From a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin:

BOSTROM’S DAYTONA LEAD ENDED BY DAMAGED COOLER

Having started from pole position and dominating the action at the front of the field, Eric Bostrom’s phenomenal performance in the Daytona 200 was ended at three-quarter’s distance with a damaged oil cooler caused by track debris. The initial part of the race saw a fierce three-way battle for the lead during which he set the race’s fastest lap time of 1.49.227 aboard the Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin 999.

After his first pit stop on lap 15, other riders in the leading group began to pull into the pits to refuel and change tires which enabled Eric to climb back to the top of the leader board and ride a controlled race at the front, picking through backmarkers spread throughout the length of the track. The excitement was heightened during the second pit stop when both Bostrom and then second-place rider Mat Mladin pulled into the pits, with Bostrom leaving just seconds behind the eventual race winner. Eric had retaken the lead when his race was ended by misfortune.

“It’s like a ballet because it was so slippery and the feel of the bike is so light when you’re out there so you can’t let your concentration drop,” explained Bostrom. “On the straightaways I had to stretch my hands because they were going numb from pushing on the bars. You have to stay fresh because you know there’s so many laps to go. You don’t try to win the race in one lap. Of course I’m disappointed, but I know I’ve got a great bike and the entire season ahead of me.”

“I hate to call it a ‘curse,’ but we really haven’t had the best luck here,” said Ducati Corse’s Paolo Ciabatti. “A stone, or something, hit the oil cooler and that caused a small hole. The same thing happened back here in January. Maybe it’s not the ending we wanted, but we still had great success with the new lap record and pole position.”

Team owner Terry Gregoricka was already putting the past behind him and looking forward to the next round. “Sure, I’m disappointed. But the bike ran great and Eric did a fantastic job. He was in front for so many laps and it seemed like we could’ve given Ducati the win. But as they say, ‘that’s racing’ and if things don’t go right this round, you’ve got the next one to prove yourself, and that’s why we can’t wait for Fontana.”

Round 2 of the AMA series will be held April 2-4 at California Speedway in Fontana.

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

THIRD DAYTONA 200 SUPERBIKE RACE` WIN FOR MLADIN

Daytona Beach, Florida, USA (Saturday, 6 March) – Australia’s Mat Mladin has taken victory in today’s 63rd running of the Daytona 200-mile classic, the opening round of the 2004 American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship.

The victory was Mladin’s third on the famous high-speed banking at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

At the completion of the 57-lap race distance, Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 mounted Mladin had stretched his race lead to 7.081 seconds over the duelling Honda pair Jake Zemke and Miguel DuHamel with the lead trio of riders finishing well ahead of the remainder of the field.

“The three stop strategy that we incorporated for this race worked out perfect and gave us the result that we were after,” said Mladin, the defending American Superbike champion. “The plan helped us maintain a lot quicker lap pace and it was good not only to get through it, but to get the win.”

“The win was a big bonus, that’s for sure. We went into the race with an open mind and our strategy, knowing what pace we could run for the entire distance and we came out on top.”

“A lot of people were expecting our opposition to do well here, but it just goes to show that you don’t need all of the speed in the world to win.”

“Our whole week here has been good. We’ve been building up to today’s race. Practice and qualifying went well and we just kept working at what we had to do and it all paid off for the team.”

After taking the initial race lead from the start, Mladin calmly held down a strong position in the lead group, allowing the race to take shape, before the sequence of pit stops for fuel and fresh tyres began. He then moved into second place behind Ducati’s Eric Bostrom.

The pair kept in close company on the track until lap 42 when Bostrom’s race ended with a mechanical failure and Mladin took control of the race from that point onwards.

Aaron Yates then began to close on his teammate and race leader, but a crash on lap 48 ended his charge. With his final pit stop completed, Mladin again set about creating a sufficient buffer zone over his nearest challengers Zemke and DuHamel which he did successfully. Mladin utilised a three-stop strategy for the race as opposed to the two stops that Zemke and DuHamel adopted.

The win leaves Mladin at the head of the points table, establishing an early points advantage as he attempts to win an unprecedented fifth American Superbike Championship.

The AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship crosses the country for round two which will be held at the California Speedway in Fontana, California on April 2 – 4.

