going really well working with Neil. He gave us a good direction with the bike and his lap times continued to drop after the riders lapped enough to clean off the circuit and give more grip,” said Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin race engineer Luca Ferraccioli.

Eric Bostrom turned in a best lap of 1:41.1 late on Wednesday, although the lap was credited to his teammate on the AMA’s timing monitors. His lap time was good for fifth quickest over the course of the three-day test.

Bostrom, who set pole and was a contender for the win in last year’s 200-mile race at the Speedway, saw his lap times remarkably drop by over a second in the morning session on Wednesday. In the afternoon, Eric rode Neil’s 999 to set his quickest time of the day as he continued to improve.

“I’m happy with the way things are going. It was definitely a good test for us. The Dunlop tires were good, I’m still learning the front and I’m still looking for one more second,” said Eric. “The new suspension link we tried seemed to really help on the banking and my confidence is just getting better with each lap.”

Eric continued: “We learned some things when I rode Neil’s bike. His settings did some things a little better than mine and we’ll have to see if that can translate to my set-up or not. I think there’s a lot to learn from having a teammate and I look forward to it this year.”

“I think it was very positive,” said chief mechanic Gary Medley of the test. “We got a lot of information from Eric over the three days and the team worked well together. With a few more tests, we will be ready for the season.”

The Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team will test again this spring before the 2005 AMA championship begins at Daytona on March 13th.


More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki:

HASKOVEC AND MAY TEST AT DAYTONA

Team M4 EMGO Suzuki kicked off the 2005 season with a three-day test at Daytona International Speedway this week. The team’s duo of Vincent Haskovec and Geoff May rode the revised 3.0-mile Florida circuit for the first time since the track was modified this off-season, ending up with promising results on the both the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Suzuki GSX-R600.

Haskovec was impressive from the start, quickly getting up to speed on the Superstock GSX-R1000 now shod with Pirelli tires. Haskovec’s trademark fiery, inspired riding hasn’t lost momentum over the winter layoff as he begins his second year with the team.

“It was tremendous to ride the new GSX-R 1000. Everyone knows the bike has improved for this season,” said Vincent, clocked at 1:42.589 on the GSX-R1000. “We got the bike even more stable on the banking as the test went on as we found some solutions. With every track, you’ll have some compromises where the bike may be very good in one section and not so good in another. Here, the set-up has to be very good for the banking and the rider must do his best in the infield.”

On Wednesday, Haskovec rode the Formula Xtreme bike he used to earn podium finishes in the class. “It’s a bike I know well from last year, but with different tires,” he said. Vincent’s time on the Suzuki GSX-R600 was 1:44.494, good for fastest FX time in that session.

Geoff May was last year’s top privateer in AMA Superbike and now he has joined a factory-supported team. “I can’t wait until the season starts,” said May, who was timed at 1:42.334 on Wednesday. “Right off the bat, things are going really well with the team, Pirelli tires, and the bike. We just got our Suzuki GSX-R1000s right before this test. They are right out of the crate, the engines are completely stock, but we’re up there with some of the factory Superbikes.”

May also rode the Formula Xtreme machine. “I haven’t raced a 600 in a few years and that’s the area I might need some seat time to get back into it. The riding style is totally different than the big bikes,” he said.


More, from a press release issued by Michael Barnes’ publicist:

MICHAEL BARNES DISCUSSES DAYTONA TIRE TEST

Daytona, USA — Riding an ex-factory Supersport 2003 Yamaha YZF-R6 owned by David Knapp, father of 17 year old AMA competitor Taylor Knapp, Michael Barnes completed three days of tire testing at Daytona International Speedway with good results. The invitation to participate in
the test was extended to Mike by east coast Pirelli dealer “Moose” of Trackside Racers Supply. “Moose gave me a call last week and let me know that Dave Knapp had two R6’s that were going to the test, one that his son Taylor was riding, and another that was available”, said Mike. “It was a great opportunity to get some development time in for Pirelli and also ride
the new track configuration that I had provided input on.”

After the first day of testing, Mike managed a best time of 1:46.342, fifth fastest in Supersport, slightly less than .1 seconds behind factory rider Damon Buckmaster. Because of delays in getting to the track, Mike was only
able to complete twelve laps. “I had a good idea how the track layout was going to be, so learning the course was not that difficult. The biggest issue initially was a dusty track from the fresh construction and paving, so I tried to get up to speed quickly so I could think about the changes over night,” said Mike.

At the end of Tuesday’s testing, Mike had logged the fastest Supersport time with a 1:44.955, almost a second and a half improvement on the previous day.

Mike said, “Tuesday I continued familiarizing myself with Taylor’s bike and tried a couple of different new compounds from Pirelli, which I was pleased with. Once again I didn’t complete that many laps, this time due to a front end issue which we were getting close to dialing in. We had planned on doing an endurance run, but we put it off till Wednesday due to Mladin’s incident shortening our schedule a little. I’m glad he is mostly alright, it sounded worse at the time.”

By the end of the test on Wednesday, Mike was able to further reduce his lap time to a best of 1:43.548, again the fastest Supersport time of the day.

“We went out for a morning session 20 lap run or so, and logged some very consistent times, I looked forward to the afternoon when I could try a softer tire for a quick lap,” said Mike. “After lunch I went out for 6-8 laps on what I thought was a soft tire, which is when I did a couple of 43’s the better being a 43.5. Later that afternoon I went out on what I thought
was a race tire and not pushing that hard tried to get another consistent run in. Around lap nine or so the tire was sliding around a bit going into corners, so I backed off a little for a lap or so to let the tire cool a bit. Around lap 11 or 12, trying to finish my 20 lap stint the rear tire came around on me and I high sided in the new turn four. When I saw the tire, I knew that it was the softer tire that I thought I was on earlier. This in a way was kinda cool, because that meant that the tire I did my fast
lap on was really a race tire!”

Mike’s view of the track changes and new layout at Daytona were positive.

“The changes will definitely help the tire wear problem here by eliminating one section of the banking. The new layout is technical but fun. In traffic, it will demand your complete attention and require patience, as Daytona always has. There are only a few areas that need some attention, like the ripples and dip in the new transition to the banking, but both the AMA and
the track are very responsive and completely on top of it.”

Regarding plans for the 2005 season, Mike commented “My plans are not yet firm, but it appears as if I’ll probably be riding a Buell for Rich Cronrath’s team starting after Daytona, which means I need to find a Formula Extreme ride for the 200. I am talking to someone about Daytona, but this is not yet firm. Thanks to all at Daytona for their help at the tire test,
especially Gary Van Voorhis and Ron Barrick.”