Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Day one of the three-day Dunlop tire test at Daytona International Speedway ended with American Honda’s Ben Bostrom taking fastest-lap honors.

Bostrom only spent about half of the day on his unpainted carbon-fiber-clad Honda CBR1000RR Superbike but went 1:48.981 to lead all times.

In comparison, Bostrom also took fast-lap honors on the first full day of Dunlop testing at Daytona last December, but the Californian’s time on his ex-Nicky-Hayden RC51 that day was only a 1:49.322. He returned to take pole position for the 2003 Daytona 200 by Arai with a 1:48.376.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin was second-fastest Monday, his 1:49.438 from early in the afternoon holding up well. Mladin rode a Suzuki GSX-R1000 fitted with stock throttle bodies, a stock airbox, developmental bodywork and a re-shaped (to accommodate the stock airbox) 24-liter endurance fuel tank. Mladin said he has not been doing any physical training and has only been resting since the end of the season due to his affliction with Epstein-Barr virus.

On day one of last year’s Dunlop tire test at Daytona, Mladin only went 1:50.076.

The big news of the day was the exceptional speed exhibited by the new Superstock machines, the quickest of which was the Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 of Jamie Hacking.

Hacking and teammate Jason DiSalvo swapped fastest Superstock lap times in the closing moments of Monday’s session, but Hacking’s 1:49.552 won out over DiSalvo’s 1:49.853.

Both Hacking’s and DiSalvo’s times were quicker than Aaron Yates’ 1:49.877, turned on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike.

“It’s pretty cool that Yamaha can build a production bike that can run with the Superbikes,” said DiSalvo. “This year the Superstock class is going to be all about who can get traction, who can get hooked up.”

Halfway through the afternoon, Jake Zemke took over the reigns of the lone Honda CBR1000RR Superbike and managed a best time of 1:50.047 in limited laps.

Hacking also had the quickest Supersport lap time of Monday afternoon at 1:53.105, but DiSalvo’s 1:52.792 from the morning session was the fastest Supersport time overall.


Monday afternoon lap times (as provided by AMA Pro Racing Timing & Scoring):

1. Ben Bostrom, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:48.981
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:49.438
3. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:49.552
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:49.853
5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:49.877
6. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR1000RR Superbike, 1:50.047
7. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:51.143
8. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:51.472
9. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:51.592
10. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:52.063
11. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock, 1:52.517
12. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:53.105
13. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:53.109
14. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:53.246
15. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R6 Supersport, 1:53.783
16. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:53.786
17. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR Supersport, 1:54.469
18. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R600 Supersport, 1:55.323
19. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR Formula Xtreme, 1:55.397
20. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR Formula Xtreme, 1:55.5*
21. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR Supersport, 1:56.04*
22. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:56.085

* times provided by team