From a press release issued by Pirelli:

PIRELLI’S “LARGEST-EVER” DAYTONA AMA RACING PRESENCE YIELDS SECOND IN SUPERSTOCK, EIGHTH IN SUPERBIKE

(Daytona, FL) With 22 AMA Superbike racers, 15 Superstock, and eight Supersport racers on its tires, Pirelli enjoyed its largest-ever AMA Daytona racing presence in the just-completed 2003 Bike Week action, and came away with some impressive results.

Arclight Suzuki’s Lee Acree, riding Pirelli Supercorsa DOT radials, came within .009 of a second of catching Tommy Hayden at the line in Monday’s rain-delayed Superstock race, the closest Superstock finish ever. Teammates Vincent Haskovec and Mike Ciccotto on Pirelli-shod Hooter’s Suzukis finished fifth and sixth after swapping the lead for much of the race. Pirelli racers took seven of the top 20 Superstock finishes. In Monday’s Daytona 200 By Arai Superbike showdown, Michael Barnes, on the Prieto Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000, took Top Privateer honors with his eighth-place finish on Pirelli’s latest 16.5-inch slicks. He ran as high as sixth in the race. Pirelli-equipped superbike racers captured six of the top 20 positions.

Explaining Pirelli’s increased AMA presence, Race Manager Rich Munson said it’s “a combination of some of our 2002 Formula-USA racers moving over to AMA racing for 2003, and more AMA racers making the switch to Pirelli.”

While some Pirelli F-USA racers may have made the move to AMA, enough remained to make a difference. In Daytona’s Formula USA Sunday finale on March 2, Pirelli racers won the Superbike, Sportbike, and Thunderbike races in dramatic fashion. Dave Estok, Joseph Rozynski, Richie Morris and their Buells swept the Thunderbike podium in a race that saw Pirelli take five of the top six spots. Matt Wait and Scott Harwell gave Pirelli first and second in the Superbike final. And Wait also gave Pirelli the victory in the F-USA Sportbike race.

Friday and Saturday’s CCS action saw Pirelli take 23 podium finishes, including seven race wins.


From a press release issued by Dream Team Ducati:

Dream Team Racing ends the Ducati jinx of recent years with a top 12 finish. The 200 is notoriously hard on the big V-Twin although Larry’s motor ran perfectly.

Larry Pegram led the field into the first turn from 8th place on the starting grid aboard his Ducati 998RS03. “I got a great start and it’s nice to begin my first race riding for Dream Team Racing with a holeshot.” Pegram ultimately finished 12th from a field of 79 after two unexpected extra pit stops.

Engine Builder Mike Velasco built a motor that was prepped by Elliot Cho & Maci Matsumoto that lasted the distance. In fact Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati Corse Superbike Director and Gabriele Raccio Customer Technical Assistant were very happy with the performance data on the engine. They were especially pleased that the motor was still running strong after 200 miles on the high speed banked track.

The Team is very unique in that it is owned by an African-American, Deveaux Hill and a Chinese-American, Kaming Ko. They were both on hand in the pits and were pleased with the overall result. They said, “We are very happy with the bike in general and look forward to Fontana where we had an opportunity to test in February.” Dream Team Racing (DTR) being brand new, only tested twice before the season opener. Once at Laguna Seca in January and the above mentioned Fontana test.

Speed Channel in their Daytona broadcast mentioned a rumor that a well known entertainer was interested in sponsoring DTR Ducati. It is however a Team policy not to comment on any potential sponsors. They did confirm that they are actively seeking an outside the motorcycle industry Title Sponsor and that they have been talking to several sources.