On lap 12 of the 76th Daytona 200, held Saturday, March 18 at Daytona International Speedway, Frenchman Valentin Debise lapped the 3.51-mile infield road course in 1:48.903 on his Dunlop-shod M4 The 22 Project ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600.

Research done by ASRA officials on all of the Daytona 200 races held on the 3.51-mile infield road course showed that no rider has lapped the course quicker than Debise in the nine years the course has been used for America’s biggest motorcycle road race.

The fastest lap prior to Debise’s lap was a 1:48.948 recorded by Chaz Davies on a KWS Motorsports Aprilia RSV1000R during the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race that was the Daytona 200 in 2009. That race was the first Daytona 200 to be run on the 3.51-mile course and the first Daytona 200 to be run at night.

ASRA President Kevin Elliott certified that Debise’s lap would be recognized as an official ASRA Daytona 200 lap record for the 3.51-mile course.

When asked about the lap time immediately after the race on March 18, Debise said, “I knew my pace with the race tire was good, but I did not know it was that good!”

Debise finished fifth in the 76th Daytona 200 in spite of starting the race from last on the grid and two laps down to the leaders due to a mechanical problem encountered during one of the aborted starts early in the race. Debise’s crew was able to make repairs during a red flag break, and Debise rejoined the race at the following restart.

The 76th Daytona 200 was won by TOBC Racing Yamaha’s Danny Eslick, whose fastest race lap was a 1:49.951.