Testing started at about 11:30 this morning after the track finally dried out. The Dunlop Daytona test, now an annual go-fast or sit on the wall and bullshit event, was underway.

Two time Superbike champion Mat Mladin wasted little time in throwing down the fast time thus far of the test. Mladin punched in a 1:51 on his 2000/01 GSX-R750.

Mladin's side of the Yoshimura squad is indeed being crew chief'd by Peter Doyle from Australia.

The new Suzuki has new graphics, engine, etc and it looks like Mladin is using a new data acq. system.

His lone team-mate this week, Jamie Hacking, is spending much time with former world champion Kevin Schwantz, trying to get the Suzuki to where he is comfortable on it.

Lap times for the majority of the other non Mladin riders are in the 1:53 range.

Scott Russell is lapping and lapping and lapping the facility. Has he been looking forward to riding the Ducati? He has been here, parked in his motorhome in the infield of the Speedway, since Saturday, counting down the hours until he could get on the HMC Duck.

Mike Hale is here on the CompAcc rent a racer. His long time mechanic, Bob Weindorf, is with him. Hale is riding wearing Modenas leathers.

John Kocinski made very few laps before lunch and has not yet been back out. His team-mate, Larry Pegram, has been out a time or two but does not seem like he has the set up yet. CompAcc has been in Daytona for several days, working on their new Ducati Superbikes at the AMI facility.

Anthony Gobert is here in his old Virgin Yamaha leathers, his new ones are in a lost UPS truck somehwhere.

Gobert looks to be on an ex-Haga WSC bike, what with the rear wheel speed sensor, red and white body and WSC chassis. Tommy Hayden has the right leathers but is on an AMA spec bike, by the looks of it.

Gobert and Russell hooked up for a few laps this afternoon, dicing around the facility at a semi-relaxed 1:53 pace.

Kevin Schwantz drove here over night from the GSX-R1000 intro at Road Atlanta.

Doug Chandler and Eric Bostrom are on unpainted Kawasaki Superbikes, with Chandler too in the 1:53s.

Mike Smith of the MIA Harley-Davidson team is here spectating.

Tripp Nobles is riding the Tilley Buell, in his old Rumi Honda leathers no less.

Akira Ryo is riding the same "traction control" bike that he and Chili rode at Suzuka two weeks ago. It has the chain side rear disk, sensors and three tire temperature sensors pointed at the rear tire. There's also a word being used in conjunction with this bike that you don't hear too often: telemetry. Meaning the bike is sending real time data to a computer somewhere not on the pit lane.

Ducati engines all sound the same as 2000 model bikes and are presumed to be non Testa engines.

Kurtis Roberts is on a Honda RC51 Superbike, and Nicky Hayden is riding a new 600.

Comp Acc.com has a new transporter here, which will be painted in the next week. They have the new Volvo transporter, which all the truck drivers are salivating over.

Miggy DuHamel is here and looking impressive as he slides the Honda through turn one. No word yet on why the three time Daytona 200 winner and former series champ didn't ride the 01 bike at Suzuka, as did junior team members Hayden and Roberts.