From Daytona International Speedway
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – As the AMA Pro Road Racing season comes to a conclusion in early September, a couple of teams made a visit to historic Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday for a two-day Dunlop tire test in advance of the 2012 racing season.
The riders in attendance included Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes and Josh Herrin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young and Tommy Hayden (pictured) and Team M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, Chris Ulrich and Dane Westby. Both the 3.51-mile road course and the 2.9-mile road course were used during the test.
“We really didn’t get to test a whole lot with the (bikes),” Hayes said. “We’re primarily here to (test) the tires. We did a few laps, made a few setting changes early on, and from that point we had limited track time and a lot of tires to run through. We came here to do our work and earn our keep. I can’t think of a better job.”
Hayes is locked in a tight championship battle as the AMA Pro Road Racing concludes its season at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sept. 2-4.
The defending AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike champion trails Young by five points entering the final race weekend.
“New Jersey has been a good track to me,” Hayes said. “I’ve won all four SuperBike races they have ever run there. If I can go there and play it smart, maybe I can still pull this off. It’s a really close championship. Blake is leading right now. I’ve done a lot of good work this year and will try to put together one more weekend.”
The 71st Daytona 200 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike motorcycle classic will once again serve as the finale for 2012 Daytona 200 Week on Saturday afternoon, March 17. Daytona 200 Week motorcycle racing will begin on Saturday night, March 10 with the Daytona Supercross.
Tickets for the Daytona 200 and Daytona Supercross are available by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or visiting online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.
