Former AMA Superbike star Geoff May claimed pole position for the 75th running of the Daytona 200 by Victory during qualifying Friday at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
May, riding his Project Mayday/Sportbike Track Time Yamaha YZF-R6 on Dunlop tires, recorded a lap of 1:50.627 during the provisional qualifying session Friday morning to put him on provisional pole.
Then in the final qualifying session (which was split in half between the faster and slower riders based on their times from provisional qualifying), May set out to go quicker, but things didn’t go exactly to plan.
“I tried to go quick on the two qualifiers that Dunlop provided for us,” May told reporters. “I had a semi-qualifier to get warmed up with and then a real qualifier that was good for only one lap. It [qualifying tire] just changed the setup of the bike dramatically. The additional grip from the rear was just overpowering the front. Plus, I couldn’t find anybody out there to get a draft off of. Honestly, this time I got lucky.”
May felt he got lucky because no other rider was able to beat his time in the final qualifying session, allowing him to take his second Daytona 200 pole position in as many years.
Journeyman racer Michael Barnes improved his lap time from 1:51.171 in the first qualifying session to 1:50.761 in final qualifying, and that was enough for the 47-year-old Floridian to earn the second starting spot on the grid.
“I didn’t plan on trying as hard as I did in that session,” said Barnes, who rode an ex-Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha YZF-R6 sponsored by Prieto Performance and Palm Beach Police Foundation. “I got caught up in the excitement. My first rear Pirelli wasn’t really what I expected it to be, so I put the Pirelli race tire I had been putting a lot of laps on prior to that [on the bike], and it pulled through. I didn’t find any dancing partners out there, so I didn’t get any big drafts or anything like that. It just gives me that much more confidence for tomorrow that we have a strong, strong [race] pace.”
Stefano Mesa, the CCS Florida Overall Champion, shaved significant time in the final qualifying session, dropping from 1:51.688 to 1:50.810 and earning him the third and final spot on the front row. Mesa rode a Dunlop-shod Westside Performance Yamaha YZF-R6.
Multi-time Loudon Classic Champion Shane Narbonne, who is riding the Fitzgerald Glider Kits/TOBC Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 in place of suspended two-time Daytona 200 winner Danny Eslick, qualified fourth with a time of 1:51.156.
Wyatt Farris, a regular on the MotoAmerica Pro series but a rookie in the Daytona 200, ended up fifth-quickest with a best time of 1:50.889 on his Trackside Suspension & Engineering/MD Racing Yamaha.
Former AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year Cory West was sixth in qualifying thanks to a lap of 1:50.987 on his Heyser Cycle Honda CBR600RR
Earning spots on the third row of the grid were: Farrell Performance/U.S. Chrome Kawasaki’s Jason Farrell (1:51.065), MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 race winner Mark Heckles on his Racingmotorcycles.com Yamaha YZF-R6 (1:51.449) and Longevity Racing Ducati’s Barrett Long (1:51.785).
75th Daytona 200 by Victory/ASRA Sportbike Sanctioned by AMA
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
March 11, 2016
Provisional Combined Qualifying Results:
1. Geoff May (Yam YZF-R6), 1:50.627
2. Michael Barnes (Yam YZF-R6), 1:50.761
3. Stefano Mesa (Yam YZF-R6), 1:50.810
4. Shane Narbonne (Yam YZF-R6), 1:50.865
5. Wyatt Farris (Yam YZF-R6), 1:50.889
6. Cory West (Hon CBR600RR), 1:50.987
7. Jason Farrell (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:51.065
8. Mark Heckles (Yam YZF-R6), 1:51.449
9. Barrett Long (Duc 848 EVO), 1:51.785
10. Bruno Silva (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.041
11. Bostjan Skubic (Yam YZF-R6), 1:52.195
12. Cedric Tangre (Suz GSX-R600), 1:53.569
13. Kristofer Knopf (Yam YZF-R6), 1:53.912
14. Kris Skellenger (Yam YZF-R6), 1:54.643
15. Mark Rhoades (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:55.886
