Picotte ninth in Supersport

By John Hopkins

Two-time defending Yoshimura 600 Sport Bike champion Pascal Picotte was the top Canadian finisher in the opening round of the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship at Daytona International Speedway yesterday.

The Granby, QC rider edged Danny Eslick and Chris Peris for ninth in the 22-lap race aboard his Yamaha Canada / Picotte Performance Yamaha YZF-R6. Peris, from Calgary, settled for 11th on his Topline Printing / Bikecards.com R6.

Tommy Hayden won the race aboard his factory Kawasaki ZX-6RR, beating Yamaha's Jamie Hacking by 3.723 secs. in a rare display of dominance on the Daytona track, which is famous for its last lap drafting battles.

Alan Schmidt of Clearwater, BC finished 17th aboard his Gateway Powersports / Pirelli Yamaha.

In other action at the Speedway yesterday, Vincent Haskovec came out on top of a three-bike slipstreaming battle to win the Repsol Lubricants Superstock race on his M4 / Emgo Suzuki GSX-R1000.