Ducati's Troy Bayliss Takes Superbike Pole for Daytona 200
by Dirck Edge
Sunday's prestigious Daytona 200 Superbike race will find Ducati's Troy Bayliss on pole position. Bayliss, who has
never before raced at Daytona, was a quick study as he blitzed through to a very fast time, edging Suzuki's Mat
Mladin by .008 of a second. Mladin will grid in second spot, ahead of Honda's Nicky Hayden and Ducati's Larry
Pegram, who will fill out the front row.
The second row is led by Kawasaki teammates Doug Chandler and Eric Bostrom, with Honda's Miguel Duhamel
qualifying seventh, and Ducati's Steve Rapp qualifying eighth.
In the post-qualification press conference, Bayliss was calm in discussing his performance, and humble about his
chances in Sunday's race. He noted that he never before raced at Daytona, and had never before dealt with pit
stops for tire changes. Mladin, meanwhile, felt he could have gone quicker, but problems with his "fast lap" tire held
him back. Nicky Hayden also felt he could have gone quicker on the new Honda v-twin RC51.
Honda's Miguel Duhamel was disappointed with seventh place -- still suffering neck pain and spasms.
In final qualifying for tomorrow's 600 Super Sport race, Honda's Kurtis Roberts broke the track record for a 600 to
take pole, with Kawasaki's Eric Bostrom in second, followed by Honda's Nicky Hayden and Kawasaki's Doug
Chandler. The 600 race at Daytona is always a thriller, and tomorrow's race should be a real treat. This is the only
time all year that three-time AMA Superbike champion Doug Chandler will ride the 600 class, and the Kawasakis
were apparently very fast and well set-up for a redesigned bike. Honda has the depth, however, taking four of the
top six qualifying spots (the only bike in the top six other than the Kawasakis of Bostrom and Chandler).
Somewhat surprisingly, Yamaha's Tommy Hayden qualified back in 11th position. Tommy had been on pole more
than once last year in the 600 class, and battled his brother Nicky throughout the year for the championship before
finishing second overall. Indeed, the 600 field is so deep that the man way back in 13th place in qualifying,
Yamaha's Jamie Hacking, was a race winner last year in the 600 class. We'll have a thorough race analysis
tomorrow.
Superbike Combined Qualifying Results (Top 10)
1.Troy Bayliss (#88 - Ducati) 1:49.075
2.Mat Mladin (#1 - Suzuki) 1:49.083
3.Nicky Hayden (#69 - Honda) 1:49.500
4.Larry Pegram (#72 - Ducati) 1:49.887
5.Doug Chandler (#10 - Kawasaki) 1:50.044
6.Eric Bostrom (#32 - Kawasaki) 1:50.683
7.Miguel Duhamel (#17 - Honda) 1:50.774
8.Steve Rapp (#82 - Ducati) 1:50.957
9.Tommy Hayden (#22 - Yamaha) 1:51.188
10.Aaron Yates (#20 - Suzuki) 1:51.234
600 Super Sport Combined Qualifying Results (Top 10)
1.Kurtis Roberts (#80 - Honda) 1:54.147
2.Eric Bostrom (#32 - Kawasaki) 1:54.431
3.Nicky Hayden (#1 - Honda) 1:54.731
4.Doug Chandler (#101 - Kawasaki) 1:55.045
5.Miguel Duhamel (#17 - Honda) 1:55.249
6.Joshua Kurt Hayes (#131 - Honda) 1:55.294
7.Jason Pridmore (#43 - Suzuki) 1:55.622
8.Aaron Yates (#20 - Suzuki) 1:55.668
9.Damon Buckmaster (#6 - Suzuki) 1:55.682
10.Richard Alexander (#5 - Yamaha) 1:55.701
