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
1996 AMA Superbike National Championship' racing, whether that be in Grand Prix or World Superbike. To do SO he has to win in 1996. tal 1. Miguel DuHamel - # 1 - Age: 27 By Paul Carruthers · Photos by Henny Ray Abrams I t was a sight for sore eyes: Smokin' Joe's Honda team owner Martin Adams - on his knees and begging . "Please, Pau l, do n't pick Miguel to wi n the championship when you do your pred ictions next year," Adams im plo red after the checkered flag had fallen on the 1995 AMA Superbike National Ch am p ions hip , a se ries that was domin ated by Ad ams' Camel-backed tea m of Miguel Du Hamel and Mike Hale. Apparently, it had come to this: My prediction s had become so appalling that team owners were now begging me not to pick their riders, afraid of the dreaded Carru thers Curse that had tormented my last tw o champion-to-be picks, Kevin Magee (1994) and Mike Smith (1995). Okay, so I screwed up again. Mike Sm ith d idn' t w in th e 1995 AMA Superbike , ational Champ ionship as I so boldly pred icted in this very space a year ago. In wh at was a comp lete reversal of the 1994 season, it was the Fast By Ferracci Ducati sq ua d that floundered while the Smokin' Joe's team p rospe red . Go figure. Let's take a close r look at how my forecasts from 1995 turned out. And, naturally, my excuses as to w hy they di dn 't pan out as predicted. Fact: Mike Smith d id n' t win the cha m pio nship, so we kno w my first pick was way off. Smith ended up sev enth in the points chase. Excuse: I'll still argue tha t Smith is the FMTNWAN (Fastest Man To Never Win A Nationa l). Fact: What I thou ght wa s a sure bet for second in the title chase also ended up backfiring on me. Inju ry ru ined Jamie James' run in '95 and he en ded up missing four races, droppin g to 14th in the stand ings. Excuse: Hey, he wa s hurt. Enou gh said . Hometown: Montreal, Canada Team: S mokin' J oe 's Honda Best res ult in 1995 : 1st (Mid·Ohio, Road America , Loudon, Brainerd, Gateway and S ears PointJ T his is the easiest selection to win the AMA Superbike ational Championship since Dou g Pole n (which, incid entally, was the last time th is pick w as correct) , Du Hamel domin ated the 1995 season, and thu s far in 1996he's been able to one-up his AMA com pe tition in preseason testing. To make matters worse for the rest, the Honda RC45 will also be better in 1996, wit h chassis refi neme nts and more horsepower. DuH amel is not only the best rider, but he's also getting smarter all the time. He doesn't win qualifying, bu t he wins races. He' s also on what is arguably the best team in AMA racing and - remarkable as it may seem consi de ring the tou gh time the machine had early on - he may just ha ve the best bike. That' s a combination that's difficult to beat. It won't happen in 1996. Fact: Miguel DuHam el ende d up the AMA Superbike Nati on al Champion in 1995, winning a whopping six straigh t races, thus bett ering my prediction of a third-place finish . Excuse: 1 was p remature in thinking that the Honda RC45 was the N R500 of the '90s. 3 . Tom Kipp · #16 · Age: 27 Hometown: Mentor, Ohio Team: Vance & Hines Yamaha Best res ult in 1995: 2nd (Loudon, Gateway) · Kf Ipp could end u p being th e surprise of the series in 1996. The talted Ohioan came