Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel turned the fastest lap time of all riders Sunday during day one of a special, two-day AMA team tire test at Daytona International Speedway.

Riding the same CBR1000RR Superbike that Jake Zemke rode in the morning session, Duhamel turned a 1:47.650 on a “soft race tire” to lead all times and to beat his best lap time from the Dunlop tire test at Daytona in December by 0.8 second. Small set-up changes were the key to the fast time, according to Duhamel.

“Al (Ludington, Crew Chief) and I did our little voodoo we do, a couple of clicks here and there, and the bike just turned perfect, beautiful. The bike was great, said the all-time AMA Superbike win leader. “We put on a race tire, but it was a softer race tire, and we were able to drop over three seconds. I know the bike’s got more if we need it.”

Asked about the tire he used, Duhamel said, “We use it for qualifying, but it’s a race tire. I think (Neil) Hodgson raced on it at Laguna (in 2002). The tire was really predictable, and we got two fast laps (second lap 1:48.05) out of it. Then we put some more race tires on it, just to confirm the set-up because I thought it was really sweet, and we got some 1:49s out of it. I’m really pleased with the bike, the team and I’m really pleased with Dunlop too.”

In addition to the quick time, Duhamel did a 16-lap endurance test without incident and was clocked at 193.5 mph through the tri-oval on his team’s radar gun. Duhamel was clocked at 192.3 mph in December.

After giving up his CBR1000RR to Duhamel, Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke jumped on Ben Bostrom’s Superbike. Due to a difference in a few components between the two bikes, like brakes, and the fact that he hadn’t ridden Bostrom’s bike since December, Zemke could not improve on his Sunday morning lap times.

Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom switched to his second bike Sunday afternoon when his first bike’s engine started feeling tight. Eric Bostrom went faster on the second bike, with a 1:49.92, and said the bike had more to give but he wasn’t able to give the bike what it wanted. The younger Bostrom brother said the day ended up, however, with an uneventful 12-lap endurance run on his Michelins.

Jason DiSalvo was able to improve his best lap time while chasing Eric Bostrom for a few laps Sunday afternoon. In fact, DiSalvo’s time of 1:49.79 on his Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstocker was marginally quicker than Bostrom’s best Superbike time. Several racers watching the action commented that DiSalvo’s bike was as fast if not faster than Eric Bostrom’s Superbike on the banking.

Riding on Michelins, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp turned his fastest time, and the second-fastest Superstock lap time, a 1:50.81, right after lunch. At the end of the day, Rapp’s team discovered that his GSX-R1000 had lost compression in one cylinder and essentially finished the day running on three cylinders.

Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden went nearly as quick as Rapp with a 1:50.97 before handing his bike off to teammate and younger brother Roger Lee Hayden. The younger Hayden got only 10 laps, during which his bike threw its chain, but he still managed a time of 1:51.90.

Although he recorded the slowest time on the day, Lee Acree concentrated on endurance testing tires for Pirelli, putting 20 laps, over two stints, on one tire in the morning session and running 16 straight laps on another tire without problem in the afternoon. Acree was riding a stock GSX-R1000 borrowed from the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School and fitted with an Ohlins shock and a bolt-on Yoshimura muffler.

No tire problems were reported or observed during day one of the tire test.

Sunday’s Unofficial Lap Times:

1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:47.70
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:48.91
3. Ben Bostrom, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:49.29
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:49.79
5. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 999 Superbike, 1:49.92
6. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:50.81
7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:50.97
8. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:51.90
9. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:52.45
10. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:53.00
11. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:53.99
12. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:54.31