We Caught Up to Harley-Davidson’s Willie G. Davidson in the paddock at Daytona and asked him some questions, as follows:

RW: There are three Buell motorcycles on the front row of the AMA Pro Thunder race. How does that make you feel?

Willie G. Davidson, “Very good. Lot of friends here, the riders as well as the builders. Daytona’s always a great place to get the season off to a good start, and it looks like we’re doing it well.”

RW: How commited is Harley-Davidson to getting the VR1000 up to where the Harley-Davidson name is in the industry?

WGD: “We’re very commited. As you probably have observed, we have new players, a new organization. We have some terific talent that we’re devoting to this. So the company has bellied up to the bar with people and resources. We’re gonna make it work.”

RW: How soon are we going to see results out of that program?

WGD: “Racing as you well know, you’re very much involved in it, it’s a series of events that takes maybe a lot of patience, and it does take time to develop things. We’re on a path for success. That’s about all I can really comment on right now.”

RW: Is there a VR1000 in the works for the street?

WGD: “I can’t comment.”

RW: When do you think that you would be able to comment?

WGD: “Maybe…well, just stay tuned.”

Genuine Suzuki Accessories 750cc Supersport pole sitter Ben Spies took his Shane Clarke-tuned Valvoline EMGO Suzuki GSX-R750 out for a handful of laps in Friday morning practice and turned the fastest time at 1:53.422. Roadracing World/Vesrah Racing’s Chris Ulrich was second-fastest at 1:54.465.

Attack Suzuki’s Rich Alexander was third-fastest at 1:54.523, followed by Arclight Suzuki’s Lee Acree at 1:56.530 and Alexander’s teammate Jason Pridmore at 1:56.542.

Number two qualifier Corona Ebsco Suzuki’s Jimmy Moore did not go out in the warm-up session at all saying, “I’m dialed.” Moore, as well as Hooters Suzuki’s Brian Gibbs and Mike Ciccotto, planned on using the morning Superbike practice session to run their 750cc Supersport bikes.

750cc Supersport Morning Practice times follow:

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:53.422
2. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:54.465
3. Richard Alexander, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:54.523
4. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSXR600, 1:56.530
5. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSXR600, 1:56.542
6. Daigoro Suzuki, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:56.595
7. Chuck Chouinard, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:56.624
8. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:57.087
9. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:57.088
10. Roland Williams, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:57.509

American Honda’s Nicky Hayden caught a tow off Bruce Transportation Group’s Josh Hayes late in the Pro Honda Oils 600cc Supersport practice to record a 1:53.892 for the fastest time of the morning warm-up session. Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom also put in a timely fast lap to go second-fastest with a 1:53.931. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Jamie Hacking was third-fastest Friday morning with a 1:53.957 just ahead of Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s John Hopkins’ 1:53.983. The top four riders were separated by less than one tenth of one second. The next four riders on the morning practice time sheets were separated by 0.04-second!

Yamaha riders Anthony Gobert and Tommy Hayden each made significant improvements to their qualifying times. Gobert ran a 1:54.243–which was 0.65 second better than his ninth-fastest qualifying time of 1:54.896–while Tommy Hayden’s 1:54.255 was nearly a full second quicker than the 1:55.328 that put him 11th on the grid for the 600cc Supersport final.

Hacking and Corona EBSCO Suzuki’s Vincent Haskovec crashed with a slower rider in the International Horseshoe late in the practice session with all three riders going down. All riders were said to be fine. Eyewitnesses said that Hacking fell first and that his bike collected the other two riders.

Friday mornings 600cc Supersport practice times follow:

1. Nicky Hayden, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:53.892
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:53.931
3. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSXR600, 1:53.957
4. John Hopkins, Suzuki GSXR600, 1:53.983
5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSXR600, 1:54.213
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:54.232
7. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:54.243
8. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:54. 255
9. Kurtis Roberts, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:54.769
10. Joshua Hayes, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:54.898

The 750cc Supersport and 600cc Supersport Finals will be held Friday afternoon.

Defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin locked in pole position for the Daytona 200 and set a new track during qualifying Thursday afternoon.

Riding a Yoshimura Suzuki GSXR750, Mladin turned a best lap at 1:48.424 in the first qualifying session, for odd-numbered machines, running a Dunlop qualifying tire. Anthony Gobert was fastest in the second session and second-fastest overall, at 1:48.663.

