Duhamel on pole for Daytona 200
It's an old story, but it's a good one. Miguel won another Rolex.
In qualifying for the 66th Daytona 200 by Honda, Miguel Duhamel put down the best time to claim the pole--and the congratulatory Rolex watch that goes with it--for Saturday's historic race at the Speedway.
Duhamel's time of 1 minute, 41.095 seconds was a few tenths of a second faster than the second-fastest qualifier, Jason Disalvo. Disalvo had a fast time of 1 minute, 41.440 seconds.
"We've been working pretty hard to get ready for this 200 race," Duhamel said. "It's our biggest race of the year. We came up with a new setup for that last qualifier run, and it worked pretty good."
Third fastest was defending AMA Formula Xtreme champion Josh Hayes with a time of 1 minute, 41.829 seconds, with Jake Zemke taking the last spot on the front row of the grid, with a time of 1 minute, 41.933 seconds.
It was a classic game of one-upmanship this afternoon, with Kawasaki riders Ben Attard and Steve Rapp getting out front first. About 20 minutes from the end of qualifying, though, the factory riders started making some noise.
Yamaha's Disalvo was first, taking the provisional pole with a 1:42.407, only to lose it about 30 seconds later when Honda's Duhamel crossed the line just 3/1000ths of a second faster with a 1:42.404, upping that to 1:42.091 just a few minutes later.
Next, Hayes moved to the front with a 1:41.829, but Duhamel answered quickly again, sliding back to the front with a 1:41.804.
With just over six minutes to go, Disalvo got back the provisional pole he held earlier with a 1:41.440, thanks mostly to a blistering run through the infield.
Duhamel had one last chance, though, making it back out of the pits with just over two minutes to go. That would give him just enough time to get around for one more flying lap. With the checkered flag waving, putting an end to qualifying, Dumahel took back the pole for good.
"I got through the infield pretty good and by the time I got to the back straight I was pretty sure that I had it," Duhamel said. "Then I went come up to the chicane—don't hit that oil—and when I was on the banking, I knew I had it for sure, a low 41 maybe even a 1:40."
Duhamel is the first rider to win three Daytona 200 poles in a row since Kenny Roberts pulled off the feat in 1982.
The Daytona 200 by Honda kicks off the 2007 AMA Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series. You can catch the race live on Speed this Saturday at 2 p.m.
© 2007, American Motorcyclist Association