AMA Superbike Qualifying

Mladin Leads Suzuki Parade In Superbike Qualifying: Aussie Mat Mladin ripped a fast lap of one minute, 38.232 seconds, 108.111 mph on Daytona International Speedway's new 2.95-mile motorcycle road course to win the pole for Saturday's AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited.

Mladin, a five-time AMA Superbike champion who earned his second Superbike pole at the legendary facility and the 38th of his AMA career, wasn't the only rider that was fast on a Suzuki during the qualifying session.

Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Ben Spies and Aaron Yates also cracked the front row for Saturday's 15-lap event. Spies qualified second with a lap of 107.313 mph while Yates qualified fourth with a speed of 106.313.

"We have a great motorcycle this year and to have three Suzuki's on the front row is amazing," Mladin said. "It just goes to show the strength of the Suzuki and what Suzuki has given us for this year's race season. I couldn't have done a better lap."

England's Neil Hodgson was the only non-Suzuki rider to qualify on the front row with a lap of 106.323 on his Ducati. Hodgson, who has made only one previous trip to Daytona International Speedway in 1995, was delighted with his third-place qualifying effort.

"My strategy was to go fast as fast as I could," Hodgson said. "I didn't really want to even follow anybody. I tired to do my own thing. I was working on the setting a little bit. I needed to concentrate on me and my bike and sort of get the feeling and understand it."

FX600 Qualifying

Canadian Miguel Duhamel captured his first Daytona 200 By Honda pole on Thursday touring the new 2.95-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway in one minute, 42.593 seconds, 103.516 mph aboard his No. 1 Honda CBR600RR.

Duhamel, who is chasing his fifth Daytona 200 By Honda victory which would tie him for the all-time lead with Scott Russell, will be awarded with a Rolex watch for his pole winning effort during Saturday's pre-race ceremonies.

"I've been close," Duhamel said. "91, I had the pole and Doug Polen comes around on a Ducati and steals it away. I thought I'll get it next year but it took a little bit longer. It feels great to get the Daytona Rolex. It was something that was missing from souvenir tray. Finally, I'm able to get it."

Rounding out the front row for the 64th edition of the motorcycle classic will be factory Honda rider Jake Zemke (103.510), Attack Kawasaki's Josh Hayes (103.095) and Erion Honda's Kurtis Roberts (102.558).

Duhamel waited until late in the 50-minute qualifying session to have the stickiest qualifying tires mounted on his Honda. The pole lap was set on his very last circuit of the new course. Duhamel saw his name go to the top of the leader board, but he decided not to celebrate until he rode back into the pits for confirmation.

"On the cool off lap, I wasn't going to be celebrating too hard because I knew Jake went out almost the same time as me," Duhamel said. "I was thinking he probably timed it better. I still thought there was a really good chance he was going to beat my time. I kept looking at the board and looking at the board. I was first but I was just fearing the 98 was going to get back on the 1 because he went out with new tires too. I didn't want to celebrate but it turned out it was alright."

For Duhamel, winning a record Daytona 200 By Honda would special.

"I'm not going to celebrate or think too much about something I haven't accomplished yet," Duhamel said. "I'm going to drop the clutch for the 200. I've got a great team. We did some great pit stops. Hopefully at the end if we win it we're probably going to tear one up pretty good."

Supersport Race

Tommy Hayden, of Owensboro, Ky., put on a dominating performance aboard his No. 1 factory Kawasaki to claim victory Thursday's Pro Honda Oils Supersport final at historic Daytona International Speedway.

Hayden's margin of victory over second-place rider Jamie Hacking was 3.723 seconds, the largest margin of victory in the Daytona Supersport race since 1998.

"Since we got here we made very few changes," Hayden said. "The bike was really good. I definitely couldn't ask more out of my bike, I mean the thing was unbelievable, easy to ride and super fast. I got the pole and I think I led every lap so I couldn't ask for anything better.

"You come in with a new track and a new bike and you never know what to expect. Obviously this is how I wanted it to turn out. I've been here many times on slow bikes so it felt really good when I got out there and had the fastest bike."

This year's Pro Honda Oils Supersport marked another heartbreaker for second-place finisher Hacking, who has now finished runner up at Daytona in major events three times. Jason DiSalvo nosed out Suzuki's Ben Spies for third place.

Repsol Superstock Race

Vincent Haskovec, a native of the Czech Republic, earned his first Daytona International Speedway victory in the Repsol Superstock final. Haskovec moved his M4 EMGO Suzuki into the lead with three laps to go and held off Yoshimura Suzuki's Aaron Yates.

It marked Haskovec's second-career AMA victory and the third Daytona Superstock win for the M4 EMGO Suzuki squad.

"I was really pleased when I saw them 10-15 bike lengths behind," Haskovec said. "I just put my head down and just rolled. The motorcycle was amazing, and the tires were working real well with the setup we got - the change we made right after the qualifying made the difference."

Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki's Jason Pridmore was third giving Suzuki its first Daytona Superstock podium sweep in three years.