Top qualifying times follow:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:48.424
2. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:48.663
3. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:48.765
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:49.139
5. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:49.196
6. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha, 1:49.384
7. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:49.485
8. Steve Rapp, Ducati, 1:49.708
9. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:50.006
10. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:50.148
11. Scott Russell, Ducati, 1:50.843
12. Doug Chandler, Kawasaki, 1:51.357
13. Aaron Slight, Ducati, 1:51.382
14. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:51.425
15. Pascal Picotte, Harley-Davidson, 1:51.821
16. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:53.095
17. Mike Smith, Harley-Davidson, 1:53.145
18. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, 1:54.759
19. Brian Parriott, Suzuki, 1:55.108
20. Jordan Szoke, Harley-Davidson, 1:55.716

The top four grid positions–the entire front row–are locked in. Other grid positions can be improved in qualifying on Friday, although a possibility of rain is forecast for Friday.

Acree, Ciccotto and Parriott rode their 750cc Supersport bikes in Superbike qualifying, for practice.

Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell’s Mike Ciccotto led an onslaught from the Buell factory to capture the Pro Thunder pole position on his Metzeler-equipped V-Twin. Ciccotto’s 1:58.628 set the pace for the session, which saw three Buells qualify on the front row for Sunday’s 11-lap final event.

Second on the grid was Tilley Harley-Davidson/ Buell’s Tripp Nobles with a 1:58.706. Defending Pro Thunder Champion Jeff Nash was the lone Ducati 748 on the front row with the third-fastest time of 1:59.592 on his Advanced Motor Sports machine. Nobles’ teammate Dave Estok completed the front row on another Buell at 2:01.277.

Ciccotto, Nobles, and Estok were all riding bikes provided by the Buell factory.

Top Pro Thunder times follow:

1. Mike Ciccotto, Buell, 1:58.628
2. Tripp Nobles, Buell, 1:58.706
3. Jeff Nash, Ducati, 1:59.592
4. Dave Estok, Buell, 2:01.277
5. Tom Montano, Ducati, 2:01.742
6. Michael Barnes, Buell, 2:02.737
7. Dean Mizdal, Ducati, 2:02.820
8. Dario Marchetti, Ducati, 2:02.969
9. Paul Vitale, Ducati, 2:03.244
10. Dr. Dave Kieffer, Ducati, 2:03.779

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Ben Spies, 16, demolished the AMA 750cc Supersport Daytona lap record on his GSX-R750 with a 1:52.488 in qualifying for Friday’s final. Spies did his time on a DOT-labeled Michelin Pilot race-compound tire without the aid of anyone’s draft, and did it despite a broken left hand. The old lap record was set by Damon Buckmaster in 2000 at 1:53.914, giving Spies the new mark by some 1.4 seconds.

Corona EBSCO Suzuki’s Jimmy Moore mounted a Dunlop DOT-labeled qualifying tire in enough time to get one flying lap as the session closed. Moore gave his what he admitted was his best lap at 1:52.648, but fell just short of Spies’ time. Moore’s time will place him second on the grid for Friday’s 15-lap final.

Attack Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore recorded the third-fastest time with a Dunlop qualifying tires at 1:52.931 for third on the grid. Completing the front row will be Arclight Suzuki’s Lee Acree. Acree lapped the famed 3.56-mile road course at 1:53.100 on a Metzeler race tire, using the draft off teammate Brian Parriott and Hooters Suzuki’s Brian Gibbs.

The top times follow:

1. Ben Spies, 1:52.488
2. Jimmy Moore, 1:52.648
3. Jason Pridmore, 1:52.931
4. Lee Acree, 1:53.100
5. Brian Gibbs, 1:53.523
6. Brian Parriott, 1:53.666
7. Mike Ciccotto, 1:54.054
8. Rich Alexander, 1:54.105
9. Chris Ulrich, 1:54.192
10. Vince Haskovec, 1:54.692

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Jamie Hacking set the pace in Thursday morning’s 600cc Supersport practice with a lap time well under the existing class record. Hacking’s 1:53.502 was 0.64-second better than Kurtis Roberts’ pole position-winning time from 2000. When asked about the time, Hacking said, “I think we can go quicker. If the weather holds and the wind stays down, I think we could see some 1:52s. I think the regular guys will be there in the race, though. John Hopkins might come into play. His Suzuki is faster than mine.”

