Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

I·P E IE RV W 1996 Daytona.200 • By Scott Rousseau ach runnin g o f th e Dayto n a 200 . b ri n g s wi th it a lot of "ifs. " For exam ple: If yo ur name is .Scott Ru ssell and yo u are loo kin g fo r another victory, then it migh t not p ay to have a first -row sta rt for the 55th runni ng o f the most p res tigious event in Ame rican motorcycling. Judging by h is performances in the "big one" du rin g the past two yea rs, it see ms as th o u gh th e fo rme r AM A N ational and Wor ld Superbike Cham pion can't do we ll unless he has some sort of hand icap to overcome. A mechanical failu re.in one of the Twin 50s pu t Russell in 64th place on the grid in 1994, bu t he stormed through th e fie ld anyway to cl a im the second 200 victory of h is caree r. Russell returned to Dayton a in 1995 and simp ly outdid himself by dropping his Muzzy Kaw asaki on the second lap of the race, pickin g it up, and then charging from well down in the stan dings to claim the lead on the 20th lap and run virtua lly uncon tested to win nu mber three. God only know s wha t might hap pen this year. Will Russell do n h is helmet 15 m inutes a fter the sta rt of the race an d then attempt to ru n down the com petition in or der to keep thin gs in teresting? No t likely, becau se if the man they call "M r. Da yt ona" is to w in on th e h igh banks this yea r, then he mu st arguably d o so with mor e th an one handicap : a bra nd-new mot orcycle, and the p ressure of making motorcycle racing history. While pre-r ace testing of th e comp letely red esi gn ed Su zuki GSXR750-T has go ne well - Russell w as little more than a second off the fast time set by Promotor Ducati rider Mike Hale du rin g the Michelin tire test held at the Speed w ay in Decem ber - there is undoub ted ly still & 8 much to be learned about the brand-new machi ne, especially under the un iq ue a nd ri go rou s strain t h a t th e s p rin t/end uran ce n a tu r e of the 200 p laces on equipment. As if com ing to the big show on a n ew m ot or cycl e weren 't enough, th e added weight of a potential milestone p ossibly being the first man to win the event fou r times and th e first to clai m three-str aight Daytona 200 w ins - could bring even more pressu re to bear. A victor y at thi s year's event woul d foreve r emblazo n Russell's nam e in the history boo ks, allowi ng him to stand hea d and shou lders above such other racing greats as th ree- time w inners Dick Klamfoth (1949, '51 & '-52), Brad Andres (1955, '59 & '60), Roger Reiman (1961, '64 & '65) and Kenny Roberts (1978:83 & '84). So w ha t if a fourth w in for Russell isn't in the cards? If "Mr. Davtona" fails to get the job done, then whC; will? Take you r p ick. Some 20 factory riders from six different manufactur ers are slated to be o n th e g rid wh en the g reen fl a g dr ops. In theory, each of them will have a better-than-ave ra ge sh o t at clai mi ng victory . But the key to the winner' s circle may lie not in the ability of the riders or the marques they ride into batt le, but in the most crucia l factor affectin g all who will tum a wheel on the Speed way tarm ac ti re we ar. The an n u a l Dun lo p a n d Michelin tire tests conducted by the various teams at Dayt on a late in '95 may ha ve she d a littl e light on the m atter. Riders testin g Michelin ru bb er turned quicker lap times, with Promotor Ducati stablemates Hale and Troy Corser dipping into the 1:49s, but the Michelins faltered in the durability department as no rider wa s able to go th e required distance between gas stops (about 20 laps) wi tho u t experiencing tire-w ea r prob - Ierns. On the ot he r h and, th e best lap time se t b y th e fas test Dun lop-shod rid er, Muzzy Kaw asaki's Antho ny Gobert, w as actu ally 0.13 seco nd s s low er than Russell's thi rd -fastest clocking of 1:50.60 on Michelin s. But the Dunl ops wer e said to still be looking and feeling go od afte r runni n g p it -st op d istance. Then again, nobod y will know wh at all of this mean s for su re u nt il the race is actua lly un derway STARR ING... Pre-race favo rite Russell will look to give Suzu ki its first Daytona 200 victory s in ce re tir e d Gra n d Prix s ta r Kevin Schwantz rode a Suzu ki to the 1988 Daytona 200 win. How iron ic that the Geor- gia n will be carrying th e colors of the . Lucky Strike Suzuk i Gra nd Pri x team the very rid e that Schw ant z retired from las t yea r to give Russell a sho t on th e 500. It cou ld be a good ome n. Russell will run on Michelin tires. Suzuki 's Daytona '200 assau lt doesn 't stop there. Its all-new World Superbike team, also using Miche lins, w ill consi st of reigning Australian Superbike Champion Kirk McCarthy, wh o is making the s wi tch fro m a H ond a RC45 . Form er Gra n d Pri x-ri d ing Eng lis h ma n John Reyn olds, wh o finished 10th in the 1995 Wo rld Superb ike s tan d ing s abo a rd a Reve-ba cked Kawasaki, is also on the squa d and looking for a goo d resul t in the 200.

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