CN
III ARCHIVES
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
T
he Ontario 6 Hours—a.k.a.
the American Federation of
Motorcyclists (AFM) 6 Hours—had
a seven-year fun, and, in spite of
annual scoring faux pas, it became
the best-known endurance race in
America. It was America's own ver-
sion of the Suzuka 8 Hours, if you
will. Ontario, which ran from 1974
to 1980 in the spring, attracted
many of the top riders and teams
in the then burgeoning ranks of
Superbike racing.
The race was held on Ontario
Motor Speedway's 3.2-mile road
P134
ONTARIO 6 HOURS:
AMERICA'S SUZUKA
He blasted through the field on
another Yoshimura Kawasaki Z-1,
passing a remarkable 30 riders
on the first lap alone. Four laps
later, he blasted by early leader
Reg Pridmore on the Butler and
Smith BMW.
It looked as if Duhamel and
teammate Pat Alexander would
have the inaugural race in the
bag, but a rear brake rod came
course, which, much like Day-
tona International Speedway,
utilized part of an oval Super-
speedway and an infield road-
course section.
The first race was held in 1974
and was called the AFM 300. A
team endurance race, the AFM
300 was won by the father-son
team of Buddy and Mike Par-
riot on a Yoshimura Kawasaki,
though it was Yvon Duhamel who
was the star of that first race.
After a gimpy LeMans start,
Duhamel was last off the line.
Dave Emde and Dave Aldana,
aboard a Yoshimura R&D Suzuki,
celebrate their win at the Ontario
6 Hours in 1979.