Team Honda’s Nicky Hayden, 19, was second-fastest, and said “My bike is the fastest factory (Supersport) Honda I’ve ever ridden.”

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s John Hopkins, 17, was third-fastest at 1:54.272.

600cc Supersport times from Thursday morning practice follow:

1. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:53.502
2. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:54.272
3. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:54.274
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:54. 643
5. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:54.770
6. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:54.784
7. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:55.130
8. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:55.254
9. Owen Weichel, Kawasaki, 1:55. 437
10. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:55.461
11. Josh Hayes, Honda, 1:55.519
12. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:55.853
13. Grant Lopez, Suzuki, 1:56.192
14. Roger Hayden, Honda, 1:56.284
15. Joe Gill, Yamaha, 1:56.241

Once again, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s 16-year old Ben Spies topped 750cc Supersport practice Thursday morning, with a time near the existing class lap record.

750cc Supersport times from Thursday morning practice follow:

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:54.085
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:54.174
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:54.306
4. Josh Hayes, Honda CBR600F4i 1:54.306
5. Richard Alexander, Jr., Suzuki GSXR750, 1:54.745
6. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:54.856
7. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:54.943
8. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:55.187
9. John Hopkins, Suzuki GSXR600, 1:55.606
10. Brian Gibbs, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:55.735
11. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSXR600, 1:55.838
12. Owen Weichel, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:55.949
13. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600F4i, 1:55.980
14. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSXR600, 1:56.512
15. Roland Williams, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:56.616


In 250cc Grand Prix practice Thursday morning, Rich Oliver reasserted his authority, running almost a full second quicker than second-fastest Roland Sands. Times follow:

1. Rich Oliver, 1:55.472
2. Roland Sands, 1:56.417
3. Jason DiSalvo, 1:57.228
4. Randy Renfrow, 1:58.272
5. Simon Turner, 1:58.526
6. Thomas Palander, 1:58.864
7. Perry Melneciuc, 1:59.498
8. Jimmy Filice, 2:00.222
9. Eric Wood, 2:00.660
10. Derek McKelvie King, 2:01.275

Nicky Hayden is riding with his broken left wrist and hand taped.

In the first 600cc Supersport practice session on Wednesday, Doug Chandler and Aaron Yates both highsided while exiting the International Horseshoe, in separate incidents. Yates slightly injured toes on one of his feet and Chandler was “just sore.” Both riders were out and riding in the morning Superbike practice session.

Just prior to coming to Daytona, Kurtis Roberts, Miguel Duhamel, and Nicky Hayden went to Japan for wind-tunnel tests with the RC51 Superbike. “We were learning how to tuck (in),” said Roberts of the test. Roberts’ Crew Chief, former racer David McGrath, added that the team experimented with windscreen shapes.

In Wednesday practice on his RC51, Miguel Duhamel used a Zero Gravity “Double Bubble” screen on his RC51 while Roberts’ had a normal tall windshield on his Superbike. Nicky Hayden had a different windscreen on each of his two RC51s. Hayden’s RC51s also featured a billet, six-piston rear brake caliper.

Tommy Hayden’s works Yamaha YZF-R7 Superbike features new Nissin radial-mount six-piston calipers and a Nissin clutch master cylinder. Hayden said he loved the new brakes and went on to turn his personal fastest-ever lap at Daytona, a 1:50.88, which made him third-fastest on the day.

One of Anthony Gobert’s Superbikes had a cover in place where a Suzuka style headlight would normally go.

Most riders ran with either padding on their fuel tank or in the front of their leathers, to avoid chest bruises caused by banging against the fuel tank on the banking.

In 250cc Grand Prix practice, Rich Oliver was immediately in the low 1:57s, a pace that has won the last several 250cc GP races at Daytona. Oliver was joined in the 1:57 bracket by Performance Machine’s Roland Sands. Corbin Racing’s Jimmy Filice was still going through tech inspection when the first 250cc practice session went out on the track. During that session, defending 250cc Champion Chuck Sorensen’s GP Tech Yamaha suffered a mechanical problem when water leaked into one of this bike’s cylinders, due to a blown head-sealing O-ring.

