Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ 'INTE VIE Dirt tracker Dave Durelle R W e By Donn Maeda h en Dave Durelle made the jump to the Expert class, he didn't attack the track with dreams of winning a National or ' scoring a factory ride like most young pros do. Instead, Durelle considered racing a hobby, something he was good at that helped pass time on the weekends. That was 10 years ago. Now, at the age of 28, Durelle has found himself in the limelight and his outlook has W 22 changed. Racing has become more than just a hobby, and Durelle is now looked upon as a fierce competitor and National front-runner. "I never really geared myself to race against these guys," said Durelleof his fellow National-competitors. "And I sure never pictured myself on the box (victory stand) at a Nationall This year was kinda like a dream. " A dream year indeed. In the seven years before the 1991 season, Durelle had qualified for only 13 National main events and posted only nine top 10 finishes, with his best being a sixth at the 1989 Springfield Mile. But in 1991, Durelle raced in all but two main events, ' ~d posted 10 top 10 finishes. More importantly, he . stood in the winner's circle twice, posting a second at the Indy Mile , and a third at the San Jose Mile. At Indy, Durelle grabbed the holeshot and established an immediate lead over his competitors. A lead that, at one point, stretched to a full straightaway. While it looked as if Durelle was headed for his first National win , Grand National Champion Scott Parker had other ideas and ran down the Minnesota native. Parker made the pass just before the halfway point, but Durelle struck back a few laps later. It was not to be, however, as Parker went on to post his record-setting 41st National win . " Indy had to be the longest 25 miles of my life," said Durelle with a large grin. " Especi ally on the last three laps when my bike started to sputter. I started to run out or gas and the bike would quit at the end of the straights. My heart just dropped. " ' So, you ask, how has this "weekend" racer suddenly become one of the nation 's top dirt trackers? "One day I thought to myself, 'Look, I'm 25 years old and I've come this far. I need to either quit or do it right,''' said Durelle. . Durelle chose to race, and in 1988 left his job to follow the 600cc National series in its inaugural year. Teamed up with mechanic Chris Armentrout, Durelle travelled across the country to each of the 600cc races and ended the season' fourth overall. "That season was kinda discouraging; even though I finished fourth overall, I hardly made any money," Durelle said. "I expected to do better after all that hard work." Fourth in the 600cc series, though, was enough to impress Durelle's longtime friend, Butch Donahue. Donahue, the father of then-Pro-Am racer Tony Donahue, is also the owner of a multi-line motorcycle dealership in Delano, Minnesota. "I met Butch Donahue back in the mid-eighties at the races - he was a real big race fanatic," Durelle recalls. "We became good friends over the years, and he always used to talk about ' starting his own team . I remember telling him , 'Butch, you have no idea what you're getting into, it takes a lot of equipment and a lot of money!' " In 1988, Donahue began to help Durelle with the financial end of his race effort, but a lack of competitive machinery brought a third party -into their "team." John Erickson, a Milwaukee-based Harley race bike builder and owner, provided the machinery. With Donahue and Erickson's backing, Durelle attacked the Camel Pro Series and qualified for six main events in the 1990 season. "John reall y got the ball rolling for me," said Durelle, who ended the 1990 season 16th overall. " H e got me really geared up for the Nationals, and we did quite well together. He really knew how to make the bike work for me." Although the y enjoyed mod erate success in 1990, Erickson decided that his racing days were over and he retired from the Camel Pro circuit, It was then that Donahue began from scratch to build Durelle a competitive motorcycle. Donahue teamed with General Engineering's Jerry Wilhemy, a well known Rotax engine builder, and the team was set. "We had a new motor, chassis, suspension . .. everything!" said Durelle. "It was the first time that I'd ever raced a bike made just for me. Jerry had always wanted to build a National Harley motor, so in a way it was like a dream come true for him too ." Although Durelle would begin the season with a fresh motor and all- new equipment, he had a few doubts. " T here was a lot of doubt in my mind at the start of the season," explained Durelle. " I knew John (Erickson's) stuff was tried and true, but I had never worked with Jerry

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