RESULTS
2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship, Round 1
Daytona 200, Daytona International Speedway (57 laps)
1. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1 hour 46:51.49 min
2. Jake Zemke (Erion Honda) -7.081 sec
3. Miguel DuHamel (American Honda) -7.095
4. Jack Pfeifer (Suzuki) – 2 aps
5. Lee Acree (Suzuki) – 2 laps
6. Rick Orlando (Suzuki) – 3 laps
7. Pascal Picotte (Yamaha Canada) – 3 laps
8. Chris Caylor (Suzuki) – 3 laps
9. Scott Jensen (Suzuki) – 3 laps
10. Eric Wood (Suzuki) – 3 laps

2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship (Points after 1 of 18 rounds)
1. Mat Mladin (37); 2. Jake Zemke (32); 3. Miguel DuHamel (29); 4. Jack Pfeifer (27); 5. Lee Acree (26); 6. Rick Orlando (25); 7. Pascal Picotte (24); 8. Chris Caylor (23); 9. Scott Jensen (22); 10. Eric Wood (21).

Mat Mladin: 1992 Australian Superbike Champion; 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 American AMA Superbike Champion; 2000, 2001, 2004 Daytona 200 Champion; 2000 American AMA Pro Athlete of the Year; Career AMA Superbike Race Wins – 24; Career AMA Superbike Pole Positions – 31 (All time AMA record)

More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

JOHN HANER FINISHES 15th IN DAYTONA 200

Hooter Suzuki rider John Haner finished 15th in today’s 63rd running of the Daytona 200 by Arai. An extra pit stop for a new rear tire wrecked the team’s plan for a two-stop race.

“I came in and I was in ninth,” said Haner. “I had an extra stop, we lost a hard rear tire. I got four laps on it and it was gone, it was weird. We went out and made laps, we had one extra pit stop that lost us a few positions.”

More, from another press release issued by Proforma:

EMPIRE RACING SUZUKI RIDERS FINISH 5th AND 8th IN DAYTONA 200 BY ARAI, 12th IN SUPERSPORT

Empire Racing Suzuki riders Lee Acree and Chris “Opie” Caylor finished fifth and eighth, respectively, in today’s 63rd running of the Daytona 200 by Arai on their Superstock-spec 2004 Suzuki GSX-R1000s. Former WERA Endurance Series champion Acree kept to his strategy of two rear tire stops, while using the same front tire throughout the race. Caylor added an extra stop to help stagger the pit stops for the team, who used no quick-change equipment to perform rear tire changes in under sixty seconds with veteran endurance crew members Tommy Lancaster and Jimmy Williams.

“That was a little harder than a WERA Endurance race, the pace was a little faster!,” said Acree. “The first half of the race wasn’t really too bad. I came in a little early for the first stop, our intent was to go on the fuel, but I started getting a vibration down here (NASCAR Turn 4), and I didn’t know what to expect. I figured better safe than sorry. Luckily, it was close enough to the normal window that it didn’t add a stop. Toward the end of the second two stints, I was trying to keep in mind not only that the front tire was going to start to give, because we didn’t change the front at all, but also that I was needing to stretch the fuel to try and compensate for coming in early the first time. Even at the end the front tire was giving on the left, but it was real predictable. The Pirellis were awesome.”

“We ended up doing three stops,” said Caylor. “They gave me a little less gas on the start so we could split the pit stops. I came in five laps earlier than Lee did. I was pretty surprised at the pace at the beginning of the race, it was in the 52s. I was like ‘Man, I’m supposed to save these tires!’ The pace settled down and we got into the 53s and 54s. I just tried to do consistent laps, conserve the fuel, conserve the tires, not throw the thing away. The Pirelli tires were awesome. I couldn’t believe right at the end of the stint the gas light was on, I’m like ‘The tire ain’t done yet! Maybe we shouldn’t change it’.” About a third of the race left, coming through start-finish, the bike stopped shifting into sixth. With about five laps left, it wouldn’t shift into fifth. I’ve got an electric shifter on the bike, and I’d actually have to back out, stomp on the shifter, get into the next gear and keep going. The Grant Matsushima motor was awesome! What a great start to the season for Empire Racing, a brand new team!”

In the morning, Lee Acree finished 12th in the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport event, on a 2004 GSX-R600 that the team received only two days before leaving for Daytona, with no opportunity to race-prep the engine. Acree spent the last 14 laps of the twice-red-flagged event going back and forth with young rider Jason Perez. “I had a good time, all in all Jason rode well,” said Lee. “I was hoping I could put enough distance on him through the chicane on the last lap to hold him to the line, but it didn’t quite work out the way I wanted.”

