Daytona is here--and this is not your typical supercross. The track, as always, features a mix of super rough sandy stuff, with breaking bumps, whoops and holes unlike anything you would see in a stadium.
But there are true supercross obstacles, as well, like two triples, an on-off table top, and the biggest, gnarliest set of supercross style whoops you will ever see.
I asked Pro Circuit's suspension guru Jim "Bones" Bacon for some idea of bike setup here, and he admits it's a big of a compromise, because you have to run stiff, supercross-style stuff for the jumps. There are a lot of breaking bumps and chop, though, too, so they set up the back end a little softer to help bring the front of the bike up and keep the bike on top of the rough stuff. That slightly rearward balance hurts cornering because it takes weight off the front end, but there's much better traction in the sand than on the harder packed stuff like they had last week in Atlanta. So they're not as worried about washing out the front end, anyway.
The track is also fairly tight compared to prevous Daytona tracks, with a few switchbacks on the infield to set up potential passes.
The weather is absolutely perfect. There's a reason they have towns in this state with names like Winter Haven, Winter Park and Winter Garden.
In news, Justin Barcia indeed broke two bones in his wrist last weekend in Atlanta, but he tried riding on Wednesday and felt okay. He's wearing a wrist brace and thinks he'll be okay to keep on racing every weekend.
Kyle Regal has been declared out with a broken wrist.
Ian Trettel is back from breaking his collarbone after Houston. Sugery, a plate, and ten days of therapy have him feeling 100 percent.
A variety of riders are here just to watch the racing, including Tyla Rattray, Jake Weimer, Josh Grant and even the long-lost Christophe Pourcel, who joked "I don't race motorcycles anymore." You never know with that guy.
Timed practice sessions are up next. Follow our twitter feed @racerxonline for live updates.
