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CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE F our the first four years of its existence, AMA Superbike racing rolled along nicely as a reasonably low-key support class at AMA Road Race Nationals. In order of impor- tance, it was probably third behind both the Formula One and Formula 2 (250 Grand Prix) classes. But then Honda entered the Superbike-class fray in 1980 and upped the ante. Suddenly the headlines and win ads were a lot bigger, and the fans were definitely taking notice. Almost overnight, Superbike began to rival— some would even argue surpass— the popularity of the main F1 class. The biggest AMA road race event of the year at that time was Daytona, and Bike Week's Bell Superbike 100 was quickly gaining impor- tance. It was a race that Honda badly wanted to win. In 1980, it came close in the factory's AMA Superbike debut. Honda riders Freddie Spencer and Ron Pierce both finished on the podium that year, but standing on the top rung of the podium was rapidly rising New P140 SUZUKI VS. SUPERBIKE tooth and nail in the highly conten- tious '80 AMA Superbike Series. Then there was a young up-and- coming Aussie named Wayne Gard- ner, who was racing a potent Mori- waki Kawasaki and qualified fifth, just behind Lawson. Other riders to watch included Lawson's Kawasaki factory teammate David Emde, Racecrafters Kawasaki's Harry Klinzmann, and Kawasaki Canada's Lang Hindle, who would go on to win the Canadian Superbike Cham- pionship later that season. The 100-mile race got underway with the two Yoshimura Suzukis of Cooley and Crosby, along with Spencer on his factory Honda, rocketing to the front. All three shared time leading. The pace was intense, with the trio lapping as quickly as the 2:06 range. That was faster than anyone qualified in the Formula One class other than Kenny Roberts and Dale Singleton! Spencer's race was decided during his pit stop when his quick refuel can spilled gas on his hot motor and ignited a fire. Spencer jumped off the flaming Honda, and it tumbled over. Fortunately, the crew was on top of the situation Zealand road racer, Graeme Crosby. "Croz" was on top of the world in March of 1981. He'd just won the Daytona Superbike race and had just signed on as a factory rider for Suzuki in the 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship. By 1981, Honda had a year of development and came to Daytona much more prepared than they'd been a year earlier. Freddie Spencer was again Honda's lead rider and favored by many to win the '81 Bell Superbike 100. Honda had a strong squad for the season opener. Mike Spencer (no relation) and factory sup- port rider Roberto Pietri were Spen- cer's back-up team riders. Yoshimura Suzuki was back with defending AMA Superbike Champion Wes Cooley and Crosby, who was so talented that he scored a 500cc GP podium in his rookie 1980 season. Croz came back again to try to defend his 1980 Daytona Superbike victory. Also expected to contend for the win in that year's race was Kawasaki's Eddie Lawson, who battled Cooley The 1981 Bell Superbike 100 podium from Daytona International Speedway. Wes Cooley (holding the trophy) and Graeme Crosby (right) gave Yoshimura Suzuki a 1-2 finish the race. PHOTO: HENNY RAY ABRAMS