Lee was down on horsepower at Daytona, a situation that will change before the next event at California Speedway in Fontana, CA. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to a little upgrade,” joked Acree. “I think Grant (Matsushima, engine builder) is as excited for that option as I am. Actually, the handling was good, the front end was real nice, Mike Fitzgerald did an awesome job on the forks. The rear end had some mild issues, who knows if more power would have helped it or hurt it.”

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

RAPP NINTH IN SUPERSPORT OPENER

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp opened his 2004 AMA Supersport campaign with a solid top ten finish at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday. The result topped off a hectic opening to the 2004 racing season that saw the team racing first at Daytona in Formula USA competition, then the AMA series.

Rapp kept his determination through two early red flags and 31-year-old Californian ran among the lead freight train of drafting Supersport racers through mid-distance. Riding his Michelin-shod Suzuki GSX-R600, Rapp came out on top of a late two-man battle for ninth place. He took the position by less than a tenth of a second at the line of the 18-lap race.

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki Crew Chief Keith Perry commented, “Daytona was a success considering we’ve had very little time with the bikes. We came in expecting a lot more, but now we’ll move onto tracks that should be better for our bikes and tires, and we’ll aim for even better results.”

Rapp’s teammate, young Canadian Chris Peris, made a favorable impression early during the 18-lap Supersport race. He picked up seven positions over the opening third of the event and slotted in one position behind Rapp. Unfortunately, Peris crashed while in 12th place on lap 8.

“Chris got a little over exuberant in the ‘Dog Leg’ and pushed the front. He has a lot of talent. Now he just needs to work on his self-control and ride within himself,” said the team’s Crew Chief Perry.

“The weekend as a whole has been pretty good, but we have higher expectations. We’re not satisfied, but we learned a lot this weekend and will progress from here,” Perry said.

The team will next head to Barber Motorsports Park for a two-day test on March 18-19 before heading to California Speedway on April 2-4 for the second round of the AMA season.

From a press release issue by Caeser Gonzales’ publicist:

After a 3 year absence, Caesar Gonzales returned to contest the AMA Supersport Round at Daytona International Speedway.

With last minute acquisitions of a 2004 Kawasaki ZX6RR motorcycle, combined with a minimum of development and prep, Caesar was unable to lap within 112% of the fastest lap time qualify for the Supersport event. While the results were less than spectacular, Caesar remains very optomistic for the 2004 race season.

“Everything came together at the last minute. We missed qualifying by less than 2 seconds” says Caesar. “With a virtually stock suspension, the front end feedback was vague, and I was not able to push it. The Bridgestone BT001 tires gripped well, but I was not confident with the front end not doing as it should. This, combined with a serious lack of power, made it difficult to stay in the draft of the other riders.” It is worth noting that three years ago, with a 2000 spec ZX6R, Caesar lapped well within the 112% time limit posted in this years event.

With new suspension pieces on the way, a new supersport tire from Bridgestone, and time to set up the engine and chassis, Caesar is confident that he will return to competitive form shortly. “My alliance with National Call To Action (http://www.nationalcalltoaction.com) and forthcoming autobiography has given me renewed enthusiasm and focus. With a better race setup, the results will show.”

Caesar also wishes to thank Mark Hamilton of Irish Bike magazine, Richard Britton, Nick Morgan, Scott Greenwood, Black, Dex, Danny Ponder, James Freeman, and Ray Belser for their kind words and support.

More, from a press release issued by Dunlop’s advertising and public relations agency, Vreeke & Associates:

Mladin Leads Dunlop Sweep of Daytona 200

Daytona Beach, FL – Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin won his third American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Daytona 200 Superbike race today, leading a one-two-three podium finish for Dunlop-supported riders. Erion Racing’s Jake Zemke and Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel finished second and third, respectively, on Honda CBR1000RRs. Mladin’s seven-second victory marked the 11th win in 12 years for Dunlop in the legendary Daytona 200.

Mladin’s strategy aboard his Suzuki GSX-R1000 revealed a carefully calculated scheme that saw the four-time AMA Superbike champion pit three times to take on fuel and fresh tires, one more stop than the two stops typically utilized by other teams. “We had a plan and we knew we’d either win or lose the race with it,” said Mladin. “I needed to get in fast and out fast and that’s what we did. I did my job and we won the race.” The plan required Mladin to ride consistently faster laps than his competitors to make up the time spent in the extra pit stop, a strategy that relied on the consistent performance of his Dunlop tires.

