Copyright 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Superbike rookie Ben Spies, 20, set the fastest lap time of all riders at a three-day, multi-AMA-team tire test at Daytona International Speedway Wednesday afternoon.

Riding his 2005 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike, Spies lapped the revised 2.95-mile infield road course at 1:39.701, the fastest time of any rider by over one second. Spies later backed up the time with a 1:39.992 on a different run.

According to his Crew Chief Tom Houseworth, Spies set his fastest time on the third lap of a multi-lap run on potential race tires, front and rear. The young Texan stopped testing early, after a short session on his GSX-R600 Supersport racer and a day filled with testing tires, clutches and Dunlop tires on his Superbike.

AMA and Daytona newcomer Neil Hodgson also ended his day early Wednesday (Hodgson left at 4:00 p.m. local time to catch a flight back to his home on the Isle of Man), but not before he turned a 1:40.711 to be the second-fastest rider at the test. Hodgson also recorded the fastest trap speed of the test, 194.635 mph on his Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin 999 Superbike.

Spies’ teammate Mat Mladin was the fastest man coming into the final day of the test, with a 1:40.309, but Mladin crashed heavily Tuesday afternoon and sat out Wednesday with what appeared to be minor injuries.

The third-fastest rider of Wednesday afternoon’s session was Jason DiSalvo, who turned a 1:40.816 on his Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock bike while riding on “softer-than-normal” tires. DiSalvo insisted that he did not use qualifying tires on his run, which also netted the third-fastest trap speed of Wednesday afternoon, 193.281 mph.

DiSalvo was also the fastest 600cc rider (1:43.576) when he parked his Yamaha YZF-R6 Wednesday morning, but privateer Michael Barnes beat DiSalvo’s time with a 1:43.548 Wednesday afternoon.

Barnes used a Pirelli qualifying tire on the ex-factory 2003 Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport machine he was borrowing from fellow tester Taylor Knapp, did not know he was on a qualifying tire, stayed out for 12 laps and crashed when he lost the rear going into the infield’s new turn four. Barnes was uninjured in the fall.

Not far behind Barnes Wednesday afternoon was Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden, who turned a 1:43.685 while drafting back and forth with his brother and teammate Roger Lee Hayden. Both Haydens reported positive progress with their Supersport and Superstock Kawasakis.

Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Vincent Haskovec was the fastest Formula Xtreme rider of the final session of the three-day test, turning a 1:44.494 on his Pirelli-shod, 2004-spec GSX-R600. Haskovec, who only rode his FX bike on the final day, said there was more to come once he got his Suzuki dialed in with his new tires.

2004 AMA Supermoto Champion Jeff Ward continued to test an Erion Honda CBR600RR Formula Xtreme bike Wednesday afternoon but could not go faster than 1:51, where his progress stalled early in the day. Ward told Roadracingworld.com that he was “50/50” on doing the Daytona 200 after his test but added that he had fun.

In addition to Barnes’ tumble, Attack Kawasaki’s Ben Attard was the only other crasher Wednesday afternoon. Attard lost the front end of his ZX-6RR Formula Xtreme bike at the entrance to the chicane while testing changes to its front end. He was uninjured in the fall.

The entire test was blessed with terrific weather, with highs in the high-70-degree range each day and only one brief, light rain shower mid-day Monday.

Both Dunlop and Pirelli, which shared the cost of the test equally, reported positive results.

The next test for most of the AMA factory teams will be at California Speedway in February, followed by a test at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, before the teams return to Daytona to open the 2005 race season.

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

1. Ben Spies, Suz GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:39.701
2. Neil Hodgson, Duc 999F05 Superbike, 1:40.711
3. Jason DiSalvo, Yam YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:40.816
4. Aaron Yates, Suz GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:40.820
5. Miguel Duhamel, Hon CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:41.206
6. Jake Zemke, Hon CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:41.295
7. Damon Buckmaster, Yam YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:41.363
8. Tommy Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R Superstock, 1:41.820
9. Eric Bostrom, Duc 999F05 Superbike, 1:42.003
10. Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw ZX-10R Superstock, 1:42.109
11. Josh Hayes, Kaw ZX-10R Superbike, 1:42.317
12. Geoff May, Suz GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:42.501
13. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:42.795
14. Aaron Gobert, Yam YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:43.158
15. Michael Barnes, Yam YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:43.548
16. Tommy Hayden, Kaw ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:43.685
17. Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:44.129
18. Aaron Gobert, Yam YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:44.368
19. Damon Buckmaster, Yam YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:44.394
20. Vincent Haskovec, Suz GSX-R600 Formula Xtreme, 1:44.494
21. Taylor Knapp, Yam YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:44.792
22. Matt Lynn, Suz GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:44.898
23. Geoff May, Suz GSX-R600 Supersport, 1:45.234
24. Matt Lynn, Suz GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:46.056
25. Alex Gobert, Hon CBR600RR Formula Xtreme, 1:46.280
26. Ben Attard, Kaw ZX-6RR Formula Xtreme, 1:47.500
27. Montez Stewart, Suz GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:50.738
28. Jeff Ward, Hon CBR600RR Formula Xtreme, 1:51.547
29. Dan Bilansky, Buell XB12R Formula Xtreme, 1:54.005


