"Had the conditions been a little bit better we might've slapped a qualifying tire on and tried to better our time from yesterday, but it was windy out there," explained Bostrom. "We felt fairly confident we had a great lap yesterday and could rest on that. We're here to win the 200 miler, not to just see it on pole position. I've never been on the front row here at Daytona. It's a great showing for the 999 for its first time here at Daytona. I'm really confident with it because it's been great all throughout testing and in practice. I think we're in a great position to win - we've got the bike and the tires and the team to do it."

Ducati Corse's Paolo Ciabatti declared, "We're very happy. We have a lap from yesterday that was hard to beat so today we didn't bother with the qualifying tire. We used the race tires so we could focus on the race set-up because the most important thing is winning on Saturday. We're happy to be back here with Eric, the 999 and Michelin on pole position. He's the first rider ever below 1.47 - it's a good start."

Team owner Terry Gregoricka was pleased with his team's efforts. "I'm not happy - I'm ecstatic! This has been a great weekend. We feel ready for Saturday. I know it's going to be a tough race, but Eric's been riding well and the team has been completely on the ball. I've been at Daytona a few times, but nothing compares to this year so far."

Eric joins his brother Ben as the first sibling combination to win poles for the Daytona 200 By Arai. Ben Bostrom captured the pole for last years race.

Rounding out the front row for the Daytona 200 By Arai was Hondas Ben Bostrom, Suzukis Mat Mladin and four-time and defending Daytona 200 By Arai champion Miguel Duhamel.

Mladin got down to business today, blasting his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike to a best lap time of 1-min 47.640 around the 5.729km (3.56 miles) famed banked circuit in Florida.

After being sixth fastest at the end of yesterday’s opening session, it was a different Mladin who turned up at the circuit today. He set the fastest time during the morning’s free practice and then elevated himself up the leader board to past the second fastest time in today’s second and final qualifying position.

A back-to-back winner of the Daytona 200 in 2000 & 2001, Mladin knows all to well what it takes to win the most prestigious race on the American calendar. Strategy will be a major factor in the outcome of the race as the juggle of speed, tyre wear and reliability all play a role.

“Everything went fine for us today, we’re on the front row for Saturday and that’s pretty much where we wanted to be by the end of qualifying,” said Mladin. “We’ve actually had two good days of qualifying here. We’ve achieved a lot, so there’s no complaints at the moment. I think we are looking okay for Saturday and that’s all we can ask for at the moment.”

“Things are definitely different here this year with the tyre battle between the two top brands. Last year we didn’t use soft qualifying tyres, but this year we are and look at the times. Eric obviously had a very good tyre for that lap he did yesterday. But at the end of all that though, we’ve got 57-laps to run on Saturday and score some points in the championship.”

“As usual tyre strategy will play a part in the race. There’s been a lot of talk about tyres here over the past few months, now we get to see the outcome. Pit stops will be crucial for sure as they always are, so it will be interesting to see who does what in the race.”

“The race will probably follow the same sort of pattern as usual where it will be fast early, possibly in the 49’s and gradually slip back to 52’s as the race goes on. We’ll see who can sustain their speed at the end.”

With qualifying for the Daytona 200 now complete, the riders will have a day off before the opening round of this years 18-round AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship gets underway.

The high profile 1,000cc Superstock class kicked off today with their first race coming right down to the wire.  Emerging victorious was Aaron Gobert who used the slipstream to sneak past his team-mate Jamie Hacking on the line in what proved to be a photo finish.  The top five crossed the covered by just over a tenth of a second!  Damon Buckmaster finished in fourth position after leading 10 laps of the 12 lap race.

Aaron Gobert, "That was the most incredible draft that I've ever had, I wasn't sure the bike was geared to go that high. I just kept on slipping by."

The Lockhart-Formula Xtreme event was dominated by Hondas as Duhamel held off a hard-charging Ben Bostrom for his 11th career victory at Daytona. Besides his four Daytona 200 By Arai wins, Duhamel owns six Pro Honda Oils Supersport triumphs.

Also completing their race weekend today were the competitors in the new 600cc Formula Xtreme series.  Here Honda led the way with the top four riders all aboard CBR600RR machines with Miguel Duhamel leading the way while Alex Gobert scored fourth place.

2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship - Combined Qualifying Times

1. Eric Bostrom (Ducati Austin) 1:46.835 mins
2. Ben Bostrom (American Honda) 1: 47.318
3. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1: 47.640
4. Miguel DuHamel (American Honda) 1: 47.679
5. Jake Zemke (Erion Honda) 1: 48.257
6. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1: 48.333
7. Larry Pegram (Yamaha) 1: 50.727
8. Pascal Picotte (Yamaha Canada) 1:51.417
9. Eric Wood (Suzuki) 1:51.431
10. Josh Hayes (Attack Kawasaki) 1:51.652

2004 American Supersport Championship (600cc) - Combined Qualifying Times

1. Jason Disalvo (Yamaha) 1m50.998
2. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki) 1m51.298
3. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 1m52.237
4. Aaron Gobert (Yamaha) 1m52.434
5. Damon Buckmaster (Yamaha) 1m52.492
6. Jamie Hacking (Yamaha) 1m52.547
7. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 1m52.764
8. Michael Barnes (Yamaha) 1m52.909
9. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 1m53.272
10. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 1m53.498

2004 American Formula Xtreme Championship (600cc) - Race Result

1. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
2. Ben Bostrom (Honda)
3. Jake Zemke (Honda)
4. Alex Gobert (Honda)
5. Pascal Picotte (Yamaha)
6. Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki)
7. Jacob Holden (Suzuki)
8. Jeff Wood (Yamaha)
9. Corey Eaton (Suzuki)
10. Frank Trombino (Yamaha)

2004 American Superstock (1000cc) Championship - Race Result

1. Aaron Gobert (Yamaha)
2. Jamie A Hacking (Yamaha)
3. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki)
4. Damon Buckmaster (Yamaha)
5. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki)
6. Jason Disalvo (Yamaha)
7. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki)
8. Ben Spies (Suzuki)
9. Steve Rapp (Suzuki)
10. John Haner (Suzuki)