Cycle News

CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE I t will go down as one of the most memorable Daytona 200 races in the long, rich history of the event. In the 1995 edition of Daytona, Scott Russell crashed his Muzzy Kawasaki ZX-R on the second lap in the race, then famously jumped over the downed machine and got back underway, coming back to slice through nearly the entire field to win the race. It was also notable in that World Superbike champ Carl Fogarty came to Daytona with a full Ducati factory effort to win the race. Fogarty came close to giving Ducati its first Daytona 200 victory, but it was Russell's home turf and he came away with the win. One thing that made Russell's win even more impressive was the fact that he made his comeback in a field that included 20 other factory riders in one of the most im- pressive lineups of the superbike era of the Daytona 200. To put the icing on the cake, not only was the battle between Russell and Fogarty one of epic proportions, but the battle over the final podium spot was riveting as well. Thomas Stevens, showing renewed determination, out-gunned Yamaha's Colin Edwards on the final lap to secure himself a place in the Daytona Winners Circle. Stevens' third was the best Daytona 200 finish for Yoshimura Suzuki in three years. In qualifying Russell became the first rider to break the one-minute, 50 second barrier at Daytona. Russell set a new track record by turning a 1:49.852 (116.666 mph). At the start of the 200, Colin Edwards rode from the outside of the first row to put his blue and white Yamaha in the lead going into turn one. Troy Corser used the powerful Ducati 955 to motor into the lead on the east banking, and it was Corser who led the first of 57 laps. Russell was back in fourth and decided to make his move to the front. He moved in behind Corser going into the International Horseshoe when Corser suddenly hit the brakes early for the turn. Rus- sell did not seem ready, he quickly moved to the inside, narrowly missing Corser in the process, and suddenly found himself going way too fast to make the turn. Instead of running off into the grass, Russell, undoubtedly filled with adrenalin, flicked his bright green Kawasa- ki into the turn, trying to make the machine submit to his will. But even Russell couldn't overcome the laws of physics; the lean angle was too great, solid parts of the side of his motorcycle touch ground and Russell slide off the low-side. A collective gasp could be heard from the estimated 50,000 spectators. Corser and Fogarty narrowly missed hitting Rus- sell who instantly sprang to his feet and leapt over the fallen ZX. He picked up the bike and with the assistance of corner workers and tried to restart the engine. The corner workers apparently weren't pushing hard enough so Russell jumped off the bike and pushed it himself until it sputtered to life. As he got back up to speed, Russell, who had fallen to the back of the field, began looking over the bike. Amazingly the only problems were a handlebar and a footpeg slightly bent. All eyes were on Russell to see if he would pull into the P106 Scott Russell still won even after crashing while leading the Daytona 200 in 1995. RUSSELL'S LEAP TO VICTORY

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