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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127717
1995 AMA Superbike National Championship By Paul Carruthers· Photos by Henny Ray Abrams uch. If Kevin Magee's year of racing in the AMA series was bad , my preseason championsh ip picks we re equ ally as aw ful. And, unfortunately, I can only blame a portion of my bad forecasting on Magee's less-than-stellar perform ance. Yes, I went on record last year in this space as saying that Kevin Magee would win the 1994 AMA Superbike National Championship. I said that Magee's experience wo uld win out, and . that the Honda RC45, "may tum out to be the best motorcycle in the series." Ouch and double ouch. There . It's behind me. I don't want to talk about it anymore. But upon further dissection, it becomes clear that picking Magee was n't my only mistake in the '94 forecast. My other picks weren't so good O very either. Okay, eigh t of my choices to finish in the Top 10 did just that, but let's jus t say my order was a tad off; I picked Colin Edwards II to finish second behind Magee in the final champi onship standings, but Edwardsactually ended up fifth in the title chase. Few wou ld argue that by season 's end (he won three straight races) he was easily the second best rider in the series, but troubles early on kept him from finishing higher. My pick to finish third was Edwards' Vance & Hines Yamaha teammate Jamie James; James ended up second, SO I don't feel too bad about that one. Altho ugh with James, picking him near the top a lways makes you look good because he always finds a wa y to get there . Fred Merkel was my choice to finish fourth. The former AMA and World Champion started well, bu t eventually slipped to 10th. My pick for fifth was Mike Smith, but Smith -like Magee struggled to come to grips (literally) with Honda's .new RC45 and ended the season eighth overall. At the end of the 1993season, I was on the top of Dale Qu arterley's hit list after picking him to . finish 10th when he actually finished second . This year it's my tum to hound Quarterley. I picked him to finish sixth and he dropped to seventh. Take tha t, Turtl e Boy. My choice to finish seventh went to Pascal Mike Smith- #68 - Age: 28 Hometown: Adanta, Georgia Team: Fast By Ferracci Ducati Best finish in 1994: 4th (New Hampshire Intemationa Speedway l ) n 1992, Mike Smit h threw away a certain 600cc Supersport Championship when he crashed whil e running away with victory at the N eW Hampshi re International Speedway. Smith's cras h resulted in a broken leg tha t ruined his season. In 1994, Smith aga in showed a pen chant for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory when he threw away ano ther cha nce for a 600cc title by crashi ng during the penultimate round at Sears Point Raceway. So why am I pickin g Smith to win the biggest cham pionship in U.S. road racing? Because I think he's learned from those mistakes. Because I think he has the speed to wi n a lot of races. Because I believe he is finally on the best bike in AMA Su perbike racing - Era ldo Ferracci 's Ducati 916. And becau se it could just be now or never for Smith's career. If the 28-year -old makes me look foolish,' it will be beca use he reverts to his da ft ways of the past, or has trou ble adapti ng to Michelin tires (an unlikely scenario consi de ring the Du cati World Superbike team's success with the French rubber ). In order to win the title, Smith will have to win the races he can - bu t, equa lly as important, he will have to back off in the ones in which he can' t. Some say a leop ard can't chan ge its spots. I'm betting that Smith can . I Miguel DuHamel - #1 7 - Age: 26 Hometown: Montreal. canada Team: Smokin' Joe's Honda Best resullin1994: 4th (BrainerdInternational Raceway) fter picking the two Honda RC45s (Magee' and Smith) to finish in the top five in the series last yea r, you 'd think I'd learn ed my lesson . But if preseason test sessio ns at Laguna Seca are any indi cation, it seems as thou gh the RC45 has imp roved drastically. An d if there's a per son who is capable of pushing the bike to the next level, that man is Migu el DuHamel. One onl y has to think back to those aw eO inspiring rides on the Harl ey-Davidson VRIO Ofrom a year ago to recall jus t how well DuHam el can ride . But, again, it all depends on just how competitive the bike becomes. If the Smokin' Joe's team can get the bike working well, DuHam el will con tend for the title. If the bike continues to stru ggle, DuHa mel could end up at the bott om of the Top 10. Ironi cally, DuHamel has jumped from wha t wa s perhaps the bes t ha ndling and slowest of the superbikes (the Harley VRI0oo) to one of the fastest and ill-handli ng (Ho nda RC45). A Picotte - and I will never be stupid enou gh to pick anyone on EraJdo Ferracci's Ducatis to finish this low aga in. Picotte ended the series fourth and won tw o races in the process. Directly behind Picotte, I'd penciled in newboy Troy Corser to finish eighth. Like my Magee pick, this one went a long way in making su re that the egg residue on my face would stick around for a while . We all know what Corser accomplished in 1994- he did exactly what I thought Magee would do. ' My pick to finish ninth in the series was Steve Crevier . The Canadian put toge ther a highly consisten t season and finished up sixth in the title chase. I also picked Torn Kipp to unsea t his Yoshimura Suz uki team ma te Thom as Stevens as the num ber-one rider on the team - anot her of my errors that Stevens kep t reminding me of thro ughout the season. Kipp ended the year 12th in the standings - with Stevens nin th. For the second straight year, Takahiro Sohwa proved me wrong. The man 1always expect to be just out of the Top 10 keeps creeping to the top of the standings. This year the Japanese star ended the seaso n third in the championship after continually turning in solid resul ts, and I've vo wed not to leave him ou t of this year's Top 10. Without further ado, let's give it ano ther shot and toss out our 1995 pred ictions . Jamie James - #2 - Age: 33 Hometown: Prairieville, Louisiana Team: Vance & Hines Yamaha Best resull in 1994: 2nd (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course) P icking Jamie Jame s to finish in the top three of the AMA Superbike National Championship is sort of like chea ting . It's almost a give n that he will d o just tha t, and this could very well be the year tha t he regains the title he wo n on a Suzuki in 1989. James returns for a third season on the Vance & Hines Yama ha tea m an d ii seems to matt er not who they keep giving him for a teammate - he ends the season ,wi th the most poin ts of any Yama ha- mo unted rider. Jam es worked well wi th a yo ung Colin 'Edwards II (who has gone on to the World Supe rbike Cham pionshi p), and Tom Kipp sho uld also fit we ll with the likable vetera n of AMA roa d racing. Freddie Spencer - #19 - Age: 32 Hometown: Shreveport, Louisiana Team: Fast.By Ferracci Ducati Best result in 1994: Did not race redd ie Spencer has lon g toted the term "enigma." The two almos t go hand in hand . For while ther e is no qu estion ing the man 's immense racing talents, there will always be the qu esti on of his heart. If his heart is in it, Spencer could very we ll end up winning the AMA Superbike Nati onal Championship; in fact, he could win each and every round . If he loses interest, he could end up back in Loui siana by the time the series reaches the halfway poin t. We'll know a lot more by Daytona and a su re sign of his commitment, or lack thereof, will be his appearance. If Freddie shows up out of shape for what cou ld be the biggest su perbike race in the histo ry of AMA racing, it won 't bod e well for his season. But many feel the key to Spencer' s year will be how he reacts the first time he cras hes the all-red Ducati. Will he jum p back on the horse tha t tosse d him, or will he lose interest an d give up? Like many, I'm hop ing Fast Freddie starts the season well and gets his confidence to a level that wo n't easily be shattered. Only time will tell. F