Former Superbike World Champion Neil Hodgson was head and shoulders above any of the other riders testing American Superbike machines at the AMA Pro Racing tire test Friday at Daytona International Speedway. Riding a CBR1000RR built to 2009 class specs, including stock forks and aftermarket 17-inch wheels, Hodgson lapped the 2.91-mile infield road course in 1:38.626. That time wasn’t far off Hodgson’s qualifying for the last AMA Superbike race at Daytona (1:38.424), but it was a bit slower than his best race lap time (1:37.106) and race winner Mat Mladin’s best race time (1:36.266). All things considered, Hodgson was happy with his performance. “When we tested here [in December 2007] I was useless,” Hodgson told Roadracingworld.com Friday evening. “When we raced here I qualified 10th. Today I did the same time I qualified for the race, but in the race I did a 1:37.1, which isn’t a bad lap time. So we’re not a million miles off. It’s encouraging. If the conditions had been better it would have been worth at least half a second, so I would be within a second of what I did.” As for American Honda’s participation in the 2009 AMA Pro road race series, “We don’t know yet,” said Team Manager Ron Heben. “American Honda’s still looking at our plans and directions for 2009. We’re here. We just rode Barber testing. We’re here to do the Dunlop tire test. Obviously there are not a lot of new variables that have been presented to us for racing Superbike next year. If we race or not, American Honda management is looking at that, and we hope that that decision is going to be made in the near future. But for now, these three days here at the tire test, this is really to get a better understanding of the 17-inch tires, between that and what we’ve always run here in the past, and some of the new rules that have been proposed to see where we’re at and see if we are going to be comfortable and competitive. Then we’ll report back and hopefully we’ll make a decision soon.” Second-quickest in the American Superbike class was LeoVince Foremost Insurance Ducati’s Larry Pegram, who turned a 1:40.595 on what he called “a streetbike” 1098 R. Pegram said he was “happy with my position but not happy with being two seconds slower than Hodgson.” Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young turned the third-fastest lap on his 2008 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock-spec machine, a 1:41.122. Last season Young raced, and won, on Pirellis, but he said switching back to Dunlops (which he used in 2007) was only a matter of setting up the bike for the characteristics of the tires. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki is planning to conclude its test Saturday, one day early. Right behind Young in the order was Ben Bostrom, who turned a 1:41.292 in his first outing on his brand new factory Yamaha YZF-R1. Bostrom said the bike was “pretty amazing. I can’t wait to get the mapping and the chassis sorted out. But out of the box it has so much potential.” Bostrom’s teammate, Josh Hayes, was limited to a few laps by electrical gremlins in his new YZF-R1 and ended up sixth in the order with a 1:42.869, about 0.7-second behind Team Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich’s best, a 1:42.121. Former Endurance World Champion and current American Honda R&D test rider Doug Toland turned a 1:49.579 Friday, while Jeremy McWilliams’ test time on his Buell 1125R was cut short by technical issues. McWilliams plans to take his Buell out in tonight’s Daytona Sportbike practice under the lights. AMA Pro Racing Tire Test Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida December 5, 2008 American Superbike Provisional Test Times (all on Dunlop tires, as supplied by AMA Pro Racing): 1. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:38.626 2. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098 R), 1:40.595 3. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:41.122 4. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), 1:41.292 5. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:42.121 6. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:42.869 7. Doug Toland (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:49.579 8. Jeremy McWilliams (Buell 1125R), 2:14.615 More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway: AMA, Dunlop Kick Off Three-Day Tire Test At DIS DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 5, 2008) AMA Pro Racing and Dunlop tires kicked off a three-day test session on Friday at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for Daytona 200 Week By Honda on Feb. 27 March 7. The all-day test sessions will run Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A pair of three-hour night practice sessions are scheduled for Friday and Saturday starting at 6 p.m. in preparation for the inaugural nighttime running of the Daytona 200 By Honda Daytona SportBike race on Friday night, March 6. Among the riders in attendance for the test include Josh Hayes (Yamaha), Ben Bostrom (Yamaha), Jake Zemke (Erion Honda), Blake Young (M4 EMGO Suzuki), Chris Ulrich (Roadracingworld.com) and Neil Hodgson (American Honda). Riders are using two different race courses during the test the American Superbike on the short 2.9-mile course while Daytona SportBike is on the 3.51-mile road course. Before the three-day tire test even started on Friday, Richie Morris Racing announced a three-year sponsorship deal with GEICO Powersports in the Infield Media Center. Morris will field a Buell 1125R with veteran Florida rider Michael Barnes. Morris is still working on finalizing the details for his second team. For Barnes, who resides in Boca Raton, he says riding for Morris in the Daytona SportBike class for 2009 will be one of the best opportunities that he has had in his career. “This ranks right up there with some of the top rides that I have had,” Barnes said. “I think there’s more to come. It’s not an equation that is totally complete. We’ve still have got a lot of work to do. It’s been a long year in getting those details worked out. Now they are getting worked out, we can all get to work. “This is tremendous for me. My biggest opportunity came unfortunately after Vincent Haskovec’s injury (in 2005) and getting on John (Ulrich’s) team. The opportunity here with Richie and Buell, it’s a little bit more personalized in a sense. I’ve been chosen for my previous performances on Buell and my work with the company. I’m think I’m getting a little bit of reward for that and the years I’ve put in on the Buell.” Riders are preparing during the tire test for a Daytona 200 Week By Honda schedule with a new look. The Daytona 200 By Honda will be held under the lights for the first time on Friday night, March 6. The Daytona 200 By Honda was previously held on Saturday afternoon. The other significant change to the 2009 Daytona 200 Week By Honda schedule is the Daytona Supercross By Honda, America’s toughest and most demanding Supercross event, will now be held on Saturday night, March 7. The Daytona Supercross, which was previously held on Friday night, will now be contested on a traditional Saturday similar to all AMA Supercross events on the schedule. The three-day test session is open to the public. Fans can view the testing action with a $10 tram-tour only ticket available at Daytona 500 Experience. Ticket information for any of the Daytona 200 Week By Honda events are available online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.