AMA Pro Racing Tire Test Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida December 5, 2008 Daytona SportBike Provisional Test Times, Night Session (all on Dunlop tires, as supplied by AMA Pro Racing and teams): 1. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R6), 1:50.998 2. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), 1:51.256 3. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), 1:51.340 4. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), 1:51.368 5. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.140 6. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600), 1:52.358 7. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.38 8. Michael Barnes (Buell 1125R), 1:52.587 9. Dane Westby (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.653 10. Tommy Aquino (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.72 11. Shawn Higbee (Buell 1125R), 1:53.807 12. Chris Peris (Hon CBR600RR), 1:54.583 13. Jeremy McWilliams (Buell 1125R), 1:55.34 More, from a corrected press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: AMA Pro Road Racing and Dunlop Tire Test at Daytona International Speedway: Day 1 Report Dunlop Pleased With Feedback; Higbee and Buell First Out; Night Tests Begins DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (December 5, 2008) – A new era for the reorganized AMA Pro Racing and Dunlop Tire began Friday at Daytona International Speedway Friday where several AMA Pro American Superbike and AMA Pro Daytona SportBike teams and riders tested Dunlop’s latest tires all day and for a few hours into the night. Participating riders included Jake Zemke, Ben Bostrom, Josh Hayes, Neil Hodgson, Michael Barnes, Shawn Higbee, Chris Ulrich, Blake Young, Larry Pegram and several others with American Superbikes and Daytona SportBikes from Yamaha, Honda, Buell, Suzuki and Ducati all being put through their paces. American Superbikes are running on the 2.9-mile course while Daytona SportBikes are marking a return to the full 3.51-mile course. The main focus of the three-day test, however, is on Dunlop which signed as the Official Tire of AMA Pro Road Racing just a little over a month ago. Around the clock work on both sides of the Atlantic made for a successful first-day debut, however, with teams and riders in both premier divisions delivering favorable feedback to Dunlop personnel on site at Daytona. “The mission here is to deliver a tire that will do the distance, be safe and the same for everybody and give good performance,” said Jim Allen, Dunlop Tire Senior Road Race Manager – Motorcycle. “It is interesting to hear some of the riders that have come off other brands of tires and the comments have been very favorable all the way through. Daytona is a very, very difficult track and you always have to pay attention when you are here. It has given us troubles in the past but what we saw today was all good, all positive from a mileage standpoint and from a grip standpoint. We are quite pleased with what we have seen so far.” While Dunlop and the AMA Pro teams and riders will surely benefit from the three-day session, the tire manufacturer’s first real test was just having enough tires manufactured and delivered to Florida in time for this weekend’s practice. “The guys from Dunlop in England who were involved in designing and building the tires are here and they did a remarkable job,” Allen said. “We had very little notice and had about two weeks to make the tires and another week to get them over here. We have a long history here and relied on that but it was still a challenge we had to meet. There is no place to test for Daytona except at Daytona.” WHO’S ON FIRST When Higbee rode a Richie Morris Racing Buell 1125R on to Daytona International Speedway Friday morning around 9:15 a.m., he and the RMR team became the first to turn an official lap in the new AMA Pro Racing era. “It is really cool to be down here and there are a lot of changes going on, but I am really optimistic about the future for road racing,” Higbee said. “I haven’t officially signed with anyone for next year but I am working toward that and just lending a hand this weekend to Richie Morris and the team. I had two good long runs and we did one full 20-lap stint on a set of Dunlops, the tire wear looked good and that was important to find out early.” The day began with Morris joining Barnes, Buell Motorcycle President Jon Flickinger, Daytona Harley-Davidson principal Bruce Rossmeyer and his daughter Shelly and AMA Pro Racing President Roger Edmondson for a press conference. Morris announced that his team will campaign the full 2009 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike season with Barnes and a GEICO Powersports-sponsored Buell 1125R. NIGHT MOVES Friday’s opening practice is concluding with a three-hour night practice in preparation for the season-opening Daytona 200 by Honda under the lights, Friday, March 6, for the Daytona SportBike division. This will be the historic first night-time running of the classic race and no less than six portable Musco lighting units were brought in this weekend to illuminate the infield. The permanent lighting on Daytona’s high banks has also been turned up brighter than it has been for previous night road course races at Daytona and the combination has literally lit-up “The World Center of Racing” as bright as it has ever been. A more detailed report on the first night practice will be sent out tomorrow. AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. From its Daytona Beach headquarters, the organization operates and manages AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport, AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT and the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup in addition to the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway: AMA Motorcycle Riders Tour Daytona At Night Daytona SportBike Riders Prepping For Inaugural Nighttime Running Of The Daytona 200 By Honda DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. For the first time in history, AMA Pro Racing riders and teams didn’t pack up their gear at 5 p.m. on the first day of tire testing at Daytona International Speedway on Friday. They just took a dinner break and then climbed aboard their motorcycles for the first nighttime test session on the historic high banks of “The World Center Of Racing.” The Daytona 200 By Honda, the season-opening event to the Daytona SportBike class in AMA Pro Racing and America’s most historic motorcycle event, will be run under the lights for the first time in history on Friday night, March 6. This weekend at DIS, teams are testing Dunlop tires and getting a preview of what Daytona is like after dark. So far, the reviews are positive. “It was a really cool experience to ride at night,” said Erion Racing’s Jake Zemke on Saturday afternoon. “It was something that I haven’t done since I was a little kid racing dirt tracks. Although it’s a little bit different running around Daytona on the banking at nighttime than it is going around a quarter-mile dirt track. It was quite a different experience. It was really cool. There are a couple of spots on the track that we need to address. Everybody is well aware of that and they are supposed to have it fixed for us tonight already. “It’s going to be really cool for the spectators. It’s a whole new element that we haven’t seen in the U.S. Obviously, there’s been a GP at night (Qatar) this year and now we’re going to have nighttime races in the States. I think it’s great. It’s going to be really cool for the fans. They are not going to have to sit out here and bask in the sun all day and get sun burnt while watching us race. They are going to enjoy themselves in the evening when it’s cooled off a bit. It’s going to be a really neat deal.” Zemke is a former Daytona 200 By Honda winner and respects the history of the motorcycle classic. He says moving the tough and demanding race under the lights is another important step in the evolution of the event. “It definitely adds to the history bringing it into the night,” Zemke said. “We started on the beach and then speedway was built and the racing came inside. We’ve gone through course change in the last few years and now we’re going back to the old course and racing at night. It’s another first for the Daytona 200. It definitely adds to the history of the event. It’s just another new chapter.” Hayes, who is joining factory Yamaha for the 2009 AMA Pro Racing season, concurred with Zemke. “It wasn’t too bad,” Hayes said. “It had a couple of dark spots — the backstraightaway — but otherwise it actually wasn’t too bad. You’re just not use to having all the visual things that you’re use to having and figuring out some things that are usually shadows or just being able to see the whole race track. Knowing in your peripherals where you are. You just have to learn some new marks. But other than that, the only other thing that didn’t happen is that I didn’t ride around with another motorcycle. So it’ll be interesting, maybe tonight I’ll get to ride around some more and get close to some other bikes. “You can’t see the crowd and you can’t see the grandstands or anything like that. It’s quite a bit different in that respect. I do a lot of motocrossing at night on motocross tracks, it reminds me a lot of that just at a lot higher speed.” AMA Pro Racing Dunlop tire testing will wrap up on Sunday. The three-day test session is open to the public. Fans can view the testing action with a $10 tram-tour only ticket available at Daytona 500 Experience. Ticket information for any of the Daytona 200 Week By Honda events are available online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.