Mladin and Eslick pace opening practice

From AMA Pro Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Six-time Champion Mat Mladin (No. 7 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX- R1000) was the fastest rider in the AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike class while 22-year-old Danny Eslick (No. 9 Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing/RMR Buell 1125R) outpaced a full AMA Pro Daytona SportBike field Wednesday in the opening day of practice for Daytona 200 Week by Honda at Daytona International Speedway.

Mladin, who is looking for his second Daytona AMA Pro American Superbike win in a row and fourth in five years, set the day's quick lap of 1:38.540 (105.947 mph) in the last of two practices Wednesday afternoon on the 2.9-mile Daytona short course. He edged Neil Hodgson (No. 100 Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR), who set the session's quick pace halfway through the 60-minute afternoon run and ultimately ended up with a best lap time of 1:38.607 (105.875 mph). Mladin's team-mate Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) was third in the afternoon run and also ranked third overall in American Superbike for the day with his session-leading morning lap of 1:38.815 (105.652 mph).

Thursday's season-opening American Superbike race starts at 3:30 p.m. local time.

Eslick turned the fastest lap of the 73 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike entries that posted times in the class's only daytime practice on Wednesday. He lapped the traditional 3.55-mile Daytona long course in 1:49.491 (116.722 mph) and led Team M4 Suzuki team-mates Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) and Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600). DiSalvo posted a quick lap of 1:49.718 (116.480 mph) while Cardenas turned a fast time of 1:49.978 (116.206 mph).

The Daytona SportBike class will be featured in Friday's Daytona 200 by Honda, which can been seen in flag-to-flag coverage that night on SPEED at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT). It will mark the first time in the 68-year-history of America's premier motorcycle endurance race that the Daytona 200 will be run at night and under the lights.

DiSalvo stayed quick in Wednesday's Daytona 200 night practice with a top lap time of 1:49.508 (116.704 mph) in a scheduled one-hour session that ended 10 minutes early when local Daytona Beach rider Thomas Digiandomenico (No. 398 J&T Racing Yamaha YZF-R6) went off course in the quick left-hand turn in the infield. Digiandomenico was examined and released from the DIS medical center but his Yamaha was heavily damaged and the extensive accident clean up forced an early end to the session. 

Several other riders also suffered mishaps during the night run, including Graves Yamaha team-mates Ben Bostrom and Josh Herrin. Both riders went off course at Daytona's "Bus Stop" chicane but were uninjured after low-siding their bikes. Bostrom rode the No. 1 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 back to the pits, but Herrin's similar No. 46 Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 was transported back to the team's garage area.