As we continue to wait for the track to dry...

Suzuki's Mat Mladin was fast out of the box on Monday's first day of tire testing at Daytona. Despite the newness of the 2001 Suzuki Superbike, Mladin put together a string of fast laps in the 1:51 range. "It's good. Lap times are fairly promising just after a few hours today. It should be good."

"The chassis we're struggling along with at the moment, but of course we're going to because it's brand new. The motor feels better. We're doing the same lap times after three hours today than we did on the old bike." There is a noticeably different sound from the new GSX-R Superbike motor. Pit lane speculation is that Suzuki is using gear-driven cams.

Roger Lee Hayden has been signed by Bruce Transportation for 2001 after eschewing Suzuki for Honda."I think I like the Honda better. It's a lot skinnier than the Suzuki was, and I think it might suit my style better. I've definitely been going quicker on it every where we've gone. I'm excited for next year and have a good deal going. Honda's a great company and maybe I'll be with them for a long time." Roger previously tested the Honda in Nevada.

"I'm not used to drafting anybody, but today I was drafting people," Roger said. "I learn every time I go out, so hopefully tomorrow I'll get behind one of my brothers or Miguel or somebody that I can learn from. Those are the guys that are winning week-in and week-out. I can get behind one of those guys and learn."

Mitch Hansen of HMC eagerly watched as his team took to the track for the first time since the squad moved up to Superbikes. How did their first day go?

"I'd have to say it was a real success. Everyone is having fun and Scott's loving his bike. It went real well. Scott's never even been on a Ducati before and he darn near got into the 1:51s. Steve was in the 1:52s and he did that without a rear brake."

After the shakedown, they'll try to improve things even more. "Slick has all kinds of ideas up his sleeve on how we can make it handle better for Scott and take a couple of seconds off for tomorrow."

Jamie Hacking spent the majority of the day on the Suzuki 600. "I like it. We figured we would spend most of the day (on the 600) since it got cut short. Everything is going good."

Hacking commented on the differences between the Yamaha and the Suzuki Supersport machines. "The bike is lighter and turns differently. It's a little bigger feeling than the R6, but it's good."