From a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.: With 18 Daytona 200 wins to its credit–including an unprecedented, unbeaten string of 13 Daytona 200 victories in a row–the words “Daytona Special” do not just apply to the white-and-red 1979 RD400F that many of you remember fondly, and some of you were lucky enough to own, or still own. Daytona IS Special to Yamaha. It’s the track where Kenny Roberts won the 200 three times–including twice in a row–on his legendary bumblebee-liveried two-strokes. Where Eddie Lawson won the Daytona 200 twice on five-valve Yamaha’s–once in 1986 aboard an FZ750S and once again seven years later, fittingly on his Number 7 FZR750RR OW01. Daytona is also where Scott Russell, Mr. Daytona himself, cemented his legendary status with two Daytona 200 wins in a row–in 1997 and 1998–on a YZF750R. Yes, the High Banks of Daytona have been good to Yamaha. And, this week and weekend, Brand Y is hoping that the Daytona Magic continues. Why wouldn’t it? The team is heading southeast with, arguably, one of its most formidable lineups of men and machines. The Men. Eric Bostrom is a seasoned veteran of the Superbike class. He’ll turn 32 this November to match his iconic “32” competition number. Eric has turned a wheel in anger on no less than four different brands of Superbikes. But, he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s been his happiest and most content with Yamaha. He loves the team, and this off-season, he re-doubled his efforts to capitalize on his fitness, racecraft, and experience to make this his best year ever on the blue bike. He posted lightning-fast times at the December Dunlop Tire Test at Daytona, so look for E-Boz this week to pick up right where he left off prior to last Christmas. Jason DiSalvo has also logged a lot of laps on a racebike. Despite his still young age””Jason just turned 24 last month–he knows Daytona as well as almost anybody. He considers Daytona International Speedway one of his home tracks, since his grew up with the annual spring ritual of traveling from his native western New York down to Daytona to try his hand on the high banks. He knows the track and he’s been riding the Yamaha YZF-R1 for a number of years. Jason also posted some blistering-fast times during the Dunlop Tire Test at Daytona, so try to focus, if you can, on that blurred number 40 screaming around the DIS roadcourse. Talk about experience, Ben Bostrom–who’ll turn 34 in May–is the walking definition of the phrase “been there, done that.” The elder of the Boz Bros, Ben has raced Superbike both here in the U.S. and also in the world ranks. In WSBK, he learned that, when the light turns green, you go all out for every lap until you see the checkers. And, like his brother Eric, Ben spent the off-season re-dedicating himself to racing. As a member of the Yamaha Graves Motorsports Team, he’ll be focusing on Supersport this season–without a doubt the single most competitive class in U.S. motorcycle roadracing. Josh Herrin’s remarkable talent on a motorcycle belies his years. He’s still just 17 years old and will turn 18 in May, but he’s already proven himself to be a winner on a Yamaha 600. This year, he’s determined to race for the Supersport championship, gunning for his affable teammate Ben Bostrom, as well as all the other talented competitors in the 600 stock-racing class. Together on the Yamaha Graves Motorsports Team, Josh and Ben will be forces to be reckoned with at Daytona and beyond. The Machines. For the 2008 U.S. Superbike season, the Yamaha YZF-R1 is back and better than ever. With a solid year of development under its belt, the bike will also benefit from a development and engineering influx from across the pond. Yamaha US worked closely with the Factory Yamaha World Superbike Team, in order to glean some advantages from the bikes that Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga are campaigning in WSBK. The collaboration already reaped benefits at the December Dunlop Tire Tests at Daytona because the R1 Superbike was one of the fastest bikes at the test, and that was three months ago. Now that it’s March, the R1 development curve is that much further along, so the team is even more prepared for the first Superbike race of the season this coming Saturday. The 2008 Yamaha YZF-R6 is, by far, Yamaha’s most-advanced production 600cc motorcycle ever, and it’s a potent machine to campaign in U.S. Supersport racing. Like its larger-displacement sibling, the new R6 benefits from the same YCC-I–Yamaha Chip Controlled-Intake–that was a new feature on the YZF-R1 last year. Along with its fly-by-wire throttle, slipper-type back-torque-limiting clutch, and all-new chassis, the R6 is bristling with the technologically advanced features that will greatly benefit Ben Bostrom and Josh Herrin at Daytona and throughout the U.S. Supersport season. The Beach. Yamaha has been a winner so many times at Daytona that the company used to run ads declaring that the site should be re-named “Yamaha Beach.” And, when Yamaha reaches the Beach this week, they’ll be performing at high tide for riding talent and motorcycle prowess. Get ready for the blue bikes to make this year another Daytona Special.