Daytona Tire Test a Washout

Henny Ray Abrams | January 17, 2011

DAYTONA BEACH, FL, JAN 17 – The first of two days of testing at Daytona International Speedway has been scrubbed by a cold, persistent rain that is expected to continue well into the day.AMA race director Dave McGrath made the announcement at the 11 a.m. rider’s meeting. He said the front which was over the Speedway was expected to remain in place for most of the day, wiping out any hope of on-track action. The rain will also likely delay the start of riding tomorrow, though McGrath said the AMA was working with the Speedway to maximize track time. McGrath also said staying on Wednesday wasn’t an option, since the track is booked every day through the end of Bike Week.

Today was only scheduled to include half a day of track time, starting at noon. Yesterday the track was occupied by a Richard Petty Driving Experience school, which meant track personnel needed time to prepare the track and the teams needed time to unload and set up.A full slate of practice is set for Wednesday, with three different sessions. The Superbikes will run alone on the short course. Daytona SportBike will run by themselves on the long course, with the combined Harley-Davidson XR1200 and SuperSport classes running together, also on the long course.Among the 53 riders not on the original release issued by AMA Pro Racing was Jake Zemke. Zemke will ride the Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha R6 in the Daytona 200. At the moment, it’s a one-race deal, according to team owner Perry Melneciuc, though he’s hopeful that the team will be able to do the entire schedule.