Zemke was impressive in his Daytona debut. “Second place is an awesome way
to start the season,” he said. “And, I thank Miguel Duhamel for showing me how to race the 200,” he joked. Zemke followed the four-time Daytona 200 champion for a number of laps before passing him late in the race. Duhamel’s third-place finish was his sixth podium in 13 appearances in the Daytona 200.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend of racing and we are especially proud of our Dunlop champions,” said Jim Galappo, vice chairman and president of Goodyear Dunlop Tires N.A, Ltd. “I want to recognize the hard work of Dunlop America, Dunlop UK and Sumitomo Rubber. Our commitment to provide Dunlop racers and our customers the best-engineered, highest-performance tires has never wavered. This commitment was clearly evident in the performance of our tires here at Daytona.”

More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

Climate: Sunny, warm
Temperature: 29 degrees

Honda Shines in Formula Xtreme Debut

Two days after leading a Honda sweep of the top four places in the inaugural running of the new Formula Xtreme class, American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel came within seconds of winning a record-tying fifth Daytona 200 on a warm, sun-drenched afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.

Already the winningest rider in AMA Superbike and Supersport history, and four-time winner of the Daytona 200, the French-Canadian finished third, just behind Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke, the Californian making the podium in his first Daytona Superbike race. It was Duhamel’s sixth podium in the Daytona 200 to go along with his six 600cc Supersport wins.

The 57-lap, 200 mile race was won by Suzuki’s Mat Mladin by seven seconds over Zemke with Duhamel less than a bikelength behind.

Honda chose the newly formatted Formula Xtreme class to showcase the team’s technicians and technology. The technical rules allow the creation of middleweight Superbikes, the perfect place to highlight the capability of the Honda CBR-600RR, the same machine that won the 2003 Daytona Supersport race. One of the main differences between Supersport and Formula Xtreme is the use of slick tires in Formula Xtreme.

Bostrom jetted away from the pole position, Duhamel in pursuit, the pair of veterans easing away from the 18-rider field.

On the seventh of 15 laps, Duhamel took over the lead and Bostrom vowed to stay behind him, not wanting the cagey veteran to use his patented draft slingshot from the chicane to the start-finish line. “I said, no matter how slow he goes, I will not pass that man,” Bostrom said.

Out of the chicane Bostrom was in the perfect position, but a gearing choice meant he didn’t have quite the top speed to pass Duhamel and had to take second, 0.151 seconds behind the winner. Zemke was next along followed by teammate Alex Gobert.

“It’s nice to have a perfect record in that class,” Duhamel said after adding the win to his four Daytona 200 and six Pro Honda Oils Supersport wins, said. “I don’t know how long it’s going to last.”

Though Duhamel was able to run the pace as the leaders in Saturday’s Superbike race, the Honda team opted for a two pit stop strategy, hoping to maximize track time. Mladin went with three stops, believing that fresh tires would make up the time lost in the pits. Duhamel admitted it was the right strategy for the day.

“The strategy was we did two stops and we thought maybe you couldn’t make up the difference with three stops. That was a miscalculation,” he said.

Zemke worried his strategy on the final lap might be flawed. The pair of Honda riders were swapping back and forth, neither wanting to lead the final lap out of the final chicane for the crucial run to the checkered flag. Duhamel is the master of the Daytona draft-pass, using the speed of NASCAR turn four to slip by on the run to the stripe. But it was debutante Zemke who led out of the chicane and was able to hold off his more experienced teammate by .014 seconds.

Ben Bostrom, the third Honda Superbike rider, led 11 tours of the 3.56-mile road course, only to be put out of the race by clutch problems on the 26th lap.

Jake Zemke, 2nd Place
I’m sitting there going into turn one after getting the white flag and radioed my crew chief and said, ‘How come I feel like a sitting duck?’ that last lap must have been a two-minute lap. I parked it in the horseshoe and I was waiting for him to go and he was waiting for me to go. Well, since he towed me all the way around, I might as well lead him out of the chicane. Luckily, it worked out. He came down low and I got the thing high and actually got it sideways.

