The Daytona 200 mile classic scheduled for this Sunday afternoon in Daytona Beach, Florida is the most grueling road race of the year here in the United States. Indeed, one of the most demanding races, anywhere. It taxes the conditioning of the most fit riders.
What if you were told that you had to race not only the Daytona 200, but a separate 600 supersport final on the same day? That is the prospect now facing several riders as a result of rainfall at Daytona today. A wet track forced a delay of the 600 supersport final, which should have gone down this afternoon. Instead, the AMA has scheduled the 18 lap (60 mile) supersport final for Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. Several riders will finish the supersport final less than two hours before they will be back on the track warming up for the 200 mile superbike race.
Because Daytona is so prestigious, there are a few riders who will only race a 600 at Daytona (skipping all the other 600 supersport events), but will contest the entire superbike championship. This includes the Bostrom brothers, who work for Honda and Kawasaki, respectively. These riders do not want the fatigue of the supersport final to spoil their chances in the Daytona 200 superbike race, which is the first round of the AMA Superbike championship. We will have to see how the 18 lap supersport race affects the ability of these riders to push the entire 57 laps of the Daytona 200.