In the afternoon 250cc practice session, Roland Sands and Rich Oliver both recorded times in the 1:55 range. Oliver’s 1:55.92 was fast, but Sands’ 1:55.896 may be the fastest a 250 rider has ever lapped Daytona since two-time AMA 250cc Champion Jimmy Filice did a mid-1:55 back in 1994. Sands, meanwhile, said that he did his time with used tires, running on a front tire that had about 50 laps it and a rear tire that had two full practice sessions on it.

Anthony Gobert and Mat Mladin have had grip tape applied to the rear of the fuel tank on their racebikes. Gobert said that the material helps him maintain his body position on the bike while leaned over.

At the Wednesday riders’ meeting, AMA Pro Racing Road Race Manager Ron Barrick said that former Superbike racer Dale Quarterley, who now races stock cars, will be driving the official Pontiac Aztec pace vehicle. Miguel Duhamel pointed out that there hadn’t been a pace car situation during a Daytona 200 in a while and that he had forgotten how it worked. Then Duhamel pointed out that many of the Superbike racers were not present to hear the information being given out. This prompted Barrick to do a role call to see who was missing at the meeting. Of the 78 riders pre-entered for the Daytona 200 approximately 28 were present. Riders who missed the meeting included:
Larry Pegam
John Ashmead
Rich Alexander
Eric Bostrom
Mike Smith
Scott Russell
Doug Chandler
Anthony Gobert
John Hopkins
Jason Pridmore
Mike Ciccotto
Pascal Picotte
Jordan Szoke
Chris Ulrich
Brian Stokes
Vincent Haskovec
Aaron Slight
However, many of the missing riders entered Superbike for practice only; most 750cc Supersport riders do so, most with no intention of actually running the Daytona 200.

Attack Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore said, “We’re having a lot of little problems. It’s a new team, new bikes, and it’s Daytona.” Pridmore said that Attack may simplify its program at Daytona with Rich Alexander dropping his entry in 600cc Supersport and Pridmore himself electing to not run in 750cc Supersport. Pridmore and Alexander win the AMA 750cc Supersport Championship in 1997 and 1998, respectively.

Meanwhile, Valvoline EMGO Suzuki had already decided to concentrate on Ben Spies in 750cc Supersport with John Hopkins and Grant Lopez running 600cc Supersport only. The team had orginally planned on running all three riders in 750cc Supersport.

One of Dave Estok’s Tilley Harley-Davidson Buell Pro Thunder racers was sporting an on-board camera in Wednesday afternoon practice. Tuner Don Tilley said that the bike would be used to shoot footage for ESPN with former AMA Superbike Champion-turned-TV-commentator Thomas Stevens riding. Stevens, who won his Championship with Yamaha in 1991, said that Yamaha had declined to provide a photo bike for the filming, so he asked Tilley. According to Stevens, when the footage airs, there will be no mention of make, model or team. Stevens would simply be narrating his lap with a voice over.

SFX Motor Sports Group announced on Wednesday, March 7 that the company has become the majority shareholder in IHRA (International Hot Rod Association), which organizes and sanctions drag races. IHRA was founded 31 years ago, has 13,000 members and sanctions events at over 80 venues across North America, including the 11-event Summit Drag Racing Series.

A press release issued by SFX quoted IHRA President Bill Bader as saying, “We are elated to forge this partnership with SFX Motor Sports Group. We have worked with SFX for many years and are confident that the partnership will enable us to accelerate growth and marketing opportunities for our tracks, race teams, spectators, sponsors and television viewers. Having worked closely with the SFX Motor Sports team we are confident this partnership will enable IHRA to reach new heights.”

SFX has said that the current leadership and management team, led by Bader, will remain in place. Bader retains a minority share of IHRA.

Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts broke his own Daytona 600cc Supersport lap record enroute to qualifying in the pole position for Friday’s Pro Honda Oils 600cc Supersport final. Roberts circulated in a draft pack that included factory CBR600F4i Hondas ridden by Nicky Hayden and Miguel Duhamel as well as a GSXR600 ridden by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s John Hopkins. As the time ran down in the 20-minute session for odd-numbered machines, Roberts recorded a 1:53.549 on his Honda fitted with a Dunlop D208 qualifying tire to better his record of 1:54.147, set last year. Hopkins used the draft of the leading Hondas to record the second-fastest time–1:53.624–on his 2001 Suzuki GSXR600. While Roberts and other riders sponsored by Dunlop pitted for qualifying tires late in the session, Hopkins set his lap time using the same set of race-compound Michelin Pilot tires that he started the session with. Nicky Hayden was third fastest at 1:53.675 with Duhamel fourth-fastest at 1:53. 736. Eric Bostrom, the fastest qualifier from the even-numbered session, was fifth-fastest overall when the times from the two qualifying sessions were combined. It appeared that Bostrom’s last lap on his Dunlop-shod Kawasaki ZX-6R was his fastest but it was missed by the electronic scoring system. Team watches had Bostrom going faster than the 1:53.773 confirmed by AMA timing and scoring, but the team’s time didn’t count. The top combined 600cc Supersport qualifying times follow: 1. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:53.549 2. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:53.624 3. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:53.675 4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:53.736 5. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:53.773 6. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:54.166 7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:54.866 8. Josh Hayes, Honda, 1:54.882 9. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:54.893 10. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:54.986 11. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha, 1:55.328 12. Grant Lopez, Suzuki, 1:55.505 13. Owen Weichel, Kawasaki, 1:55.771 14. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:56.162 15. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:56.285 16. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:56.632 17. Brian Parriott, Suzuki, 1:56.692 18. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:56.888 19. Joe Gill, Yamaha, 1:56.914 20. Richie Alexander, Suzuki, 1:57.012 The Michelin rear tire used by Hopkins in 600cc qualifying was part of a shipment that arrived directly from France on Saturday, March 3. Prior to the arrival of that shipment, Michelin had not shipped any DOT-labeled tires capable of lasting race distance to Daytona.

TG Racing’s Troy Green, K&N Yamaha’s Sam McDonald, and Ronnie Lunsford were the big winners in CCS/CMRA regional action at Texas World Speedway March 3-4.

Green rode his Yamaha YZF-R6 to wins in Middleweight Grand Prix, Middleweight Superbike, and Middleweight Superstock on the 2.9-mile road course.

McDonald used a Yamaha YZF-R1 to take wins in Unlimited Grand Prix and Unlimited Superstock.

Lunsford won Super Twins and Formula 40 on his Ducati 996. Lunsford also teamed up with Rusty Allen and Matt Maschmann on a Honda CBR929RR to take the overall endurance win in the first, six-hour endurance race of the CMRA season. Incredibly, the second place overall team on the fast, flowing course was Suzuki SV650-mounted Faltless Racing with riders Robert Bradlaw, Eric Falt, Laroy Montgomery and Mark Andrews. G-Man Racing’s Harry Tomlinson and Mike Guillot completed the overall podium on their Kawasaki ZX-9R.

Blue Odyssey won in the Middleweight Superstock class, placing sixth overall. TG Racing scored the Middleweight Superbike class victory at seventh overall. Dynatech Endurance grabbed the Unlimited Superstock trophy with ninth place overall in the large field.

The CMRA is the CCS South Central Region affiliate, running races in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

Overall Results
CMRA 6-Hour Endurance
March 3, 2001
College Station, Texas

1. Performance Powercoating (Hon CBR 929RR) 125 laps, UGP (Ronnie Lunsford / Rusty Allen / Matt Maschmann

2. Faltless Racing (Suz SV650) 122 laps, LSB (Eric Falt / Laroy Montgomery / Robert Bradlaw / Mark Andrews)

3. GMAN Racing (Kaw ZX-9R) 121 laps, UGP (Harry Tomlinson / Mike Guillot)

4. Team Green Genesis (Kaw ZX-9R) 120 laps, UGP (Don Hawkins / Dalton Hamilton / Jamie Lane)

5. No Homeless (Kaw ZX-9R) 119 laps, UGP (Frank Shacklee / Mark Niemi / Andy Galindo)

6. Blue Odyssey Racing (Suz GSXR600) 118 laps, MSS (Scott Lawson / Charles Ergle / Scott Crawford)

7. TG-Racing (Yam YZF-R6) 118 laps, MSB (Troy Green / Darren Behm / Craig Montgomery)

8. Carpet Dog Racing (Yam YZF-R6) 117 laps, MSS (Scott Stevens / Dale Love / Mark Gifford

9. Dynatech Endurance (Suz GSX-R750) 117 laps, USS (Jason Griffin / Tim Carlson / Bruce Lacy / David Ferris / Bob Dietrich

10. T-Town (Yam YZF-R6) 117 laps, MSS (Jason Hammons / David Sanders / Cody Perkins)