He's done less than a race distance so far on the Ducati 998, but his team owner believes Pascal Picotte is back in a big way.

"'Even with just a handful of laps, I'm sure I have the right rider on the bike," said Mitch Hansen from pit lane at Daytona.

Late in November, Picotte was chosen for the HMC ride over fellow veterans Steve Rapp and Doug Chandler. It was a homecoming of sorts for Picotte. He rode Ducati machines in AMA Superbike in the early to mid 1990s.

Picotte had been relegated to the Harley-Davidson VR1000 since 1998 -- a machine was never known for its swiftness. Pascal's manager Alan LaBrosse says his first words when he got off the bike were, "Hey, I finally passed someone in a straight line!"

Pascal should get plenty of track time in the coming days, since the goal of the team is to get at least 500 kilometers on both of their new bikes. No one has previously raced a Testa Superbike in any race longer than a WSC event.