VOLUME ISSUE MARCH , P149
What's more, the 200 was still
seen as one of the premier rac-
es on the international calendar,
and although the day's current
GP stars were not facing the
starter's flag, there was a pleth-
ora of young and established
stars from AMA and WorldSBK,
the series which was beginning
to find its feet after its 1988 es-
tablishment and would eventu-
ally go on to surpass 500cc GP
racing's popularity by the end of
the 1990s.
The list of entries makes for
compelling reading. Lawson
would have to contend with cur-
rent 200 Champion and even-
tual 1993 WorldSBK Champion
Scott Russell, the man who in
time would go on to take a re-
cord four 200 wins and own the
nickname "Mr. Daytona."
Former two-time WorldSBK
Champion Doug Polen was
there, soon to be two-time
WorldSBK Champion, but then a
19-year-old upstart by the name
of Colin Edwards was Lawson's
teammate; Kiwi legend Aaron
Slight was on the grid, as was
Miguel Duhamel, Pascal Picotte,
Steve Crevier, Ducati's first
WorldSBK Champion Raymond
Roche, Japan's Akira Yanagawa,
Scotland's Brian Morrison, and
the late Briton Mark Farmer,
Dale Quarterly and Ireland's
plucky GP and TT journeyman
Eddie Laycock.
Lawson may have
had some solid
competition against
him, but he had the
right kit for the job.
The Jim Leonard-
built Vance & Hines
Yamaha YZF750 was
a missile around the
high banks with more
top-end speed than
Russell's number-one
Muzzy Kawasaki,
although the 1993
Daytona 200 was
more a race of tires
than any horsepower
advantage.
This was the first time in the
race's history that the leaders
would stop for three rear-tire
changes, which meant the race
was largely a case of cat-and-
mouse of who made the cor-
rect choice and who made their
choices last.
As it turned out, the top four
finishers all needed three rears
to go the distance at the pace
they were running, although
Russell and Lawson both bet
on a two-stop strategy, only
for each to make unscheduled
pitstops and throw the running
order out of whack.
The 1993 Daytona 200 was
a tragic event with the death of
36-year-old Jimmy Adamo, the
New Yorker who passed away
following a high-speed crash on
lap seven. According to eye-
witness accounts, Adamo ran
straight at the end of the back-
straight that leads to turn six,
the left-hander that puts riders
back onto the high-banked oval.
Adamo lost control of his Ducati
and struck a section of haybale-
protected wall, suffering fatal
head injuries.
At the time of Adamo's ac-
cident, Russell and Lawson had
established themselves as the
front-runners, with the former
taking over at the front in lap
seven when the pace car was
brought out.
With the pace car in on lap 12,
the battle resumed, but this time
Lawson and Russell had been
caught by Duhamel, but a false
neutral for the French-Canadian
meant he dropped back to sixth,
(Left) Eddie Lawson's (7) final fling put
him on the top step at Daytona in a thriller over
Scott Russell (1).
PHOTO: HENNY RAY ABRAMS
