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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127717
What will it take to win
the Daytona 200?
Fred Merkel: "I knew if I was to come to Suzuki that I wo uld be treated like the
number-on e rider. If I stayed at Ka wasaki, I knew I wou ldn't be the number-one
rider and wouldn't get the number-one part.~.
Defini tely, I'd like to put the bike on the rostrum in the 200. You put any bike on
the rostrum at Daytona and yo u've done quite a job. It's a tough one. It's a real
tough one because it's a race of attrition, really, beca use you've got tire changes ; it's
a long race an d anything can happen, just anything compared to the rest of the sea son.
My best Daytona 200 finish was a third in 1986 behi nd winner Eddie Lawson
an d Kevin Schwantz an d I was happy to get that. I want to win it. That's what I'm
here for.
Horsepower plays a big. big part in the 200. It doesn't take a lot of talent to go
fast in a straight line, but you need aU the talent you 've got to go fast in the infield
and the chicane. The ha rdest thmg is that on ce yo u're running down at 1:52 or
lower, each tenth you lower yo ur time is a lot of work. After that, it' s just the motor cycles sepa rating the riders ."
Scott Russell: "My cha nces are as good as any body's. I feci real confi dent at Daytona. I kind ' of feel that's one of m y home track s and I always go good the re. Ov er
the last three years, I've been in the thick of every one of them. There's no reason
that I won't be a round the front of this on e eithe r. There's not going to be an ybod y
that's going to come in here an d pull away from everybody. The tires are go ing to
limit you to what you can do , and I know that I can ride the tires to their lim it and
faster than most. according to the test an yway . My chances are good. It 's always
hard to say; I think I'll probably try to do my normal deal and try to break aw ay. I'd
like to win the thing by mort than a second this year. That's what I norm ally try to
do . And there wi ll be a couple of guys who can run the pace, the y'll come wit h me.
Then we 'll race from there. Try to con trol the race, the speed of the race. Some of
them can run, some of them can 't. I don't know who it's going to be. The new
Ducatis, whoever they bring, will be tough if they can get them going good. The 916
this year didn' t S<.'Cm to be as fast on top speed as the bike I raced ag ainst last year.
(Troy ) Corser's bike ran good at Day tona; that was the old bike and it ran better on
top than the 916,"
Colin Edwards 11: "My goal is to go out and try an d get the pole; that's e\'erybody's goa l- no t wad your ass trying to do it. The re are no Tw in 50s this year, so we
have to ge t as close as we can on setu p and go for it on Thu rsd ay, We' ll defin itely
use Friday for more testing an d experimenting with setu p. I've got somewhat of a
feeling wher e tires are going to be."
Tom Kipp: "Every team is different, bu t this ove rall package is probably the best
thing go ing. Fro m b ike to crew to the rest of the leam - they work well together. I'm
real happy to be working with Jamie. It's the best com bin ation I've had . It' s really
organized and the guys are serious abo ut winning races. I think we have a real good
sho t to wi n - as goo d as an ybody. These guys are real serious about Daytona and
they're set up well for it. The bikes are fast and the team has experience at winning
this thing."
Mike Hale: "I've got another learn ing year ahea d of me with it bei ng the first full
seaso n on a Superbike . I'll try and learn as mu ch as possible. To be honest. the RC45
is the b addest thing I' ve rid den . It'll be a prett y hard day becau se I have to run the
600 Supersport race an d then tu m around and do the 200. But I cond ition an d train
as hard as anyone. I' ll see how qu alifyin g goes and ho w eve ry thing's going at that
point in time. I' m not as fast as so me ot her guys here, bu t pace can carry yo u for the
200."
Pascal Picotte: " All the pit crew went to Suzuka so the y know what to do in the
pits, If yo u can save th ree, four, five seconds eve ry pit stop then that's 10, 15 seconds
at the en d . I can count on the pit crew, and I really think we'll do well. I expect to
see a green machine on the podiu m."
Jamie James: "Everybody comes here
with their guns loaded, I think we 're in
for on e of the best 200s years. There are
mo re bikes capable of winning and more
riders. You're going to S<.'C a thicker field
of bikes that are capable of winning. But
you' ve got to stay in it to win the race. I'll
try and run up front all day and be there
at the end. It gets tougher every year. I've
done everything and had it won a couple
of times . If things go well, maybe I can do
it."
on Thursday in the past. Instead, qua lifying will be based solely on timed sessions on Thursday and Friday, with the
fastes t m an fro m Thu rsday em erging
wi th pole po sition and the Rolex Daytona Award . Wh ile many of the racer s
ma y no t mi ss th e two 50 -mile r ace s,
Mu zzy Kawasak i te am ow ne r Rob
Mu zzy says th e races we re im porta n t
for one reason : they hel ped teams make
a final decision on wh ich tire to run in
the 200.
" It w as reall y the on ly time when
we' d ru n 50 mi le s at ra cin g speeds:'
Muzzy said. "It gave us a good idea of
what we needed tire-wise for the 200."
But the ra ce a lso p ro ved to w ork
aga inst some riders, most notably in the
case of last yea r w hen Russell h ad a
mechanical problem in his Tw in 50 that
forced him to sta rt the Daytona 200 from
the back of the 57-ri der field . Still, the
Geo rgian fou gh t th rough to take his second Daytona 200 victory.
TH E SUPPORTING CAST
Wh ile the 200 rema in s the headline
road race of the week, the other classes
shou ld also p ro ve to be enterta in ing.
The 750cc Supersport fina l w ill kick the
AMA road racing sched ule off on Frid ay
(Top) Vance &
Hines Yamaha's
Jamie James has
never won the
Daytona 200 , but
that could chang e
in 1995.
(Above) Troy
Corser finis hed
second last year in
his Daytona 200
debu t; he will be
another to be
recko ned with in
this year's race.
(Left) Freddie
Spencer (standing)
and M Smith
ike
make up Eraldo
Ferracci 's Ducatl
team for the AMA
Superblke Se ries
which gets
underway with the
Daytona 200.
wil
afternoon wi th Vance & Hines Yam aha 's To m Kipp hop ing to begin a successfu l d efense of the champ ionship he
wo n last year with Yoshimura Suzuki.
Frid ay will also see the third roun d
of the BMW Battl e of the Legen ds series
wi th the In tern ati on al Ligh tweigh t lOOk
topping off the afternoon.
The 250cc Grand Prix race should be
last year's Daytona 200
Laprecord: Pascal Pico1Ie (1994) 1: 0
5 .06&'116.437 mph
1994 Qualifying Top 10
:
1. Pascal Pico1Ie (1:50.068)
2. SCott RusseU(1:50. 86)
3
3. Jamie James (1:51.413)
4. Troy Corser (1:51.462)
5. Eddie Lawson (1:51.5198)
6. Doug Polen (1:51.520)
7. Dave sadowski (1:52.414)
8. Fred Merkel (1:52.484)
9. Donald Jacks (1:52.494)
.10. Colin Edwards II (1:52.609).
1994 Daytona 200 Top10:
1. Scott Russell (Kaw)
2. Troy Corser (Due)
3. Eddie Lawson (Yam)
4. Doug Polen (Han)
5. JamieJames(Yam)
6. Steve Crevier (Kaw)
7. Mike Smith (Hanl
8. Thomas Stevens (Suz)
9. KevinMagee (Han)
10. Dale Quarter1ey (!