A brief, light rain shower at 4:15 p.m. local time brought an early end to the chilly, first day of a two-day Pirelli tire test Thursday at Daytona International Speedway, but not before Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May turned a 1:40.318 on his 2006-spec GSX-R1000 Superstock bike to lead all riders. “It was a long hard day of testing, but we learned a lot of valuable information,” May told Roadracingworld.com Thursday. “We didn’t have anything [tires] I could do a fast time on because we were working on single-compound rears to suit the banking, but to do the times I did on those hard tires, I’m really happy.” After changing the internal and final drive gear ratios on his very under geared Fast By Ferracci (FBF) MV Agusta F4-1000R Superbike (which was more like a Superstock bike), Matt Lynn quickly got up to speed Thursday afternoon, turning a second-fastest 1:42.116. “It was OK,” said Lynn, who added his new MV Agusta was definitely faster than the Suzuki GSX-R1000 he rode last season. “I wish we could’ve tested more tires and had a full day on the track. But we got to try the tires we wanted to try, and we got a good idea of what we want to try tomorrow.” Lynn’s new FBF teammate, Luca Scassa, did not fair as well, however. Scassa looked fast and aggressive on the track, but early Thursday afternoon the young Italian highsided on a cold tire in turn seven and injured his left foot. FBF Team Owner Eraldo Ferracci said he suspected Scassa broke a bone in his foot. Scassa went to Halifax Medical Center via private vehicle and did not return before the end of the day. Scassa was not the only crash victim Thursday, as three other riders hit the ground at some point including Justin Marm, a FBF MV Agusta support rider. Marm said he lowsided in turn four and his tumbling F4-1000R landed on him, resulting in a contusion on his left elbow. Marm did not continue riding. May’s teammate Michael Barnes, the fastest man on a 600cc machine (Formula Xtreme or Supersport) at the test, suffered a lowside crash on his Formula Xtreme GSX-R600 when he got offline heading into the new west horseshoe Thursday afternoon. Barnes was completely uninjured and switched to riding his Supersport bike. Michael Beck, the third Team M4 EMGO Suzuki rider, also crashed in the new west horseshoe Thursday morning, but Beck faired much worse than Barnes. According to his team, Beck suffered a compound fracture of his left arm and a dislocated left wrist. Beck was transported to Halifax Medical Center. The Pirelli tire test continues through Friday, which is forecast to be dry but with even cooler temperatures and more wind. Pirelli Tire Test Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida December 7, 2006 Thursday Afternoon Test Times (as provided by AMA Pro Racing timing & scoring): 1. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:40.318, Superstock 2. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R), 1:42.116, Superbike 3. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), 1:43.362, Formula Xtreme 4. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:43.421, Superstock 5. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R), 1:43.595, Superbike 6. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:43.925, Formula Xtreme 7. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), 1:44.310, Supersport 8. Cory West (Yam YZF-R6), 1:44.362, Supersport 9. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:44.648, Supersport 10. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6), 1:46.075, Supersport 11. Tony Meiring (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:46.998, Supersport 12. Gustavo Laya (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:47.253, Supersport 13. Taylor Knapp (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:50.818, Supersport