Former Superbike World Champion Neil Hodgson will start the 67th Daytona 200 by Honda, his first-ever race on a 600cc motorcycle, from pole position in spite of crashing during Thursday’s qualifying session at Daytona International Speedway.
The 34-year-old Englishman used a Dunlop qualifying tire on his factory Honda CBR600RR to lap the 2.9-mile road course in 1:39.347, a lap record for the newly-revised track, but when he mounted his final qualifying tire and saw a clear track ahead he pushed too hard in Turn Four and crashed. Uninjured, he picked up his bike, rode back to the pits and re-entered the session on his back-up machine but was unable to go any quicker.
“It’s an honor, it’s a privilege,” Hodgson said. “It’s funny. Last year, I was here as a spectator. I was depressed and walking around jealous looking at all the riders. It’s weird. 12 months later here I am on the pole position. It doesn’t seem real.”
Paul Smart was the last British rider to win the pole for the historic Daytona 200 back in 1974 aboard a Suzuki.
“I’ve got to thank Honda for giving me this opportunity to give me a shot at this,” Hodgson said. “Hopefully, I can repay them this season with some hard riding and try to get some wins. If I can get the win Saturday, that would be absolutely awesome. I don’t know if that’s possible, racing with these guys. I’m looking forward to the race. I’ve watched it the last five years and always thought I wanted to be involved, it looks like a lot of fun.”
Second-fastest was Chaz Davies with a 1:39.436 on his Pirelli-shod Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R. Davies said he did his lap alone, rather than with a drafting partner because he said he has yet to master how to use the slipstream properly.
Steve Rapp, the defending Daytona 200 Champion and Davies’ teammate, was third-quickest with a lap of 1:39.779.
The final spot on the front row went to Hodgson’s teammate and five-time Daytona 200 winner Miguel Duhamel, who turned a 1:39.836 while using a Dunlop race tire on his CBR600RR and a two-rider draft. Duhamel had been 12th-fastest in Wednesday afternoon’s practice session.
While Hodgson and Duhamel are only racing the Formula Xtreme class at Daytona, Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes will represent the Honda brand in the class all year. The two-time and defending AMA Formula Xtreme Champion will start the defense of his crown from fifth on the Daytona 200 grid thanks to a qualifying time of 1:39.879.
Hayes’ teammate Jake Zemke qualified sixth with a 1:39.967 on his CBR600RR.
Michael Barnes, who rode his Pirelli-shod 2007-spec Team M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600, was seventh-fastest with a 1:40.431.
Aaron Gobert took the final spot on the second row of the grid (eighth) with a lap of 1:40.469 on his Dunlop-equipped Rockwall Honda CBR600RR.
Colombian rider Martin Cardenas was ninth-best with a 1:40.661 on his Pirelli-shod Team M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600, while LeoVince Foremost Insurance Ducati’s Larry Pegram will start 10th after posting a 1:41.003 on his Pirelli-fitted 848.
