BOSTROM QUALIFIES ON FRONT ROW AT DAYTONA Daytona (Florida): Ben Bostrom of the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team will start on the front row for Saturday’s Daytona Superbike race aboard his factory Ducati 999. Bostrom was third in Thursday’s session with a time of 1:38.012, held in sunny, cool Florida weather. Teammate Neil Hodgson qualified sixth with a time of 1:38.491 and showed a consistent pace throughout qualifying that he hopes to maintain for race distance. “It’s good to be on the front row, but at the same time, I’m a little disappointed,” said Bostrom, the 1998 AMA Superbike champion. “As sure as I threw my leg over that motorcycle, I thought I could have done a high 1:36 and I thought no one could stop me for pole position. The track really changed out there for our second session, though. There wasn’t as much grip as I would have liked. The times from the others were pretty hot but I don’t know if the other guys can turn those lap times all day on Saturday. We’re looking really good for the race, especially since the Ducati seems to pull all the way down the straight. The 999 seems like a quick starter off the line, too. I can’t wait.” Bostrom has plenty of experience at Daytona, and won the pole and finished second in 2003. However, Ben raced in Europe last season and missed the inaugural race on the new track configuration. Neil Hodgson finished a competitive second in last year’s race, though, despite it being just his first attempt on the high banks of Daytona. “The race package we have is quite good,” said Hodgson, a resident of the Isle of Man. “We have chosen a tire and we know exactly what we have with our settings. There are some races that you aren’t sure of where you stand, but this isn’t one of them. Looking at the lap-by-lap times of all the riders, I think it’s going to be a close race. I’m a little disappointed to be on the second row. I thought we had enough to start out front, but that’s racing.” Saturday’s 15-lap race will begin at 11:15 AM local time. Qualifying Times: 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 1:37.075 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 1:37.559 3. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 1:38.012 4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 1:38.337 5. Jake Zemke, Honda 1:38.398 6. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati1:38.491 7. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki 1:38.573 8. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 1:38.904 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A.: YAMAHA’S DiSALVO AND BOSTROM ON FRONT ROW FOR DAYTONA 200 ________________________________________________________________________ Daytona Beach, March 10, 2006,”” Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo and Eric Bostrom provided a fitting return for the most successful manufacturer in the history of the Daytona 200, with both riders qualifying on the front row for Saturday’s Daytona 200 Formula Xtreme race at Daytona International Speedway. With an unprecedented 18 wins to its credit Yamaha hopes to add to that total with its new weapon, the YZF-R6. The R6 is poised to join a host of history making race bikes, including the TZ 350, TZ-700, TZ-750, OW68, and YZF-750, in the pantheon of motorcycle racing history. Today was the first step. DiSalvo, who was consistently the fastest in all three practice sessions, finished less than a tenth of a second off the pole position in preparation for his first Formula Xtreme race. A past winner here in the Supersport class, the New Yorker said a slight miscommunication meant he was unable to take full advantage of one of his three qualifying tires. Bostrom, a champion in both the 600cc Supersport and 1000cc Formula Xtreme classes, was returning to the 600cc class for the first time since 2002. The Californian spent much of the session preparing the new Yamaha R6 for the Daytona 200, his first for Yamaha, while searching for that one blistering lap. The Californian, who’s finished second in the Daytona 200, was three-tenths of a second behind his teammate and third on the front row of the 69-rider grid. Saturday’s 65th running of the Daytona 200 marks the return of Yamaha to the most prestigious race on the AMA calendar for the first time since 2002. Jason DiSalvo, 2nd, 1:41.014 “I was all tense and nervous going out and I made mistakes and everything. I actually went two laps on the second (qualifying tire) because I did five (laps) on the (first) one. I could do two laps no problem. It was just a little lack of communication and I was pretty frustrated afterwards. I know if I could have just hit my marks, I’m pretty confident I could have gone like a mid-40. That’s just the way it goes. What I would like to do Saturday is go out and win the 200 and use the bonus money to buy a Rolex. So that’s my plan.” Eric Bostrom, 3rd, 1:41.341 “The team’s really done a fantastic job. I feel the bike’s obviously good because the first time they came down here and tested, Jason (DiSalvo) and Jamie (Hacking) went pretty good on the thing. For me that was not the case. Got down here and was pretty far off the pace. Just been getting better and better for me each time on the bike and that last session was the first time able to run 41’s on the race tires. We’re in good shape. The team has really done a great job because, obviously, it’s very difficult to build a race bike for the 200 in such a short time. They’d done Supersport for the last few years and to go to a more heavily modified class, and show speed straight away, that shows a lot.” More, from a press release issued on behalf of Hotbodies Racing: Team Hotbodies Racing and the World Center of Speed The first flag flew for the 2006 AMA Superbike motorcycle road racing season, setting off the battle for the Superstock Championship, at Daytona International Speedway. Team Hotbodies privateers Cory West and Taylor Knapp, both returning to the team after strong 2005 seasons, showed themselves proudly in the contest, respectively finishing 15th and 20th, after West fought for position in sight of the podium. Having been running as high as fifth in mid-race, West said later, “I got a great start from my fourth row qualifying position and I was almost immediately in a battle with Buckmaster and Holden, in the front group. I got around them and was in fifth behind Yates and I could tell I was catching him. I tried throwing a rope around him and then my rear tire started going off and there was nothing I could do. I’ve never had it happen like that before. It’s hard to say why it went like that. I have to give great thanks to Don Finelli; he did all the bike’s suspension and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have been able to hang on to what did. My mechanic Chuck Giachetto, my dad and Roger also all worked like crazy to give me this chance.” Taylor Knapp qualified an uncharacteristic 29th but also made huge gains on the start, finding himself up ten positions on the first lap. After the race Knapp said, “Our practice started out a bit hard. This is my second time at Daytona and first time on the Suzuki. We had trouble figuring out the gearing for the infield and when we tried out a power shifter I hit a false neutral and crashed in the infield left hander. That set us back and I ended up qualifying badly. For the race we set the bike back to where we’d started and it was better. My race was pretty smooth and I was in a battle with a few guys for the whole race until I hit a false neutral again on the last lap and ran off the track. We were so far ahead of the next group though that I didn’t lose any places. I’m looking forward to Barber where I’ll have my 600 to race too.” Joining team Hotbodies Racing for 2006 is Barrett Long, in his second year of the AMA Superbike series. Long finished 16th in Daytona’s Supersport race, after drifting back late in the contest from his battle for 11th place. Long said, “I moved up on the start and was in a drafting battle with a group all the way. My father [ex-racer John Long] does the bike and it ran great. We’re both grateful for the help of my dad’s long-time friend George Corbato. He bought the bike for me and without him we wouldn’t be here. I’m looking forward to a great season and to doing the 200 on Saturday.” Roger Davis, founder of Hotbodies Racing, said, “We’re all really happy with our showing at Daytona International Speedway. Just being part of the program here is exciting because of all the history; it’s the big show. But Cory running fifth in the Superstock race is exactly why we do this. He’s growing as a racer and making great advantage of the opportunity we’ve given him, moving up to the front of the pack. We’re very proud of him for that. It gives the whole team a lift” More, from a press release issued by Rory Rock: Rory Rock Daytona results My Daytona weekend is now officially over after a holed radiator in the Superstock final saw me post a DNF. Up to this point things had been going reasonably good, even though my new ZX10RR is still in very standard trim with just a race shock and fork mods done I had qualified in 27th place for the Superstock race. I posted a 1:46.3 in qualifying but got down to a 1:45.4 in Superbike qualifying which saw me miss out on making the final by just 0.5 of a second. That was a bit hard to take as I was getting quicker with every session and think I would have got in pretty easily if I had a chance to ride the track before the weekend started. The final for Superstock saw me get a terrible start, a combination of extremely tall gearing and no experience on the new bike I guess. That didnt stop me moving up the pack and on my first flying lap i posted a 1:45.2 which was my quickest for the weekend, I was running in 23rd at this point. Next lap round and I was wide open in top gear (approx 180mph) at the top of the banking where you are nearlly skimming the concrete wall and water sprayed all over my screen and visor. A stone had been thrown up into my radiator splitting it and causing