Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eROADRACE Series u date his ability to actually finish a 60-mile superbike race. Despite crashing very early in the series opener at Phoenix, the new points paying system - one that rewards virtually everyone but the janitor - gave him six points. How much help he will provide DuHamel in developing the new bike remains to be seen. Camel Commonwealth Honda While Tom Kipp actually sits in a pretty good position after the first two races, teammate Mike Smith has had a terrible start to the '93 campaign. The pair finished seventh and eighth in the Phoenix opener when they couldn't find the answers to a handling problem with the Honda RC30s on the tight and twisty race track. ~ French Canadian Miguel DuHamel is third in the series point standings. Doug Polen (23) and Colin Edwards (45) expect to do well at Laguna Seca. Turn ute eat By Paul Carruthers wo races down, nine to go. Some questions have been answered in the first two rounds of the 1993 AMA National Championship Road Race Series, but many remain. With the Phoenix series opener and the Daytona 200 now a fading memory, the run for the AMA Superbike crown will begin in earnest at Laguna Seca on April 18 as the AMA's most ambitious road race schedule in many years resumes. 50, with Daytona 200 winner Eddie Lawson heading back into retirement and AMA Superbike points leader Scott Russell departing for Europe to battle for the World Superbike crown, what's left, you ask? Plenty. Two factory Ducatis, two factory Hondas, two factory Kawasakis, two factory Suzukis, two factory Yamahas and a host of ever-improving privateer efforts. The race for the championship is just beginning - here's a team-by-team look at how things have stacked up so far in the young season. Fast By Ferracci Ducati - Even though he only managed to finish fifth in the Daytona 200, Doug Polen went home from Florida with a smile that probably reached all the way across Texas. Forget Scott Russell, the real championship leader is Polen. Russell's not going to be here long enough to be a factor so we can take his 63 points and move them into the absentee column. Polen's 62 points, though, are here to stay. The non-defending two-time World Superbike Champion remains the man to beat. A thrilling victory at the Phoenix International Raceway opener came after a practice crash that left the Texan with a tweaked nerve in his back. He sucked it up, played hurt and came out a winner in a classic three-rider fight to the finish. At Daytona, he knew his only hope was to make it through the 200 miles with only one tire change; thanks to the new Ducati not featuring quick change wheels. Going the distance on only two new tires wasn't possible, and Polen was forced into racing at an un-Polen like pace to ensure a high points paying finish. He did what he had to do in the T 8 race, and he drove his fifth-wheeled trailer out of Florida with 26 points in his pocket and a smile on his face. "Things are going okay," Polen said. "As far as having two races down, finishing in the top five at Daytona and winning at Phoenix - yeah, the points thing looks okay. 1 would have liked to have done better at Daytona." At Phoenix, Polen was aboard last year's Ducati. The '93 bike was ready for Daytona, but things definitely didn't go as planned with the new bike. "The two bikes aren't too terribly different," Polen said. "We suffered from a lack of preparation at Daytona with things like not having the quick change wheels on. Also, the bike was about 20 pounds heavier compared to what they used to weigh, and we had some engine problems. Actually, we were pretty puzzled as to why the bike was seven to eight mph down from last year's bike. The rules really favor the in-line fours at Daytona because 70-75 percent of the track is top speed, so I expected to get some stiff competition there - just not as much as we had. At Daytona you need rockets and missiles, bu t you need a high-powered slingshot for Laguna Seca - I reckon I've got a pretty good slingshot. And next year we'll have a better rocket for Daytona." As if they needed it, the Ferracci team has found a number two rider who can also win races. Any doubts about Pascal Picotte's abilities were answered at Phoenix, with the French Canadian very nearly winning his first AMA National there. Daytona, though, has a way of making many a top racer leave the Sunshine State in disgust. Picotte's Ducati had fuel-injection problems from the drop of the flag. Combine that with him running out of fuel and having a long push to the pits, and Picotte could do no better than 37th. Zero championship points. Still, Picotte's 32 points from Phoenix leaves him in seventh in the championship (actually fifth when you toss Russell and Lawson out of the equation). With these two riders, team owner Eraldo Ferracci can boast of having the str,pngest team in AMA superbike racing. With the experience gained from winning the World Superbike title the past two years, don't expect this team to make many mistakes. Muzzy Kawasaki - Russell leads the AMA Superbike National Championship, but that really has no bearing on how this team fares going into the rest of the series. Russell is gone, headed for Europe to battle a horde of Ducatis in hopes of securing the World Superbike Championship for Kawasaki. Though he has hinted that he may indeed race a t Laguna Seca, this appeared doubtful at presstime. What's left behind, though, isn't all bad for the Muzzy team. French Canadian Miguel DuHamel lies third in the championship (second, if you dismiss Russell) and he's only six points behind Polen. A fifth place finish in DuHamel's debut ride aboard the allgreen ZXR750 wasn't bad when you consider the problems he was having in coming to grips with the new bike. At Daytona, things got better for the man who rode in last year's 500cc World ChampionShip aboard a Yamaha France YZRSOO. He finished third after proving. that he was one of the few who could brag of being able to at least come close to matching the pace set by race winner Eddie Lawson and runner-up Russell. And he should find things better yet when Russell and hiS rather long shadow are gone from the team for the summer. As Thomas Stevens found out last year, the Muzzy team revolves around Russell - and why not - but with Russell gone, this will be DuHamel's team and he should prosper in the situation. DuHamel's teammate is Takahiro Sohwa. The Japanese rider has shown very little except for an uncanny ability to crash at each and every stop on the circui t on both his superbike and 750cc Supersport mount - at least once. 50hwa has shown he has the speed to keep up, but as yet there has been no indication of At Daytona they bounced back, with Kipp finishing sixth in the 200. Smith, though, suffered through the misery of having his RC30 destroy a clutch on the very first lap. He finds himself well back in the standings in 13th with only 24 points. Kipp, on the other hand, is fourth with 48 points. The Honda's problem seems to be a mirror reverse of the new Suzuki's. The RC30 seems to be better suited to the faster race tracks, rather than the tight and twisty layouts. Top speed doesn't appear to be a problem - getting the power to the ground on the exits of corners is where trouble lies. "Last year we had a problem with top speed and coming off the corners," Smith said. "This year we've got the speed conquered, now we've got to get the other part conquered - to get the thing off the comers. 1 think things will end up going good. Can 1 win right this second? No.1 have to ride 100 percent and hope somebody messes up in order to win. It's very hard to say who can win, but 1 think we can be competitive. It's always the same story - whether or not you can get your combination to work." One thing that is no longer bothering Smith is the broken leg he suffered last June at Loudon: "It's healed 100 percent," he said. "1 think running second in my first race back at Texas last year showed that I was okay." Vance & Hines Yamaha - These are the best of times, these are the worst of times for Vance & Hines Yamaha. Talk about a change in fortunes. The V~ce & Hines crew has been through it all so far in 1993. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Let's start with the bad news: How about losing your number one rider Jamie James before the season even starts when he crashes at the preseason Daytona tire tests and is forced to miss the first two rounds of the champi-

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