The final component of the build up for the 82nd running of the Daytona 200 was the Time Attack session on Friday afternoon, March 8, for the top 12 riders by time (after two Q sessions) in the MotoAmerica Supersport category.
A deep field for the unique season-opening event means that more than twenty racers have a legitimate shot at a win on Saturday, March 9. With a race that lasts 57 laps and includes pit stops for fuel and tires, a single lap of Qualifying is probably less useful than at any other venue.
In the old days, Pole earned a Rolex watch – now that goes to the race winner.
On the flip side, the big field is divided into two groups for most sessions, so in Time Attack there is finally clear running for the 12 fastest guys – even if it’s only 15 minutes. That means you look for someone to slip stream with, and it helps if they are a team-mate on a near identical machine. As well, you stop mid-session and throw on a new rear tire, and get back for a last blast ASAP.
The man who made the most of this structure was on a bike expected to shine, one of the four Vision Wheels M4 Ecstar Suzuki GSX-R750s entered in the famed 200. However, Tyler Scott wasn’t necessarily the top ranked of his team going in – but the 18-year-old made the most of the opportunity.
Scott ran in the draft early, stopped for a tire, and then went back out all on his own, climbing up the order and eventually securing the first starting spot. The rest of the top nine riders were busy running in groups, and the slip stream is said to be worth more than a second over Daytona’s long lap.
Scott’s pole time of 1:48.047 was close to the outright lap record of 1:47.833 set by his much favored team-mate Richie Escalante set in Q1. Scott’s best tour now stands as the second-best effort.
Boulder Ducati rider Stefano Mesa will start second after leading for the first two thirds of the session, with Wrench Motorcycles veteran Bobby Fong next on another GSX-R750. Tall guy Hayden Gillim will lead row two with his Vesrah Racing Suzuki.
Fifth overall was last year’s winner Josh Herrin on the Warhorse Ducati 955 Desmo L-twin, followed by class Champ Xavi Fores, the former Ducati pilot now leading the Superbike Champ Attack Yamaha effort for this race only.
N2 Yamaha rider Blake Davis, a 17-year-old rising star, the twice Twins Champ who is Canadian polite, will grid seventh. Next up was the interesting Richard “Mini” Cooper on the works Triumph triple, the diminutive Brit a real dark horse bet for the 200.
Escalante was ninth, followed by team-mate Brandon Paasch, the two-time winner and another interesting side bet – both these racers should be contenders to earn the first win for the FIM “Gen Two” Supersport rules.
Last of the top 12 in Time Attack was Triumph’s Peter Hickman, the TT superstar a popular man with the fans but physically not ideal for the venue – although similarly sized Gillim managed a quick run.
Meanwhile, most of the other competitors were focused on sorting problems and scrubbing tires prior to the 200. There is also the question of possible enforcement of a cut off to the grid based on percentage of the fastest lap, set at 110% in the Supplemental Regulations.
Ben Young continued to set the Canadian pace, earning the 19th best time in “Group A.” Team-mate and bike builder Trevor Daley was 27th best, one spot behind the rebuilt Warhorse Economy Lube Ducati 955 Panigale twin of Trevor Dion.
The Battlax Team of three-time Bridgestone CSBK overall Champ Young and Daley have solved their front brake issues, and other than the typical gripes regarding traction on the well worn and much used Daytona track service, seem to be in good shape heading into the 200 mile race – Young’s fourth start in the 200, and Daley’s debut.
Dion is Dunlop mounted, while the rest of the Canadians are using Bridgestone slicks courtesy of a support plan built around the spec rubber for the Bridgestone. The start of this arrangement came last year, when Young and Elliot Vieira were the Bridgestone backed Canadian contingent.
Vieira placed top Canadian last year in 15th on a rented Yamaha, but withdrew at the last minute in 2024 due to family issues. Last year, Vieira started 32nd, an effort that would have placed him 57th on the year’s starting grid.
The Daytona 200 is getting more competitive in leaps and bounds thanks to the arrival of sanctioning group MotoAmerica, and the event just might regain the impressive international status it enjoyed decades ago.
In Group “B,” Sebastien Tremblay was best Canadian, fourth in the morning’s slower group, followed right behind by the impressive Samuel Guerin on another Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja. Rookie Mavrick Cyr was sixth on his R2r Rizzin Triumph, Matt Simpson 11th on the Evans Yamaha YZF-R6.
In Thursday’s first Q session, former CSBK Amateur Champ Alex Coelho crashed his MTRS Kawasaki and was struck while on the track by another racer. Coelho is reportedly scheduled for surgery to repair his leg, and will not race in his third 200.
- From Colin Fraser / Presented by AIM Insurance
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