Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

:ROAO:RACE" AMA S uperbike Road Race Series . Round 4: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course , By Paul Carruthers Photos by Henny Ray Abrams LEXINGTON, OH, JUN. 4 t was the type of day that Smokin' Joe's Honda team owner Martin Adams dreamed about when he first started racing in the Superbike class in 1990. Miguel DuHamel and Mike Hale rod e their Smokin' Joe's Honda RC45 to an exciting one-two finish at the MidOhio Sports Car Course, extending Hale's championship lead while al so lifting DuHamel into the top five as the series began its all-important three-race run through the month of June. It was only a season ago that Adams and the rest of the Smokin' Joe's team were suffering through a dismal season with the Honda RC45. Compare this year to last : After four rounds of the 1994 season, the team's best result was Mike Smith's seventh-place finish in the Daytona 200, while Kevin Magee was . faring even worse. This year the team has won two of the four races, and the surprising young Ha le leads the championship . What a difference a yea r makes. At the end of the 26-lap, 62.4-mile race, the two factory Ho ndas crossed the ~ line in u nison - wit h DuHamel topping 0\ his teammate Ha le by 1.343 seco nd - as a ...... li v e telev is ion au dience and a large .,; crowd were treated to a thri lling race in ,......, which at least three ride rs ran together Cl) for th e durat ion. Third p lac e went to two- time World Champion Fred Merkel ....., on the Yoshim ura Suzuki, the surprise m oto r cy cl e of th e 1995 campaig n . Merkel's performance was a forceful I ~ ~ § 6 one, with the 33-year-old Californian lead ing the race early on and remaining a cons ta nt threa t throughout. He finished only three seconds behind the lead duo after slowing his pace in the last five laps. Vance & Hines Yamaha 's Jami e James finished a comfortable fourth for the third time this year after completing the first lap in eighth place. Muzzy Kawasaki's Steve Crevier was fifth with Vance & Hines Yamaha 's Tom Kipp, Yoshimura Suzuki' s Thomas Stevens, Team Desmo's Dave Sadowski, Team Mirage's Dale Quarterley and Fast By Ferracci Ducati's Freddie Spencer filling the top 10 positions. Notable non-finishers were the other two Fast By Ferracci Du catis of Mike Smith and Takahiro Sohwa, both dropping out early with mechanical failures. The two factory Harley-Davidsons, ridden by Doug Chandler and Chris Carr, finished 15th and 17th, respectively. For DuHamel the Mid-Ghio victory was the fourth of his career and the first 'since he beat Doug Polen in the final round of the series in August of 1993. The French Canadian took over at the front on the seventh lap. He was never headed, thou gh he was under constant pressure from Merkel and then Ha le in the race's closing laps. For Ha le the race further proved the young Texa n's clai m as one of t h e spo rt's brig ht es t stars. Hale sta r ted slowly, completing the first lap in ninth place, but picked his way through some of the best superbike racers in the country to ultimately move into position to challenge his tea m m a te. His second place fu rt he r extended his lead in the championship to 11 points over Merkel, 114-103 . Qua rterley h old s on to third p lace w ith 97 p o ints, seve n clear o f Stevens..DuHam el jumps to fifth in the standings with 85 poin ts. Poor wea ther hampered most of the weekend's activities, but bright sunshine finally ap peared just mome nts before the start of the televised race. When the flag dropped, it was Merkel who got the best jump an d led the 39-rider superbike field (Top) The Superblke Nat ion al gets started at th e Mid-Oh io Spo rts Car Course. Mike Smith (68) start~ with a bi g' wheelstand while Fred Merke l (27) gets ready to lead the charge Into the first corner• (Abo ve) By the end of the race, It was a two-man battle between Smokln ' Joe 's Racing teammates Miguel DuHame l (17) and Mike Hale (23). DuHame l won , but just barely.

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