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eROAD RACE e AMA Su~rbike National Championship_Ro_ad_R_ace_Se_ries_:R_oUD_d_I _ The 50th running of the Daytona 200 gets underway with Tom Kipp (16) leading the way ahead of Freddie Spencer (hidden), Scott Russell (22) and the rest. By Paul Carruthers Photos by Henny Ray Abrams and courtesy Daytona International Speedway DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 9 nd to think Miguel DeHamel wasn 't even planning on riding in the Daytona 200. Two months ago DuHamel didn 't hav e a U.S. Superbike ride , but today h e won the 50th running of th e Daytona 200 by Arai, becoming only the second Canadian to achieve the feat. But if not for Randy Renfrow's pre-season testing accident that left the veteran injured and unable to co m pete, DuHamel ma y not hav e been on th e grid, let alone in Victory Lane. Commonwealth Honda team owner Martin Adams, however, gave DuHamel the opportunity to replace Renfrow and the 23-year-old made the most of a good thing. DuHamel's efforts on the Camelba ck ed Commonwealth Racing Honda RCIO were impressive. The Montreal, Quebec, resident led 32 of the 57 laps while romping to a 10.290second win over Vance &: Hines Yamaha's jamie james. DuHamel averaged 93.471 mph in a race that saw some 13laps run behind a pace car and under caution flags . Third place went to last year's polesitter Thomas Stevens after a last lap dash to the flag with his Vance &: Hines Yamaha teammate james. Fourth place went to ironman Rich Amaiz on A 8 the second Camel Honda, riding with a broken finger on a badly battered left hand. Muzzy Kawasaki 's Scott Russell finished fifth after making an unnecessary gas stop late in the race , a miscue that cost the Georgian any chance of a trip to Victory Lane. New Englander Dale Quarterley was the first non-factory rider home in sixth place, although his Honda RCIO was equipped with a motor borrowed from Commonwealth Racing. Canadians Rueben McMurter and jacques Guenette, Scotland's Niall Mackenzie and Florida's Mark Chin rounded out the top 10 finishers. DuHamel pocketed $16,100 of the $175,000 Superbike ' purse for his efforts. Pole-sitter and new lap record holder Doug Polen had his hopes of a Daytona 200 win dashed on the opening lap when his Fast By Ferracci Ducati threw a chain in the chicane. Polen had been the quickest rider throughout the week at the famed speedway, but he never led as the curse of the polesitter continued at Daytona. In all, six riders took a tum at leading the 200, helping to make the 50th running of the race one of the most exciting in recent memory. In addition to DuH amel, james, Tom Kipp, Stevens and Amaiz all led at some point in the race. With Daytona marking the opening of the 1990AMA National Championship Superbike Series, new teams and new riders made having a program a necessity. Some things never change, however, and again th ere was no number one plate in the field. With defending Superbike National Champion Doug Chandler departed for the Grand Prix Series , the Muzzy Kawasaki squad was now being led by Russell. His teammate was yo u ng Canadian jacques Guenette. The two were riding the relatively untested Kawasaki ZXR750, but Rob Muzzy considered the team well ahead of where they were a season ago at Daytona. " We've only had the new bike in superbike trim for two weeks," Muzzy said. "We've run it once at Willow, but right now we feel we have as good a chance of winning as anybody. Last year we had no chance and third place was a miracle." Honda was well represented by DuHamel and Amaiz on the Camelbacked Commonwealth team, and by three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer and young jeff Farmer on the Two Brothers Racing sq~d. Both teams having strong ties with American Honda and HRC and were " equipped with time tested RClOs. In addition to the four Americans, McMurter was back for more on his Honda Canada entry. Suzuki was again represented by Team Yoshimura with WERA F-USA Champion Mike Smith and superbike rookie Tommy Lynch riding GSXR750s. Yamaha's official Vance &: Hines team was led by 1990 Rookie of the Year Stevens and former Fast By Ferracci Ducati rider james. Yamaha Canada also had an entry in the 200, Michel Mercier protoge Pascal Picotte. All rode a proven commodity - the Yamaha FZR750. james's place in Eraldo Ferracci's Ducati team was taken by Polen, back after two years of racing in japan and fresh off a victory in Mexico City in his debut ride on the V-twin. A strong list of privateers headed by Quarterley (H onda RClO) and Kipp (Yamaha FZR750), and a promising array of foreign riders led by the fourthranked rider in the 1990 500cc World Championship, Mackenzie (Honda RClO), made the Daytona 200 entry a formidable one. Amaiz turned his week into a painfilled seven days when he crashed the Camel Honda in the horseshoe during practice for the previous weekend's AMAlCCS sprints. The Californian broke the little finger on his left hand severely enough that he had to undergo surgery to have the finger pinned. He bravely rode on, though, using an extra ' large glove to cover the swollen and bandaged hand. He was frustrated by not being able to ride as aggresively as he would have liked.