Daytona 200 J2: Ducati takes pole position without aspiration!

La first day of the 80th edition of the 200 Miles of Daytona experienced some disruptions, mainly meteorological, but finally offered us the spectacle of the usual Yamaha 600cc managing to contain the larger displacement motorcycles are the Ducati Panigale V2 and other Triumph 765 Triumph Street Triple RS recently admitted in the Supersport category thanks to a new regulations.

At the end of an untimed free practice session and a first qualifying session, he is the newcomer Cameron Petersen who was the fastest, in 1'50.544, riding his Yamaha from the Attack Performance Yamaha team. Sheridan Morais (Syntainics Racing Team) and Joshua Hayes (Squid Hunter) completed Iwata's domination in front of the first Ducati, that of Josh Herrin for the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team in which he was racing Loris Baz last year.

Cameron Petersen (Photo by Brian J. Nelson)

“It’s an adventure, honestly”, said Cameron Petersen about his first involvement in banking at Daytona International Speedway. “On my first outing I left the pits with all the fast guys and the first thing they did was go to the top of the banking, so I went up there with them. It took me two good turns to keep my throttle wide open up there. It's a bit of an adventure. Honestly, it's a lot of fun. I have a lot of fun at this place. It's a very easy track but a lot of fun.
I know they had problems with timing and scoring and all that today, so I walked in and saw my number at the top of the board. I was just like…something’s wrong! Even Richard (Stanboli, team owner) said: “CIt’s not possible, it’s not possible that you are the fastest.” They confirmed it and I still can't believe it. I just put myself in the right spot and got the perfect turn and the perfect slip behind Shez (Morais). It was good and I'm looking forward to the sequel. »

Behind this quartet, we found the two Triumphs from the TOBC Racing team, with the two contenders for victory being Brandon Pasch et Danny Eslick, while the essential Jake Gagne, disappointed, had to settle for provisional 8th position aboard his white and red R6.

This Friday, the program included a second 30-minute qualifying session for both groups A and B, as well as a unique 15-minute “Daytona Supersport Time Attack” for the 12 fastest.
Like the day before, the times were adapted but all the sessions could take place in the dry.

The second qualifying of Group A, which contains the fastest drivers, did not improve Thursday's times, Max Angles running a time of 1'51.231 on his Max Angles Racing team Kawasaki. The first “non-600cc” is the multiple winner’s Triumph Danny Eslick, in 4th position for the TOBC Racing team.

With the drivers in Group B being slower overall, the combined rankings from the day before remained valid until the 15-minute “Daytona Supersport Time Attack” for the 12 fastest.

The, Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC) made his Ducati Panigale V2 do the talking by achieving 1'50.088, only a hundredth of a second ahead of the Yamaha of Sheridan Morais (Syntainics Racing Team)!

Josh Herrin (Photo by Brian J. Nelson)

“I came here two years ago and it obviously wasn't a MotoAmerica race at the time, but we got the pole and then it was taken away and the race was canceled, so it was a big disappointment”, declared the former teammate of Johann Zarco, happy. “For me, I always wanted to get the pole because from a young age, if you got the pole here, you got the Rolex. I won the race and I didn't get the Rolex and I didn't get the pole at the time. It was super important for me to try to get pole… just for confidence and for the guys to think a little bit about our speed, especially without slipstream. I was looking for slipstream the whole lap and I couldn't get it, so I just put my head down and pushed really hard on the road section and I was able to get pole. I'm happy to get it, happy for the HSBK Warhorse Ducati team and putting the V2 on pole. I'm ready for tomorrow's race. »

On his official Attack Performance Yamaha Yamaha, Jake Gagne took 3rd position on the grid, a result which improved compared to Thursday but already 3 tenths behind the poleman.

No one knows what will happen tomorrow during the 57-lap race, but we can already see that the balance between the 600cc and the others is already well adjusted: enough to reassure most of the competitors in the Supersport world championship. …

French side, Timothée Monot  will start 37th, after having achieved 2'00.204.

Note that Joshua Hayes (Squid Hunter) qualified 7th, will start last on the grid for having used coolant. containing substances other than water based on visual inspection"