Rome, Georgia: Pirelli rides its unprecedented sweep of the top seven places in the 2008 Daytona 200 into Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park, setting the fastest time in the weekend’s first Supersport practice, with 2007 Daytona 200 winner and 2008 Second-Place finisher, Steve Rapp, establishing the time to beat on a set of Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa DOT racing tires.

Rapp’s Attack Kawasaki teammate Chaz Davies, the 2008 Daytona 200 winner, was less than a second off Rapp’s time yet 11th fastest in the very competitive field, each rider on Kawasaki ZX-6Rs. M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young set the fifth-quickest Supersport time on his GSX-R600, with his teammate Cory West logging the eighth best time of the session.

In Formula Xtreme, the bikes that swept the Daytona 200 top-seven places qualified on the front row for Saturday’s race, after Steve Rapp again set fastest lap in the FX first practice, on his Pirelli Superbike Slick shod ZX-6R. Rapp and his Attack Kawasaki teammate Chaz Davies are in the third and fourth grid positions on the front row, with Martin Cardenas holding the inside position of row two on his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600.

Qualifying sixth for FX is Larry Pegram on his team Leo Vince/Foremost Insurance Ducati 848, complimenting his third-place finish in the 2008 Daytona 200.

Friday’s Superstock times had Blake Young setting the fifth-best time on his team M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000. Young finished second at Daytona’s race. The next fastest Pirelli rider on Superbike Slicks in Superstock was Robertino Pietri on his team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki prepared GSX-R1000 at sixth fastest. His teammate Chris Ulrich was close by with the eighth-best time of Friday’s session.

From Pirelli Press