M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Valentin Debise shattered his own lap record during qualifying Friday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway and claimed pole position for the 77th running of the Daytona 200.
While other riders focused on using the third of three qualifying sessions to achieve a single fast lap time, Frenchman Debise did a race simulation during the 25-minute session on his Dunlop-shod GSX-R600. After doing 12 laps in the low 1:49 range while navigating through the 57-rider field, Debise found provisional pole sitter Jason Farrell, caught his draft, and on his 13th and final lap did a 1:48.638.
Not only did that lap time earn Debise the pole position in only his second entry in the Daytona 200, it broke his own lap record of 1:48.903, which he did during the 2017 Daytona 200.
“We had some work to do for the race,” Debise told reporters after the session. “So instead of going and putting a couple of new tires [on] during the last [qualifying session] to go a fastest lap, I decided to go with my tank full of fuel and my race tire. My idea was to do race distance, so even if I didn’t focus on doing a fast lap – of course I was pushing very hard to see what was my pace for the race tomorrow. All my lap times were quite low 1:49s but without any slipstreams. At the end I saw [Jason Farrell] and I took his slipstream. I looked at my dashboard and I saw 1:48.6, and I was like, ‘Oh, that is good.’”
Michael Barnes, the 2017 pole-sitter and the 2016 Daytona 200 race winner, was second-best with a time of 1:49.063 on his Pirelli-fitted Palm Beach Police Foundation/Prieto Performance Yamaha YZF-R6, the same bike he won on in 2016. Barnes worked together with friend Danny Eslick on the track and mounted a soft rear Pirelli at the end of the final session, but the 49-year-old could only get down to 1:49.063.
Two-time pole-sitter Geoff May came alive on his Dunlop-tired Road Warrior Law/CBC National Bank Yamaha YZF-R6 toward the end of the final session and moved up the timing screen steadily until he stopped in the third position with a 1:49.085 that earned the final spot on the front row.
Both Barnes and May said they weren’t focused as much on going fast in qualifying Friday as they were trying to prepare for the 57-lap race on Saturday.
May’s qualifying performance bumped three-time Daytona 200 winner Danny Eslick and his TOBC Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 to fourth and the second row. Eslick, who was at or near the top of the order in most of the sessions Friday, finished with a 1:49.152 on the same Dunlop-equipped machine he won the race with in 2017.
Farrell was on provisional pole position with the 1:49.198 he did on his Pirelli-backed Farrell Performance/US Chrome Kawasaki ZX-6R during the second qualifying session, but the rider from Wisconsin could not match his earlier pace in the final session and had to settle for fifth.
Venezuelan rider Robertino Pietri, a former Moto2 World Championship racer and FIM Latin American Superbike Champion, put everything together in the final qualifier on his new Dunlop-supported Hairy Kiwi/Bespoke CBD Suzuki GSX-R600 and claimed sixth, the final spot on row two, with a time of 1:49.608.
Shane Narbonne qualified seventh with a 1:50.504 on his Dunlop-tired Six Four Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6, 2017 Daytona 200 runner-up Cory West was eighth with a 1:50.582 on his Pirelli-sponsored TSE Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, New Zealander Shane Richardson got ninth with a 1:51.879 on his Pirelli-fitted Team New Zealand Kawasaki ZX-6R, and British rider Ross Patterson rounded out the top 10 with a 1:52.227 on a RPMmoto.com Kawasaki ZX-6R.
A total of 62 riders on listed on the grid sheet for the 77th Daytona 200, which is schedule to start at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday.
Video coverage of the race will be streamed live on www.FansChoice.TV.
