AMA Pro Racing’s official two-day test at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in Miami, Florida, ended Wednesday evening with Ben Bostrom topping the time sheets with a lap of 1:21.445 on his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. “The bike is fantastic,” said Bostrom. “Nice comeback after Daytona. We had a really tough time there. Actually, it sucked. Let’s admit it. I know for the rest of the tracks, especially these twisty tracks, we have an awesome handling machine. My engineer Darin [Marshall] has found something again, so it’s been one of the most successful tests we’ve ever had actually, as far as speed goes.” Second in Superbike order was Bostrom’s teammate Roger Hayden, who said he made a major setup change at the end of the day that allowed him to do a 1:21.526. “It was a really good day,” said Hayden. “It was a really good test for the team. To leave here first and second really shows how far we’ve come and how hard we’ve been working.” Two-time and defending AMA Pro National Guard Superbike Champion Josh Hayes was third-best overall at the test with a 1:21.647, which he turned on his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 in the middle of the second day. “Hopefully what we learned here and how we develop the bike for the rest of the season will give us a nice strong bike for when we return here,” said Hayes. “We have a good motorcycle, and it’s just going to be a matter of going home and making sure I’m prepared to go racing.” Blake Young, the 2011 AMA Pro Superbike Championship runner-up, was fourth-fastest with a 1:21.844 on his Yoshimura Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000, and Larry Pegram rounded out the top five Superbike times with a 1:22.266 on his Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing BMW S1000RR. Y.E.S./Graves Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier led the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class on both days. The 19-year-old Californian used UK-made Dunlop N-Tec tires to lead Day One with a 1:24.887, and then he used US-made N-Tec Dunlop tires to go even faster on Day Two, 1:24.431. “We really didn’t change too much,” Beaubier told Roadracingworld.com. “We pulled it off the truck Tuesday morning, and everything worked pretty good already. We made a few adjustments on the suspension. We went a little softer to give me more feel in the corners, but it ran pretty good both days and I felt really comfortable on the bike.” Beaubier was followed in the overall Daytona SportBike time rankings by GEICO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, the only other rider to dip into the 1:24 range with a 1:24.807 on his GSX-R600. Beaubier’s new interim teammate Tommy Hayden was third-quickest at 1:25.266 and said he spent his time working on adapting his riding style to suit his new 600cc racebike after years of racing Superbikes. Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki’s Benny Solis was fourth in the order at 1:25.341, and Jake Gagne completed the top five with a 1:25.479 on his RoadRace Factory/Red Bull Yamaha YZF-R6. Jake Lewis was the leader in the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport division, topping both days and ending up on top overall with a time of 1:26.336 on his Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R600. Lewis was followed in the order by Celtic Racing/Orient Express Suzuki’s James Rispoli (1:26.441), RoadRace Factory’s Hayden Gillim (1:26.518), Kneedraggers.com Triple Crown Racing’s Stefano Mesa (1:26.524) and National Guard Fairhills Group Racing Suzuki’s Corey Alexander, who jumped into the top five with a lap of 1:26.856 in the final session. Kyle Wyman was the class of the small, eight-rider contingent of Vance & Hines XR1200 testers at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the young New Yorker ended up topping the class time charts by more than one second. Wyman’s 1:33.055 on his KWR/Vesrah/Kuryakyn/Riders Discount-backed machine outpaced Bartels’ Harley-Davidson’s Tyler O’Hara’s 1:34.060. O’Hara’s teammate Michael Barnes was third-best at 1:34.570. Barnes was followed by XP Motorsports’ Michael Corbino (1:35.330) and Harv’s Harley-Davidson’s Travis Wyman (Kyle’s younger brother), who did a 1:35.735.
Ben Bostrom On AMA Pro Test At Homestead: Nice Comeback After Daytona
Ben Bostrom On AMA Pro Test At Homestead: Nice Comeback After Daytona
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