Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127772
the likes of m a r qu is Aussie homeboys like Gobe rt a nd Corser both of wh om he used to defea t on a regular basis in Austral ia . Unli ke th eir intern ational associates, th e Yos hi m u r a Su zu ki team will be u sin g Dunl op tires. The grea tes t threat to Ru ssell 's thron e co u ld conceivably come from his former team, th e th ree-ri d e r Muzzy . Ka w asa k i squad h ead e d by b r ig ht s ta r Anthony Gobert. The hard-riding young Aus tralian, and World Superbi ke con ten der, led several Suz uki's three-man AMA Superb ike ar m wi ll consist of Yoshim u ra Suzuki rid ers Pascal Picotte, Aaron Yates and Matt Mladin. Former Canadian Superbike Champion Picotte will be gunning for a Day tona 200 victory on his th ird different brand in three years, ha ving jumped ship from the Fast By Ferracci Ducati to th e Mu zzy Kawasaki to the Yoshim u ra ride for the '96 season. Yates, a Team Suzuki Sport sup port rider in the 750cc Supersport wars prior to this yea r, is looking forwa rd to getting his first full season in America' s premier road racing class sta rted off on a posi tive not e. The Ausrali a n- bo rn Ml adin has a n A us tralian National Superbike crown to his credit and has spent time aboard a Cagiva in the Grands Prix, but serious injury and difficulties with his former employers ha ve left him scrambli ng to regain solid footing in the world of road racing. At Dayton a, Mlad in will be hu ngry to prove tha t he has wha t it takes to beat even faster start in '96. Crevier is making the switch to the RC45 after a tw o-year stint aboard a Muzzy Kaw asaki. Like his teammate, the Canadian ride r was run ning st ro ng in th e 1995 Dayton a 200 before tangling w ith Mike Smith a nd Mike H ale, and exiting the race. He is, no d oubt, anxio us to give his new employers a much better result this year. Smo kin' Joe's plans to ride high on Dunlops. Sh ooting s ta r Mike Ha le and 1994 AMA Superbike Champion Troy Corser make up the Prom otor Ducati team that ju st might give the Itali an marque its first-ever Daytona 200 win . Hale bagged a 12th-place finish at Daytona in '95 after being involved in a three-rid er melee while riding for Smokin ' Joe' s Racing and the n went on to win tw o AMA Nationals and lead the se ries poin ts chase for mu ch of the year before finishing rig ht behi nd DuH amel in the fina l (Above) Pascal Picotte will make his Yoshimura Suzuki debut at Daytona. (Right) Doug Chandler has never won at Daytona. (Below) Miguel DuHamel has , and he'd like to do It again as he defends his AMA Superbike National Champ ionship. la p s an d re mained in th e hunt for a pod ium finish before crah ing out of contention on the 50th circuit in the '95 race. If he can ke ep the wheels in line this year, he may just have the inside track to victory . One of Gobert's teammates who coul d be considered a dark-horse pick . for the '96 Daytona 200 victory is none other than former AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler, who returns to the MuzZ¥ team for which he won the National title in 1990. After a disappointing and injury-plagued year with the Harley-David son factory team in 1995, the former factory Cagiva GP contender may find that his familiarity with th e team could be just what he needs to refocus his career. Gobert and Chandler are joined by former Fast by Ferracci teamster Mike Smith, who has yet to win an AMA Superbike ationaI. The Muzzy Kawasakis are set to wear Dunlop tires. Smokin' Joe' s Racing comes to the Daytona 200 with reigning AMA Superbike Champion Miguel DuHamel and forme r Canadian Nati onal Champion Steve Crevie r. Du Hamel knows what it takes to win at Daytona, having notched a victory in the 1991 edition of the race on a Commonwealth Racing RC30, the last time a Honda claimed the event win . He was knocke d out of the running last year after a tum-one crash on lap 18, bu t DuHamel certainl y picked up the pieces as he went on to claim six National event wins en route to th e se r ies cha m p ionship. With a year's worth of developm ent making the RC45 a formidable weapon , DuHamel could ge t o ff to an tally. Now a World Superbike contender, H ale sco rched th e Speed way with the fastest p reseason test ing time, a 1:49.48. It spea ks well of h is abilities a nd his chances at giving his former employers and the rest of the competition - a serious headache at this year's event. But do that , he may have to butt heads directly with his Australian teammate Corser, who had a s tellar year in the United States two years ago tha t culminated in a ational title. And remember tha t Corser might well have won the Daytona 200 in 1995 had it not been for a mechanical failure that took him out of the running on only the 14th lap. If his motorcycle stays together down the stretch, then Corser could add his name to the roll call of winners. Both rid ers are serious contenders who w ill be competing on Michelin tires. After hav in g a banner 1994 season followed by a rather lean ' 95, Ducati team owner Eraldo Ferracci will be facin g a rebuilding yea r in 1996, and he ap pea rs to ha ve a lot of raw tal ent to work with in youn g riders Larry Pegram and Shawn Higbee. Pegram did dou ble duty in 1995, splitting his time between Erio n Racing Honda CBR600F3s a nd 900RRs on the AMA road racing circuit an d an Eaken Racing Harley-Davidson XR750 in th e AMA Grand Na tional Championship Series . Peg ram has shown that he has the talent to get the job done, but hi s youthful exuberance has cost him many a shot at victory . As the 23-year-old matures, he cou ld be one to watch. Higbee ste ps onto the team 9