me to pull into the pits. It was a bit dissapointing to not finish but we have achieved a lot this week on the new bike plus I have done a lot of laps in a race environment which will make a big difference when we get to Brands Hatch. Daytona was a unique experience that I have really enjoyed and would love to do again next year. The banking is something else to ride on although pretty scary, I have massive bruises all down my chest from hitting the tank under the g forces. When you hit the middle of the banking you can hardly move, it is even hard to lift your foot up to shift gears. Round 1 of the British Superstock Championship is at Brands Hatch on the 26th March so hopefully some of you can make it to that one. I am felling really confident this season and the new bikes have shown great potential. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: MAY’S VALIANT SUPERSTOCK CHARGE COMES UP SHORT Team M4 EMGO Suzuki came into Thursday at Daytona International Raceway with high hopes for Geoff May and he didn’t disappoint. The Georgian fought for the lead and consistently diced with the AMA roadracing series’ top racers before ultimately scoring two strong results. Starting from the second grid position on the front row in the Superstock final, May immediately headed to the front aboard his powerful GSX-R1000, holding down first place for the opening seven laps of the 13-lap contest. Unfortunately, grip issues prevented him from fully capitalizing on his form and his bike’s speed. A last-lap clash with the reigning class champion saw May cross the line in fourth, just hundredths of a second off the podium. “Today was disappointing for us,” said May. “It wasn’t what I wanted. After all that happened last season, I really wanted to win the Superstock race for Vincent and the team and myself. I felt like we had it. I had trained hard all winter and the guys gave me a great bike. I knew I had to go as hard as I could and control the pace. We chose the hardest tire, but the pace for the race was very fast. Leading those laps, it was looking good for a while but then I started to lose grip. By the end, it was pretty tough to hang on and the last three laps, I was doing all I could not to crash, to keep the bike upright. Then (Aaron) Yates caught me and we lost a spot on the podium. That stung pretty bad.” Immediately following the Superstock contest, May returned to the track to take on the 22-lap Supersport race. Once again he battled near the front of the pack, securing a spot in the top five in the early going. A brief run off into the grass late relegated May to a solid seventh place result in the team’s first AMA race aboard the new for ’06 GSX-R600. Completing the races was only half the battle for the Georgian on Thursday. May’s packed schedule also saw him qualify for the Daytona 200 aboard the team’s Pirelli-shod Formula Xtreme racer in the afternoon just prior to the two finals. Geoff, however, had to drop his bid to race all four classes this weekend after Mike Barnes was injured. “We had to drop Superbike,” said May. “I had trained for Superstock for four months and that race was very important to us. Plus, the 200 is very important for Suzuki. We know we have good tires for that race. The plan is to use my GSX-R600 but to pull the trick bits off Barney’s bike. We want to redeem ourselves in that one.” Still adapting to the FX machine, May managed a respectable top-ten showing in qualifying. He earned the inside position on the third row, qualifying ninth with a best lap of 1:43.520. The team’s newest member, Shea Fouchek, completed his first AMA final with the squad. Fouchek finished in 20th in the 100k Supersport race aboard his GSX-R600, remaining on the lead lap and establishing the groundwork for continued improvement as the season progresses. Following a one-day break from action on Friday, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki will return to the track on Saturday for the Daytona 200. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A.: YAMAHA ONE-TWO IN DAYTONA SUPERSTOCK Daytona Beach, March 10, 2006,”” Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking used a classic draft pass on teammate Jason DiSalvo to claim the Superstock victory on a sunny Thursday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway. From the Superstock podium Hacking jumped straight on his Yamaha R6 and nearly swept both races by finishing a close second in the Supersport race. Eric Bostrom, the third member of the Yamaha team, suffered a clutch failure early in the Superstock race and was forced to withdraw. In the 13-lap Superstock final, the veteran Hacking led across the stripe to begin the final lap before Disalvo took over the lead going into turn one. Once DiSalvo was in front, Hacking drew on his nine years of Daytona experience to size up his teammate for the all-important run from the back straight chicane, through the 31 degree banking of NASCAR turns three and four, and down to the checkered flag at the peak of the Daytona