Tire testing for the 2009 AMA Pro road racing series began under warm and sunny conditions this morning at Daytona International Speedway. Teams and riders in attendance include: American Honda’s Neil Hodgson and Doug Toland; Buell’s Jeremy McWilliams; Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke and Chris Peris; Geico Powersports Buell’s Michael Barnes; Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Tommy Aquino and Josh Herrin; LeoVince Foremost Pegram Ducati’s Larry Pegram; M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, Cory West and Blake Young; Richie Morris Racing’s Shawn Higbee; Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich; T. Westby Corp.’s Dane Westby; and Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom and Josh Hayes. American Honda’s 2009 racing plans have not been confirmed by the team, but they are testing American Superbike-spec CBR1000RRs with Neil Hodgson, who is already contracted to the team for 2009, and in-house R&D rider Toland, who is a former Endurance World Champion. Buell is planning to have McWilliams test racing kit parts on a 1125R to support teams that may wish to campaign that machine in American Superbike, according to Buell’s Steve Anderson. McWilliams has been involved with the 1125R project from early in its development. Erion Honda’s newest rider Peris is riding a CBR600RR that was built out of leftover 2008-spec parts and is wearing Zemke’s number one plate. Peris and Zemke will share the bike, after Zemke’s riding gear arrives at FedEx. Zemke said he and Erion Racing are in contract negotiations and that he is doing the tire test on a “gentleman’s agreement.” After announcing a three-year sponsorship deal with Geico Powersports earlier in the day, Richie Morris Racing started testing with Barnes and Higbee on Buell 1125Rs. Barnes is signed for 2009, but Team Owner Richie Morris is still working on sponsorship package with Bruce Rossmeyer’s H-D/Buell dealership for Higbee’s bike. Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Herrin is sporting new gear at the test, Shift leathers and a Bell helmet, while his new teammate Aquino is enjoying his first visit to “The World Center of Racing.” Rider/Team Owner Pegram has two Ducati 1098Rs at his disposal but cannot go out until the track is switched over from the 3.51-mile to the 2.95-mile course for the American Superbike session at 1:00 p.m. local time. American Superbike-class machines will run the 2.95-mile course, which bypasses the west banking, and Daytona SportBike will ride the 3.51-mile course, which includes both sections of the Speedway’s banking. After using Pirellis in 2008, M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Cardenas, West and Young are getting acclimated to Dunlop rubber on their GSX-R600 Daytona SportBikes. Young may also test tires on his 2008 model Superstock-spec GSX-R1000, according to Crew Chief/Team Manager Keith Perry. Roadracingworld.com’s Ulrich will ride his 2008-spec GSX-R1000s during the American Superbike sessions. Westby, a young standout privateer in the 2008 WERA National Challenge series, will test a pair of 2009 model Yamaha YZF-R6s. Bostrom and Hayes will ride their 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1s for the first time Friday afternoon.