Wednesday Afternoon’s Top Trap Speeds At Start/Finish (as supplied by AMA Pro Racing):

Superbike: Neil Hodgson, Duc 999F05, 194.635 mph
Superstock: Jason DiSalvo, Yam YZF-R1, 193.281 mph
Supersport: Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw ZX-6RR, 176.127 mph
Formula Xtreme: Vincent Haskovec, Suz GSX-R600, 173.447 mph


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

Pre-Season Test
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA

MLADIN SETS FAST TIME BEFORE CRASH CUTS TEST SHORT AT DAYTONA

Daytona Beach, Florida, USA (Wednesday, January 5) Defending American Superbike champion Mat Mladin has sent an early warning to his rivals competing in this year’s championship by setting the fastest time on each of the opening two days of the scheduled three-day test at the world famous Daytona International Speedway.

With one day remaining at the test, Mladin has posted the fastest time so far with a 1:40.309 lap of the revised 2.95-mile circuit.

His pace setting times were overshadowed by a late afternoon crash on the second day, resulting in the 32-year-old Australian being transported to nearby Halifax Medical Centre for observation.

After initially saving a ferrous rear wheel slide on the exit of the new Turn Five section of the course, Mladin was unable to regain full control of his Yoshimura Suzuki and was forced to jump clear before striking a trackside safety barrier.

“Essentially I got the thing sideways exiting one of the new turns, changing up from first to second for a short amount of time and it was at that point when I clicked second that it went sideways and spat me over the top,” said Mladin, as he prepared to leave Daytona and return to LA.

“I actually got it back under control, but as soon as I looked up I realised that there was a wall approaching and I was forced to jump off it. From what I’ve been told they said I impacted the wall pretty hard, somewhere in the region of 80mph. It was a wall that was on the outside of one of the existing turns that used to be part of the race track.”

“I was unconscious for quite a while and didn’t start to become coherent until I arrived at the hospital. As a result I’ve got a bit of concussion and the headaches that go with that, along with a swollen left ankle as a result of a small fracture.”

“I’m heading back to LA now and hope to be seeing a specialist first thing tomorrow. At this stage I’m planning on being back in Australia by Saturday, unless the doctor has other ideas. I’m hoping that no surgery will be required so that the recovery time is minimal. Other than that I feel okay. The foot is fairly swollen after taking a good hit.”

“Aside from this incident, the opening two days of the test were very promising for us. The new ’05 Suzuki GSX-R1000 was very good and was quick through the speed trap there, so it’s all shaping up very nicely in that regard at present. We were quickest at the end of each day which is always good. As with any of these tests where you are preparing a new bike there are lots of things to work through and so far so good.”

Mladin returned to the circuit briefly on Wednesday morning, moving about on crutches before heading to the airport and returning to California.

This weeks test gave competitors in this year’s American Superbike Championship, their first look at the revised layout. The changes to the famous circuits infield has taken the NASCAR Turns One and Two out of play, leaving the riders with a tight, yet demanding addition to the infield, while the overall length of the motorcycle course has decreased by over half a mile. The changes were met with general appreciation from the riders in attendance. Fine-tuning of the changes will continue as riders provide circuit staff and race officials with additional information.

Mladin commenced the test riding a hybrid machine made up of components from his last year’s championship-winning bike and his brand new 2005 model Suzuki GSX-R1000. Day two saw him switch to one of his new 2005 machines, as his team went through the regime of machine setup and preparations that will form the basis of Mladin’s mount for his championship defence.

The opening day saw the five-time American Superbike champion post a time of 1:42.107. A day later and aboard his latest spec machine, Mladin dropped his times by almost two seconds as his worked his way through the latest batch of tyres made available by Dunlop and designed to suit the unique demands of the ultra fast Florida circuit.

Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki team will undertake a number of further pre-season tests before the series heads back to Daytona for the opening round of the championship on March 12.