AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike

Cameron Beaubier proved to be the quickest rider in AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike as the competitors prepare for tomorrow’s chance at pole for the 72nd Daytona 200. The fastest qualifier tomorrow will win a Rolex Daytona Cosmograph as well as start on pole for Sunday’s 57-lap race.

Beaubier had nearly a second in hand in the afternoon session, with his Yamaha Extended Services Graves Yamaha R6 machine leading Jake Gagne and J.D. Beach of RoadRace Factory Yamaha. Beaubier’s time of 1:50.799 in the afternoon improved on his morning time, also fastest in the GoPro Daytona SportBike class.

A spate of crashes in the chicane marked the sessions as riders got to speed after the winter break. Beaubier’s teammate Garrett Gerloff was one of the crashers, as was GEICO Honda’s Dane Westby as the weather was cool but clear on Thursday. Higher temperatures are expected for the rest of the weekend.

Beaubier won seven AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike races in 2012 and finished third in the championship despite missing time with injury and the opening day of the season seemed to show he continued his momentum for last year.

The RoadRace Factory pilots and Bobby Fong on the Triple Crown/RMR Yamaha all clocked times in the 1:51-second range.

The Daytona SportBike racers will qualify in two sessions of Friday, starting at 8:45 AM local time.

AMA Pro Motorcycle Superstore.com SuperSport

Tomas Puerta earned provisional pole at Daytona as the RoadRace Factory Yamaha pilot and former race winner set the pace on the first day of the 2013 season. Puerta’s time of 1:54.097 topped veteran Jeffrey Tigert (CM Motorsports) for the fastest spot.

Puerta said, “It feels really good to be on pole again. I saw a lot of people crashing in the chicane, so I wanted to keep it up on two wheels for the team. I have been racing in Super Sport for a few seasons and I want to get off to a good start this year.”

Former SuperSport race winners Hayden Gillim of Team 95 and Stefano Mesa of Motosport.com also earned the provisional front row for the two 10-lap SuperSport contests of the weekend.

Final qualifying begins at 8:00 AM on Friday.

AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series

It came as little surprise to see the name 'Wyman' placed atop the charts in provisional qualifying for Friday's AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson opener. However, the fact that it was younger brother Travis rather than two-time DIS winner Kyle -- along his relatively mammoth 0.757-second advantage -- may have raised some eyebrows.

The Harv's Harley-Davidson runner posted a 2:06.028 to lead the way. He was followed by Kyle on the Revolution Performance/Millennium Technologies XR1200 at 2:06.785.

Despite Wyman's big advantage, five riders were within a second of provisional pole. Former Superbike pilot Steve Rapp was third on the Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson entry, followed by Tyler O'Hara (Eco Fuel Saver/Scrubblade, Bartel's H-D), and Rossmeyer's Harley-Davidson's Bobby Fong.

That list did not even include reigning champion Michael Barnes, who was sixth fastest, 1.051 seconds back. Barnes did draw first blood, however, hustling the #1 Rossmeyer's XR1200 to the top of the charts in the morning free practice.

The 7-lap AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series season opener will take place on Friday at 2:15 p.m.

Live Timing & Scoring of all on-track sessions will be available at http://live.amaproracing.com/rr/. Between the races, stay connected with AMA Pro Road Racing at www.twitter.com/AMAProSBK and www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing; keep up with Daytona International Speedway via Twitter (www.twitter.com/DISupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway).

For tickets and additional event information, visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP. For information related to AMA Pro Road Racing, please visit www.amaproracing.com.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

For additional information contact:

AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com