Michelin tire test
By Henny Ray Abrams
6
ho wo uld have thou ght th at
after two full days of tire testing the man with the quickest
time would be, not Scott "Mr.
Da ytona" Russell, but firstyear World Sup erb iker Mike Hal e? The
Promotor Du cati rider was not only the
fastest of the 10 su perbike riders taking
part in the fall Michelin tire test, he was
consistently the qu ickest. But whether or
not he can do those times in the March
ra ce is ano ther questio n en tire ly . Th e
purpose here, after all, is not to set fast
lap times, but to find a tire th at can get
through th e 200 -mile r sa fe ly in the
Mar ch heat. But he was confide nt.
"1 knew what the bikes we re capable
of and I' expec ted to br eak in to th e 49second barrier," said Hal e, wh ose fastest
(Above) Russell was
joined at the test by
his Lucky Strike
Suzuki crew ch ief
Stuart Shenton.
(Left) The th ree-t ime
Daytona 200 wi nner
will attempt to win
his fourth when
Camel Bike Week
concludes with the
200 on March 10.
(Opposite page )
Larry Pegram was
one of three riders
who were given the
opportunity to ride a
Fast By Ferracc i
Ducati du ring the
Michelin test;
Pegram made th e
most of the
opportunity and will
be included in th e
team in '96.
