Josh Hayes will commence his AMA SuperBike title defence this weekend at Daytona.

The 2011 AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike season kicks off this weekend at the famous Daytona International Speedway during Daytona 200 Week.

Reigning AMA SuperBike Champion Josh Hayes returns in 2011, sporting the coveted number one plate on his Monster Energy Graves Motorsports Yamaha after last year’s back-and-forth battle with Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden.

With a SuperBike title finally under his belt, Hayes is more focused than ever on winning each and every race possible.

If anyone can rival Hayes in the determination department, it’s championship runner-up Hayden, who took his maiden SuperBike win last year and went on to add four additional victories to his 2010 tally.

Equally as determined is the powerhouse Rockstar Makita Suzuki team itself and Hayden’s teammate, 23-year-old Blake Young, who had his ’10 season abbreviated by injury.

Joining the established SuperBike frontrunners will be 2010 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Champion Martin Cardenas, who’s made the move to AMA Pro SuperBike with his title-winning M4 Suzuki team and teammate Chris Ulrich.

Martin rolls into his new class with a spectacular season behind him – one that included a staggering nine wins and a total of thirteen podium finishes. Though sidelined by injury late in the season, Ulrich had a strong year in 2010 SuperBike, finishing consistently within the top ten.

The Michael Jordan Motorsports/National Guard Suzuki effort, which led the SuperBike points chase for the first part of 2010 after winning both 2010 Daytona SuperBike races, returns this year with an all-new lineup.

Former national superbike champion Ben Bostrom will pilot the number 23 Jordan Suzuki bike, while Roger Hayden, having returned from a season in the World Superbike paddock, will field the number 54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki.

Larry Pegram, who also scored a SuperBike race victory in 2010, made an equipment change over the off-season and returns as a BMW effort, again with support from Foremost Insurance.

Pegram’s strong win at Auto Club Speedway in 2010 was supplemented by five additional podiums, adding up to a fifth overall in the series.

Another significant equipment change, though it could be labeled a return of sorts, is represented by Cycle World Attack Performance Kawasaki rider Eric Bostrom, who’s spearheading the return of Kawasaki to the high banks of Daytona.

In additional to contending both SuperBike races, Eric will compete in the Daytona 200 alongside teammate and AMA Pro SuperSport East Division Champion J.D. Beach.

The Australian contingent this weekend will include ADR Suzuki teammates David Anthony, Jordan Burgess and Chris Trounson, all three GSX-R1000 mounted in the SuperBike category.

The two 15-lap SuperBike races will take place on Daytona’s Short Course, and will be accompanied by the 70th running of the Daytona 200, featuring the Daytona SportBike class, as well as the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and Vance & Hines XR1200 divisions.

The Daytona 200 will be televised live on SPEED in Australia at 5:00am AEST on Sunday, 13 March, with both SuperBike races to be aired from 7:00pm later that evening in a delayed telecast.