16. Justin Holderman (Yam YZF-R6), 1:56.245
17. Patricia Fernandez (Yam YZF-R6), 1:56.417
18. Daniel Spaulding (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:56.920
19. Tony Storniolo (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:56.920
20. Anthony Fania (Yam YZF-R6), 1:56.960
21. Joseph Giannotto (Yam YZF-R6), 1:56.966
22. Joseph Resta (Yam YZF-R6), 1:57.084
23. Michel Amalric (Hon CBR600RR), 1:57.300
24. Matthew Gendron (Yam YZF-R6), 1:57.966
25. John Ashmead (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:58.126
26. David McPherson (Yam YZF-R6), 1:58.511
27. CJ LaRoche (Yam YZF-R6), 1:58.544
28. Arthur Aznavuryan (Yam YZF-R6), 1:58.844
29. Darren James (Yam YZF-R6), 1:58.867
30. Joel Lenk (Yam YZF-R6), 1:59.108
31. Timothy Wilson (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:59.748
32. Eric Helmbach (Yam YZF-R6), 2:00.355
33. Gino Angella (Duc 848), 2:00.748
34. Roosevelt Wright, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6), 2:00.818
35. Charlie Mavros (Yam YZF-R6), 2:01.345
36. Norman Pomerleau (Yam YZF-R6), 2:01.566
37. Russ Intravartolo (Yam YZF-R6), 2:01.655
38. Brett Ray (Suz GSX-R600), 2:02.082
39. Jason Gibbens (Kaw ZX-6R), 2:02.454
40. Alexander Guilbeault (Yam YZF-R6), 2:02.720
41. Stuart Harper (Hon CBR600RR), 2:03.007
42. Andrew Abel (Suz GSX-R600), 2:03.337
43. Kat Zimpel (Yam YZF-R6), 2:03.594
44. Mark Dickerson (Tri Daytona 675), 2:03.703
45. Arthur Kowitz (Yam YZF-R6), 2:04.209
46. Wade Boyd (Yam YZF-R6), 2:04.219
47. Brett Molnar (Yam YZF-R6), no time provided
48. Carl Cohen (Yam YZF-R6), 2:04.878
49. Christian Reynolds (Suz GSX-600), 2:07.214
50. Ryan Jones (Kaw ZX-6R), no time provided
51. James Fotinopoulos (Yam YZF-R6), no time provided
52. Alvaro Plazas (Yam YZF-R6), no time recorded
53. Michael Henao (Duc 848), no time recorded
More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway:
Geoff May Repeats As Polesitter For DAYTONA 200 By Victory
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 11, 2016) – Geoff May of Sugar Hill, Georgia won a second-straight DAYTONA 200 By Victory pole position Friday at Daytona International Speedway, aboard a Yamaha 600.
The 75th running of the historic motorcycle road race is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, 57 laps around the 3.51-mile road course. The DAYTONA 200 By Victory started in 1937 on the Daytona Beach-Road Course but moved to the speedway in 1961.
May posted a fast lap of 1 minute, 50.627 seconds/114.222 mph. Completing the top three were Yamaha riders Michael Barnes (1.50.621/114.083) and Stefano Mesa (1.50.810/114.033), both from Boca Raton, Florida.
“It was polar opposites, last year and this year,” said May, who posted his pole speed in the morning qualifying session. “Last year we did everything right. We staged it, got out there with a dancing partner, got a heckuva draft and just pulled it off. This year we filled the tank up, went out and just kept running. Honestly, this time I just got lucky to be honest.”
Added Barnes, after posting the best speed in the afternoon session: “With a 200-mile race it’s really just about getting into the show. I didn’t plan on trying as hard as I did that session but I kind of got caught up in the excitement.
“I didn’t find any dancing partners out there, so I didn’t have any big drafts. That just makes me more confident that we have a strong, strong [bike] for the race.”
NASCAR will return to Daytona International Speedway on June 30-July 2 with another XFINITY Series/Sprint Cup Series weekend doubleheader. On Friday night, July 1, the 15th annual Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By Coca-Cola will be held, followed on Saturday night, July 2 by the 58th annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola.
Tickets for all 2016 Daytona International Speedway events – including the 75th annual DAYTONA 200 and Sunday’s ASRA and CCS motorcycle races – 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, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube, and by downloading the new version of Daytona International Speedway’s mobile app, for the latest speedway news throughout the season.