77th Daytona 200/ASRA SportBike
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
March 16, 2018
Provisional Combined Qualifying Results (3.51-mile course):
1. Valentin Debise (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 1:48.638
2. Michael Barnes (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:49.063
3. Geoff May (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:49.085
4. Danny Eslick (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:49.152
5. Jason Farrell (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 1:49.198
6. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 1:49.608
7. Shane Narbonne (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:50.504
8. Cory West (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:50.582
9. Shane Richardson (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 1:51.879
10. Ross Patterson (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:52.227
11. Max Angles (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.281
12. Bailey Cox (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:52.643
13. Barrett Long (Duc 848EVO), 1:52.925
14. Carl Soltisz (Yam YZF-R6), 1:53.288
15. Darren James (Yam YZF-R6), 1:53.674
16. Andrew Abel (Suz GSX-R600), 1:53.703
17. Jody Barry (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:53.835
18. Ed Sullivan (Yam YZF-R6), 1:53.900
19. Joseph Giannotto (Yam YZF-R6), 1:53.974
20. Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R6), 1:54.321
21. Kristofer Knopf (Yam YZF-R6), 1:54.917
22. Ryan Jones (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:54.937
23. Joseph Blasius (Tri Daytona 675R), Dunlop, 1:55.640
24. Cooper McDonald (Yam YZF-R6), 1:55.907
25. Justin Holderman (Yam YZF-R6), 1:56.073
26. Jeremy Kolewski (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:56.150
27. Anthony Fania (Yam YZF-R6), 1:56.306
28. Seth Starnes (Yam YZF-R6), 1:56.528
29. Jason Dai (Yam YZF-R6), 1:57.548
30. Joel Lenk (Yam YZF-R6), 1:57.588
31. John Ashmead (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:57.642
32. Krunal Jadhav (Yam YZF-R6), 1:57.667
33. Daniel Spaulding (Yam YZF-R6), 1:58.395
34. David McPherson (Yam YZF-R6), 1:58.507
35. Norman Pomerleau (Yam YZF-R6), 1:58.758
36. Alexander Guibeault (Yam YZF-R6), 1:59.055
37. Timothy Wilson (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:59.258
38. Joshua Marino (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:59.561
39. Antal Halasz (Suz GSX-R600), 2:00.994
40. Ryan Martin (Yam YZF-R6), 2:01.180
41. Darrin Klemens (Kaw ZX-6R), 2:01.271
42. Harry Wilson (Yam YZF-R6), 2:01.289
43. Patrick Ryan (Kaw ZX-6R), 2:01.294
44. Eric Helmbach (Yam YZF-R6), 2:01.641
45. Chris Sullivan (Yam YZF-R6), 2:01.754
46. Magnus Mossburg (Yam YZF-R6), 2:01.834
47. James Barry (Yam YZF-R6), 2:02.244
48. Daniel Weems (Yam YZF-R6), 2:02.752
49. Richard O’Connor (Duc 848EVO), 2:02.842
50. David Campbell (Hon CBR600RR), 2:02.871
51. Salvatore Ruffino (Yam YZF-R6), 2:02.905
52. Roosevelt Wright, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6), 2:03.039
53. Gene Buonomo (Yam YZF-R6), 2:03.269
54. Zoltan Nemes (Suz GSX-R600), 2:03.985
55. Jason Zelibor (Suz GSX-R600), 2:04.068
56. Aaron Stein (Yam YZF-R6), 2:04.201
57. Arthur Kowitz (Suz GSX-R600), 2:04.433
58. Dustin Ducote (Yam YZF-R6), 2:04.486
59. Brian LaSalle (Suz GSX-R600), 2:07.020
60. Wade Boyd (Yam YZF-R6), 2:09.453
61. Robert Fisher (Kaw ZX-6R), no time recorded
62. Gino Angella (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway:
Valentin Debise Rides M4 Suzuki to Pole Position for 77th DAYTONA 200
Polesitter Trying to Become 2nd French Rider to Win Famed Event
Defending and 3-Time Champion Danny Eslick Qualifies 4th
77th DAYTONA 200 on Saturday at 1 p. m.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 16, 2018) – Valentin Debise took the pole position for the 77th DAYTONA 200 motorcycle road race on Friday at Daytona International Speedway, posting a fast lap of 116.313 mph on the No. 53 M4 Ecstar Suzuki GSXR 600.
On Saturday, Debise – a native of France now living in Lake Elsinore, California – will seek to become the second French rider to win the DAYTONA 200. Patrick Pons (1980) is the race’s only French champion.
Debise posted the pole-winning speed during the third and final qualifying session on Friday on the 3.51-mile DIS road course. Qualifying second was 2016 champion Michael Barnes (Yamaha R6 600) of Boca Raton, Florida, at 115.860. Third-fastest was Geoff May (Yamaha R6 600) of Sugar Mill, Georgia at 115.336.
Debise approached the final qualifying session as a shakedown for the race itself, rather than an all-out run for the front.
“We had some work to do for the race so instead of putting on a couple of new tires [for qualifying], we decided to go with my full tank of fuel and with my race tires,” Debise said. “So my idea was not to focus on the fast lap, but of course I was pushing [to go fast].”
Rounding out the front row was defending and three-time champion (2014-15, ’17) Danny Eslick (Yamaha R6 600) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 115.765. Eslick is trying to become the third rider to win the DAYTONA 200 at least four times. Five-time champions Scott Russell (1992, ’94-95, ’97-98) and Miguel Duhamel (1991, ’96, ’99, 2003, ’05) share the all-time record for DAYTONA 200 championships.
In Friday’s first qualifying session, James Barry (Yamaha R6 600) of Manchester, New Hampshire led with a fast lap of 102.815 mph. The second session was topped by Jason Farrell (Kawasaki ZX6R 636) of Oshkosh, Wisconsin), at 115.716.
The DAYTONA 200, which wraps up the 77th Bike Week at DAYTONA, is sanctioned by the American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA). The event is historically intertwined with Daytona Beach’s rich racing history, dating to 1937 when it was held on the Daytona Beach-Road course that utilized both the Atlantic Ocean shoreline and State Road A1A. It quickly became a companion to the course’s stock-car races that were first held in 1936. The DAYTONA 200 moved from the beach-road course to Daytona International Speedway in 1961, the facility’s third year of existence.
Tickets for the 77th DAYTONA 200 and all Daytona International Speedway events can be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat, and by downloading Daytona International Speedway’s mobile app, for the latest Speedway news throughout the season.