Miguel Duhamel, 3rd Place
I put my head down and we had radio communication. Jake (Zemke) and I were supposed to help each other try to get up to Mat (Mladin). I did the big portion of that work. For four laps, we were in the 1:50’s. That’s basically when I signed the check for third place. The rear tire was pretty gone

Ben Bostrom, DNF
When I left the starting line, I felt the clutch kind of whip in my hand a little bit. The bike was great. The Honda was definitely the winning bike. When I came in the pits, and I did another start, on my second tire, I finished the clutch off. Something inside starting making noise. That’s all she wrote. We had a funny strategy. I was out there and I was riding around pretty fast and when Eric (Bostrom) and I would lead and we’d do these great lap times and then Miguel would get in front and kind of let these back guys catch up a little bit. I was like, come on Miguel, let’s go. And I’m like, Miguel’s not going to go. He’s too much of a racer.

Miguel Duhamel, 1st Formula Xtreme
On the last lap, I just went through the chicane, had an espresso, had a cappuccino, stopped and talked to some people in there. Then we really lined it up and tried to get a good drive out of there and I got a drive and I moved a round a bit and I didn’t want to make it too easy on him. I didn’t weave like a madman but moved around enough to where he’d catch a little wind and make it tight. And when you get to a certain distance you can feel the guy drafting you if it’s going to be really close. I didn’t feel it quite at that moment like were I needed to. I was like, oh, this might work. But our bikes were so evenly matched t it was a tough call to know if she lead or draft and pass.

Ben Bostrom, 2nd Formula Xtreme
First lap of the race, come across the start-finish line, I was by myself, on the rev limiter. I said that’s not going to be good. I knew it would be a long race. Kind of my own fault. I forgot to tell the guys to take a tooth off that. We (Duhamel and Bostrom) were both cruising half throttle down the back straight and I had a decision to make: Do I fly by him and haul through the chicane and make a run for it, because I’m running out of gear on the front straight, or do I follow him? I tried to follow him and I just ran out of gear.

Jake Zemke, 3rd Formula Xtreme
Just off to a slow start and had to pass a few guys. Once we got up there, I could see these two guys playing around and I wanted to play too. Started making inroads every once in a while when they were playing too hard with each other, but they were too far up there to catch up to them. Once I got up into third no one even put a wheel on me. I was just out there playing around seeing how sideways I could get my bike. I was pretty much burning the tire off of it in every corner, playing around and having fun.

Alex Gobert, 4th Formula Xtreme
The last lap Jake (Zemke) was looking back and I never really ran with any of the front guys at Daytona on the last lap and he was looking back and me and slowed right down. I slowed down too and had him right where I wanted in the chicane and this blue bike popped up next to me and it was Pascal Picotte, so he sort of messed me up in the chicane he come past into there. I was pretty disappointed because I had a pretty good chance drafting Jake around the bank. For Honda 1-2-3 and 4, I’m glad not to be the odd one out.

SUPERBIKE:
1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
2. Jake Zemke (Honda)
3. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
4. Jack Pfeifer (Suzuki)
5. Lee Acree (Suzuki)
6. Ricky Orlando (Suzuki)
7. Pascal Picotte (Yamaha)
8. Opie Caylor (Suzuki)
9. Scott Jensen (Suzuki)
10. Eric Wood (Suzuki)

SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS:
1.Mat Mladin (36)
2. Jake Zemke (32)
3. Miguel Duhamel (29)
4. Jack Pfeifer (26)
5. Lee Acree (25)
6. Ricky Orlando (24)
7. Pascal Picotte (23)
8. Opie Caylor (22)
9. Scott Jensen (21)
10. Eric Wood (20)

FORMULA XTREME:
1. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
2. Ben Bostrom (Honda)
3. Jake Zemke (Honda)
4. Alex Gobert (Honda)
5. Pascal Picotte (Yamaha)
6. Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki)
7. Jacob Holden (Suzuki)
8. Jeff Wood (Yamaha)
9. Corey Eaton (Suzuki)
10. Frank Trombino (Yamaha)

FORMULA XTREME CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS:
1. Miguel Duhamel (37)
2. Ben Bostrom (33)
3. Jake Zemke (29)
4. Alex Gobert (26)
5. Pascal Picotte (25)
6. Vincent Haskovec (24)
7. Jacob Holden (23)
8. Jeff Wood (22)
9. Corey Eaton (21)
10. Frank Trombino (20)