Superbike practice hits the high banks

The 2006 AMA Superbike season got off to a blistering start on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway Wednesday, with fast times and some new faces—including the first Kawasaki Superbike to see a road race course since 2004.

Wednesday morning  was the first AMA Superbike practice session, and the fastest rider of that initial test was Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies. Spies led the field with a 1:38.377 on his 19th lap, only a tenth away from teammate Mat Mladin’s fastest lap on the reconfigured Daytona track last year.

Also looking good was Neil Hodgson on the Parts Unlimited Ducati 999R. He had the day’s second fastest lap of 1:38.834.

“I felt good out there. I didn’t feel like I was at my limit,” said Hodgson after practice. “This year, I feel a bit more relaxed, and you don’t ride tense when you feel relaxed.

Third fastest was defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin, who put down a 1:38.990 on his Yoshimura Suzuki.

Roger Lee Hayden, who had the honor of riding the first Kawasaki ZX-10RR into morning practice, was fourth fastest with a 1:39.097. His brother, Tommy, rounded out the top five with a 1:39.369.

Honda's Miguel Duhamel was fifth fastest with a 1:39.373.

Returning to AMA Superbike for the ’06 season, was Ben Bostrom. B-Boz was seventh fastest, with a 1:39.728 aboard his Parts Unlimited Ducati.

One surprise in the Superbike top 10 was Emgo Suzuki’s Geoff May. May’s 1:39.840 was eighth fastest, just ahead of Honda’s Jake Zemke, who had a 1:39.913.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates rounded out the top 10 with 1:40.324.

Formula Xtreme

The 1:42.593 time that won Miguel Duhamel the pole position in last year’s Daytona 200 seemed pretty quick then. Now, it’s history.

Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo laid down laps consistently in the 1:41s to lead the Formula Xtreme practice, eventually logging a time of 1:41.425.

Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke put his CRB600RR on the board with the second fastest time, a 141.928. Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes was third fastest with a 142.020.

Eric Bostrom, moving to the Formula Xtreme class and the Yamaha team, put down the fourth fastest time of 1:42.133.

Superbike’s May wasn’t the only Emgo Suzuki rider with a solid time. Fifth-fastest on the board in Formula Xtreme was Emgo’s Mike Barnes with a 1:42.828.

Last year’s winner Duhamel? Sixth with a 1:42.968.

Several dealer-supported teams are contesting the Daytona 200 this year aboard Buell’s Firebolt-derived race machine. The fastest Buell-mounted rider was former MotoGP racer Jeremy McWilliams, who had the day’s 11th-fastest lap, a 1:44.065.

© 2006, American Motorcyclist Association