DAYTONA BEACH — Dane Westby tire-tested his way to victory in Friday’s Michelin Team Challenge at Daytona International Speedway.
The Fall Cycle Scene racing program continues through Sunday at the track.
Westby, riding John Ulrich’s M4 Suzuki, cruised to victory on his Michelin Pro Series GTU class machine, which is built to AMA Pro Racing specs.
AMA sanctions the Daytona 200 and Westby’s primary mission was to punish his Dunlop tires for 44 laps over the Speedway’s 3.56-mile road course as a prep to the prestigious Bike Week race.
“That was pretty much the idea, to get pit stops, make sure our quick change tire stuff works,” Westby said in Victory Lane. “This was just practice for us. Some of those other fast guys had mechanical troubles.”
Westby will stay here Monday and Tuesday for a closed-door Dunlop tire test. Friday’s Challenge, which featured three classes of racing motorcycles, was Dunlop’s precursor to that two-day practice.
Dunlop suffered a major tire failure during the 2011 Daytona 200. The company vowed to get its rubber right for next year’s 200, a 57-lap AMA race scheduled for March 17.
“We have got U.S.-made Dunlop tires now, not the English-made stuff they had here for the 200,” Westby said. “They are really good. I just ran a test tire, and it worked well.”
“This gives us a leg up on the 200,” Ulrich said. “One of the big things on my to-do list is a Daytona 200 win. Dane has got as good a chance as anyone and this was a nice little test run for him, the bike and crew.”
Second place overall went to Eric Helmbach, who claimed the Challenge Series GTO championship. Helmbach, who was aboard a BMW 1000, has won three consecutive Challenge titles.
Westby beat Helmbach to the finish line by more than 17 seconds.
“I didn’t really have a chance against Dane,” Helmbach said. “Those guys were really fast. I wanted to run a clean, smooth race and wrap up the championship. That was my main goal.”
2nd Place Finish
Stiles Racing was second in GTU and third overall. The Yamaha 600 was shared by Meghan Stiles Ryan and Scotty Ryan. The team, based in Delavan, Wis., is owned by Meghan’s father, Mark Stiles.
Stiles Racing was the only team on the overall podium with two riders.
“We are absolutely thrilled with podium,” Meghan said. “We have done several top threes and won overalls this season. To come to Daytona, we weren’t expecting an overall win, so third place is wonderful.” The track opens at 8 a.m. today. Racing begins at noon.