AMA Road Racing: Cycle News' Archives Scribe Larry Lawrence Reviews Troy Corser's '94 AMA Superbike Championship

By the time the AMA Superbike Championship Series rolled into Road America in June '94, a relative unknown to American race fans was making a huge impression on the U.S.-based series and was on his way to a 'rookie' championship in AMA Pro Road Racing's premier class. Troy Corser had won the Australian Superbike Championship the year previously, and Eraldo Ferracci was able to sign him to his Fast By Ferracci Ducati team to race in the AMA Superbike Championship Series with team mate Pascal Picotte. It proved to be a perfect pairing after it was all said and done.

At the Coca-Cola Super Cycle Classic in Elkhart Lake, WI., Corser on the #19 Ducati Motorcycles/Pro Grip/Dunlop/Fast By Ferracci-sponsored Ducati 955 leads team mate Picotte on the #21 Ducati/Fast By Ferracci-backed Ducati 955 early in the Superbike main event heading into turn 14. Picotte would go on to take the win after Jamie James on the #2 Vance & Hines Yamaha was docked for passing under the yellow just out of turn 14 when team mate Colin Edwards crashed out of the event. Corser would finish 4th after over-cooking his brakes at the four mile circuit. Almost ironically, Corser would go on to beat James for the title at the season-ending round at Road Atlanta when a mechanical on James' bike forced him to drop back in the pack.

The man from New South Wales, Australia would head to Europe for the '95 season contesting the World Superbike Championship, where in '96 he won his first of two titles while riding for the Promotor Ducati factory team. He would grab his second World Superbike Championship in '05 while riding for the Alstare Corona Suzuki team.

Corser would go on to compete in 377 WSBK events throughout his career, over 60% of the races held in the now-25 years of the series. He is the all-time Superpole winner with 43 and won 33 WSBK events while riding for Ducati, Suzuki, Aprilia and Yamaha. In his 15 years of contesting the WSBK Championship, Corser also rode for the Foggy Petronas and BMW teams and retired after the end of the '11 season after having ridden for BMW since the '09 season.
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A big shout out and thanks goes to Larry Lawrence and his Cycle News Archives column as he hits a home run with this trip back in time to the '94 AMA Superbike Championship when Troy Corser appeared on the scene in America to take on the rest of the big horses in the premier road racing series in the U.S.

Thanks to LL and CN for this great trip down memory lane:

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20120223#pg87
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