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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Reviewing the 2012 Indy Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo Part 2

Motorcyclist Magazine had one of the larger display booths at the Indy show, including one of the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducatis featuring the #100 on it.  According to team co-owner Mike Lloyd, the mag is putting together a series of stories about the LBM team as part of their 100th anniversary in 2012 that will deal with their assault on the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.

The veteran team has been supporting AMA Pro Flat Track for over two decades now, and finally got their breakout win with Joe Kopp at the helm at the May 2010 Arizona Mile.  '11 AMA Rookie of the Year Brad Baker took the LBM Ducati to a season-best 2nd place finish at the season-ending Pomona Half-Mile on October 15, 2011.

Lloyd also mentioned that the team has removed the 'Ducati' branding from the bike, instead focusing on the team's name and sponsor Nicky Hayden's name on the tank.  Nicky helped lend the LBM team some support during the mid-part of the season last year after blowing a motor at the Sacramento Mile. 

"Nicky's been great and he'll always have a ride with us" was what Dave Lloyd had told me last season, and which brother Mike also confirmed at the Indy Dealer Show.  When The Kentucky Kid ran his demo laps at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile in August 2010 it was on one of the LBM bikes.  "He'd been away from flat track for a few years, but he would have qualified in the top 20 that night in just the few laps he did run," according to Mike.

"When he's ready to come back to flat track, we'll put him on one of our bikes in a heartbeat.  We took Ducati's name off of the bike since they haven't been willing to help us out.  They offered us dealer cost on parts, but I can get that at any dealer now," according to Mike Lloyd. 

It's been refreshing with all of the other support the team get's from fans at the AMA Pro Flat Track Twins Series races.  "We actually get as many or more Harley fans coming by to check us out at the races, they love the competition and are tired of seeing 18 Harley's out there just racing against themselves," stated Lloyd.



View on as we bring you another handful of the teams, sponsors and riders who help to support racing and were on hand at the 2012 Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo at the Indiana Convention Center in Indy over the February 17-19 weekend.
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Germany's Wossner Pistons had several displays throughout their booth at the Indy Dealer Expo.  The Werner-Springsteen Monster Energy Kawasaki team counts Wossner as one of their many sponsors in AMA Pro Flat Track.
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Lockhart Phillips had a nice display that included this Nicky Hayden Ducati 848.  Not to mention the pretty blond lady!
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Shoei Helmets had this wall display among their many lines of lids in Indy.  Among many of their sponsored riders is AMA Grand National #20 Matt Weidman.
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The folks from Scala Rider had a big display of some of the rider-to-passenger and rider-to-rider communication systems they offer on-hand at the Indy show.  The Bluetooth system they offer is considered one of the finest on the market, and they were announced at the end of January as the official communication system of AMA Pro Racing.
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Millenium Technologies had a cool display of some of their cylinder and head work.  Zanotti Racing, Werner-Springsteen Racing and Rogers Lake Racing are a few of the sponsored teams that the take care of in AMA Pro Flat Track.
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Sidi Boots had this wall of racing boots displayed at the Indy Dealer Expo.  Johnny Lewis, Nicky Hayden and Jimmy Wood are a few of their sponsored riders.
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Mikuni Carburetors had this impressive display that included a cool backdrop that featured former 2-Time AMA Superbike Champion Wes Cooley on an early '80s Suzuki.  The carb sitting on the counter on the left was so highly-polished you could almost brush your teeth with it.
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I had the pleasure of running into and meeting Richard Weirbach from the Iowa-based Weirbach Racing team, the 2011 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Flat Track Champions.  Richard and the team signed AMA Horizon Award winner Ryan Wells in the off-season and have been staying busy getting him some track time while running the Steve Nace AMA Dirt Track Indoor Championship inside the Southern Illinois Center at DuQuoin.  They have also been working on their XR750 for the Expert Twins Grand National Championship for the 2012 season, which they are hoping to sign someone to ride in a few races this year.  Richard headed home to Ottumwa after the show and then was on to the Minneapolis area to do some final dyno testing early in the week, before heading to DuQuoin for this weekend's final round of the Steve Nace Series.
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Two Brothers Racing stayed busy during the weekend at Indy.
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Penske Racing Shocks had some impressive goods on display.  Lloyd Brothers Motorsports and Nichole Cheza are among some of Penske's sponsored teams and riders in AMA Pro Flat Track.
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Silkolene USA stayed busy inside the Indiana Convention Center-hosted dealer expo.  Notice the Jake Johnson 2011 #1 AMA Pro Flat Track plate sitting in the background.  They also sponsor Bryan Smith, Matt Weidman and Brandan Bergen in AMA Pro Flat Track.
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AMA Superbike Championship rider Larry Pegram brought along one of his Pegram Racing/Foremost Insurance BMW S1000RR superbikes to display in the D2M booth at Indy.
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'94 AMA Superbike Champion and 2-Time World Superbike Champion Troy Corser was in the house on Friday at the Indy Dealer Expo talking with some of the SamcoSport reps.
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Dave Zanotti made the trip from California to display 2-Time and defending AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson's H-D XR750 at the Indy Dealer Show at the AMA Pro Racing/Racer X booth.
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Not too far around the corner from Jake's mount we found the Zanotti Racing crew holding shop in the Bazzaz booth.  Jake Johnson, crew chief Ted McDermitt and team owner Dave Zanotti talk with 2011 Springfield Mile II winner Willie McCoy along with a member of the Bazzaz team.
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Mentor, OH.-based Wiseco Pistons had some impressive displays at the show.  Among many of their sponsored teams and riders include Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., Nichole Cheza and Chris Carr.
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The folks from Metal Rescue had this new Moto3 entry on display in their booth with a Yamaha 250 engine.  Moto3 will be replacing the 125CC two-strokes this year.
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Tyler Porter stayed busy all weekend while helping out the great folks at Memphis Shades (who will be sponsoring Babe Demay's team this season with new rider Rob Pearson #27 in AMA Pro Flat Track.)  Brad Baker stopped by to see the main man from Fight For Dirt Track (www.fightfordirttrack.com) on Saturday of the show. 