tri-oval. Hacking timed it perfectly, winning his first ever professional race at Daytona by a mere .072 seconds. The win was also Yamaha’s first in the Daytona Superstock race and a sterling debut for the new Yamaha YZF-R1 LE. Traffic in the final stages of the 22-lap Supersport race kept Hacking from making a last lap assault on race leader Roger Lee Hayden of Kawasaki. But he was able to pass Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden to take the runner-up position. Jamie Hacking, 1st Place, Superstock “My main focus was to win that race and I just sat behind (Jason DiSalvo). I just let him do his thing and I did my thing and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Went on to the last lap there, it was perfect clear lap, went into the chicane, he headed off in there and I figured he was going to stop coming out. He lit it up. I let him go. That was it, it was over. I just breathed it a little bit on the banking and said, ‘You mine, sucker.’ I said, ‘This is over right here. I’m putting this one in the bank.’ If I have to hit that (Supercross track) triple-jump going on the front straightaway in the dirt, I’m going to go across the line in there. He dove down to the inside. I said I’m going to go on underneath. I did. I dove in underneath there and like I said it felt good to come cross that start-finish line with that checkered flag waving right across in front of me. Felt good.” Jason DiSalvo, 2nd Superstock “It was a good race. I don’t know if I would have done anything different. It was just kind of a roll of a dice there at the end, the last lap. I blame myself because I left the door open a little at the bottom. And I know all about shutting doors here at Daytona. I was coming into the tri-oval and I was like, ‘I haven’t seen Jamie (Hacking) yet, so I think I’ve got this one.’ Then it was like, “I got second.’ It was that fast. It was a good race and it was cool for Yamaha to go one-two. That draft was perfect. So congrats to him and we’ll just mark that down in our notebooks and look forward to next year.” Jamie Hacking, 2nd Supersport “I definitely gave it away. I don’t have anything else to say, really, other than the bike worked really well. Roger (Hayden) rode a great race, so did Tommy (Hayden). I had a couple of moments where I lost the front a little bit and kind of backed off and didn’t feel quite comfortable with what was happening. Rog kind of got really aggressive there in the lappers and he knew what he had to do to kind of get him a good gap and he did a good job and played it out right and when I was backing off he was getting a little more aggressive. So I lost the race right there.” Keith McCarty, Team Manager “I think the guys have really been working hard, putting in a lot of late hours. And it’s truly great to come down to this race and have it all pay off. It’s the biggest race of the year for most of us. Daytona is Daytona, so you really want to put your best foot forward, but without putting a lot of pressure on people. It’s on the first of many races for the year. I’m really happy for them because it shows their race and dedication and everything went pretty flawless. We had a problem with Eric’s bike in Superstock. That’s racing. You don’t like it when it happen, but it does. Jamie and Jason did a good job. Very close, very nerve-wracking for me for that many laps to have them that close. What a great experience. A great way to start the week and the season.” More, from a press release issued by Jason DiSalvo’s publicist: Jason DiSalvo of Las Vegas, NV and Stafford, NY is currently racing multiple events at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. With three days of qualifying and racing Jason spent Wednesday, March 8th practicing for Formula Xtreme and qualifying for the 1000cc Superstock class. During Wednesday’s events Jason was consistently the fastest in all classes ultimately smashing the 1000cc Superstock record with a blistering 1 minute 39.18 seconds. This time put Jason in the pole position. On Thursday, during practice and qualifying, Jason maintained his top positions during the day. The 50 minute qualifying session began at 2:30PM, as teams and spectators observed riders in and out of the pits with tire changes and bike adjustments, they could only wonder who would be the top man. Late in the session, Jason moved from second place. With less than 2 minutes to go unfortunately his efforts were for naught as he qualified 2nd in the Formula Xtreme class for the Daytona 200 event. At 3.30PM the grid for the Superstock class began to form for the beginning of the first race of the day. At the start of the race Jason ran 2nd for the first few laps moving into first, then controlling the race until the finish line where he was bit by the Daytona draft, that unpredictable slingshot effect that changes so many Daytona race finishes. With Friday a day of rest for the team Jason returns to action on Saturday, March 11th for the Daytona 200, which will be televised live on speed channel at 1:30pm.