Neil Hodgson and Jamie Hacking were the fastest riders in their respective classes as an AMA teams test concluded Wednesday at Auto Club Speedway, in Fontana, California. Late in the day Hodgson recorded a string of laps in the low-1:24s and emerged with a best lap of 1:23.9 on his Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR. Not only was the time the fastest of the test overall, it was the fastest Hodgson or any Honda rider had ever gone around the 2.3-mile, 21-turn infield road course at Auto Club Speedway, according to Hodgson’s Crew Chief Trevor Weiler. (Update: Further research shows that Jake Zemke turned a 1:23.956 during qualifying for the AMA Superbike race at then-California Speedway in 2006.) “Sh-t! I’m well happy with that!” said Hodgson, the 2003 Superbike World Champion. “It is impressive. I’ve said from day one that Honda made a really good road bike with the CBR1000RR. Stock, it is fantastic. That’s pretty much what we rode last year was a Superstock bike with a bit more compression, so this year is not that different, really.” Hodgson was only a fraction of a second faster than Larry Pegram, who did a best time of 1:24.06 on his Foremost Pegram Ducati 1098R. Pegram said he and his Massimo Capanna-led crew got his bike’s traction control system working properly Wednesday, which made all the difference. “I’ve never ridden with traction control that worked like that,” said Pegram. “That was cool.” Pegram’s bike was also the fastest down the front straightaway, according to one other team that was monitoring speeds with a radar gun. After feeling sick Tuesday, Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom (1:25.4) was feeling better Wednesday and was able to complete his test program on his YZF-R1. His teammate Josh Hayes (1:25.5), however, was still suffering from cold-like symptoms and struggled to get through his agenda. Yamaha team members said they were testing with stock engines at Auto Club Speedway and that their horsepower was “in the mail.” As impressive as Hodgson’s performance was, Hacking turned in an even better result. In spite of a long lay off from riding and a very stock, very new motorcycle, the two-time AMA Supersport Champion set the pace for the Daytona SportBike class with a 1:28.1 on his Monster Attack Kawasaki. “For not being on a bike is just over five months I feel great,” Hacking told Roadracingworld.com. “For as little time as this whole deal has come together I’m pretty pleased with this bike. The new forks, that’s all I heard was how great these things were supposed to be. I rode a completely OEM motorcycle these past couple of days other than a rear shock and a pipe, and the rear shock is only there because it fit off of our Superbike. If that hadn’t fit we would’ve been running stock shocks, just like our forks. Our forks are completely OEM. I think they might have re-valved them last night to try to help me out a little bit, but for stock forks and damping I was pretty well impressed.” Hacking’s time was better than those turned in by Graves Yamaha riders Tommy Aquino, Jr., Bostrom, Hayes and Josh Herrin and their fully-developed YZF-R6s. Rockstar Makita Suzuki, which started its test on Monday, one day before any other team, did not participate in Wednesday’s testing. Rockstar Makita Suzuki and Monster Attack Kawasaki are planning to test at a non-AMA race venue one more time before heading to the 2009 season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Unofficial Best Lap Times (as provided by each rider’s team): 1. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), American Superbike, 1:23.9 2. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098R), American Superbike, 1:24.06 3. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), American Superbike, 1:25.4 4. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), American Superbike, 1:25.5 5. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-6R), Daytona SportBike, 1:28.1 6. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R6), Daytona SportBike, 1:28.31 7. Tommy Aquino, Jr, (Yam YZF-R6), Daytona Sportbike, 1:28.63 8. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), Daytona SportBike, 1:28.78 9. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), Daytona SportBike, 1:29.0 10. Chris Peris (Hon CBR600RR), Daytona SportBike, 1:29.8 11. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6R), Daytona SportBike, 1:29.9 12. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R6), Daytona SportBike, 1:30.0 13. Tyler Odom (Hon CBR600RR), SuperSport, no time reported