The '11 AMA Pro Flat Track Saddlemen Rookie of the Year flew in from Texas after spending some time with new team-owner Kenny Tolbert, who is in the process of getting the new team's Kawasaki 650R-based machines ready for the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.  Brad 'The Bullet' said they are working on getting their final sponsorships worked out and put together for the upcoming season, and after the show was over on Sunday he was heading back to KT's home base.
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Motobatt Products had a booth at Indy after having just signed-on with AMA Pro Racing in November '11 as the official battery, charger and tester for the 2012 season in both AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track.
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Galfer Brakes had this Storz SP1200RR on display at the Indy show.  Storz Performance has a new line of cafe-style accessories for '04-present Harley-Davidson Sportsters, and this new show bike was used as a display to show-off what can be done with a little cash and a little imagination.  This bike started as a low-mile '07 883 Sportster and was tweaked with the help of a 1200cc Wiseco piston kit, 18 inch wheels, Galfer brakes, Barnett clutch and Performance Machine brake calipers, among other changes.
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Spectro Oils of America was busy thoughout the weekend with their Sarah Palin look-alike on-hand in their booth for pictures with the attendees.  Spectro sponsors the former 3-Time AMA Grand National Champion Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., among others, in AMA Pro Flat Track.
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Vance & Hines had a large display on-hand at the Indiana Convention Center for the 2012 Indy Dealer Expo, highlighted by this sweet AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series machine, decked out and ready to go racing at Daytona in about three weeks.  Vance & Hines XR1200 racing division is based out of their Brownsburg, IN. location, about 4 miles west of Stu's Shots homebase.
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Book-ending our coverage of the 2012 Indy Dealer Expo, we see the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports booth that featured a surprise along with a fine display of one of the team's big sponsors, ENI USA Lubricants.  Team co-owner Mike Lloyd (brown shirt, left rear of shot) is busy talking with attendees of the show and hawking the ENI line of quality products.  "These guys are great to work with and offer a big line of products for the industry," commented Lloyd.  ENI USA rep Dave Rinefierd (2nd from right) was helping out over the weekend and was very enthusiastic about the team's efforts and their association with ENI.  "These guys are great reps for the ENI brand," stated Rinefierd.

As you can see from the 1098 on display at the LBM booth, it is sporting a new number for the 2012 season.  "Yep, Henry Wiles will be our rider for this year.  We tried to get things worked out last year and then they fell apart and that's how we ended up with Brad," according to Mike Lloyd.  "We've got four complete bikes for this season.  This one (the one on-hand in their booth) is the original 1098 we started with, along with Larry Pegram's help several years ago.  We'll have two set up for the mile races and two for the half-miles."

Team co-owner and Mike's brother Dave, wasn't on-hand for the Indy show, but had told me several weeks ago that the budget was almost complete for the 2012 season.  They should be ready to go for the first Twins Series race at Springfield over the Memorial Day weekend, and are planning to run the Savannah, GA. Steve Nace All Star round the weekend before the Daytona Short Track season-openers.

This will definitely be one of the top teams to again keep an eye out for in the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season.  With Henry having ridden for the team in the past (taking their Aprilia to a 2nd place finish at Lima in 2008) they shouldn't have the usual 'teething' problems of getting team, bike and rider to gel. 

It should be a fun and productive year.  When you get to a round of the series this year make sure you stop by and say 'hi' to the Lloyd Brothers team.  They not only know how to do it on the track, but are a fun bunch of people to hang out with, too!
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This wraps up our coverage of the 2012 Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo, held in Indianapolis over the February 17-19 weekend.  We hope you've enjoyed our coverage of a handful of the companies, sponsors, teams and riders who help to support racing here in the United States and abroad.  Remember, without these companies and sponsors the sport we so dearly love would not be possible, so whenever you can support these companies and tell them thank you for the time, money and effort that they put into helping to make motorcycle racing possible.

We also want to again thank the great folks at Dealernews who sponsor the Indy Dealer Expo and for putting on such a great show and for allowing Stu's Shots to be a part of it this year.  We had a blast, and we hope all of our readers have enjoyed the coverage. 

Thanks again for taking the time to hang out with us here and to spend your hard-earned time with Stu's Shots!
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And you can read part one of our review of the 2012 Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo here:

http://stusshots.blogspot.com/2012/02/reviewing-2012-indy-dealernews.html
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Cycle News.com's Larry Lawrence Talks Exciting Finishes to AMA Superbike Championship Over the Years

The Coca-Cola Super Cycle Classic Weekend at Road America in June 1994 witnessed one of the most controversial race finishes in the history of the AMA Superbike Championship Series, to go along with some of the best on-track action that the riders and machines had put on in front of the crowds at the sprawling Elkhart Lake, WI. facility since the series first hit the scene north of Milwaukee in the early '80s. 

Eventual '94 series champion Troy Corser is shown leading the pack on the first lap of the AMA Superbike Championship main event at the end of lap one coming out of turn 14 for the run up the hill on his #19 Ducati Motorcycles/Pro Grip/Dunlop/Fast By Ferracci Racing Products-backed Ducati 955 as team mate Pascal Picotte on his #21 Ducati/Fast By Ferracci/Pro Grip/Dunlop-sponsored 955 gives chase.  Jamie James on the #2 Vance & Hines/Yamaha/Dunlop/Bell-sponsored YZF750 follows, along with Mike Smith on his #68 American Honda/Smokin' Joe's Racing/Dunlop/Pro Honda Oils-backed RC45, 3-Time AMA Superbike Champion Fred Merkel on the #27 Muzzy Kawasaki/Dunlop/Motul/SBS-sponsored ZX-7R, Dave Sadowski on the #25 Desmo/FBF/Dunlop/RK-sponsored Ducati 955 and Thomas Stevens on his #11 American Suzuki/Yoshimura Racing/Dunlop/NGK-backed GSX-R750.  Also keeping things close are Kevin Magee on the #23 American Honda/Smokin' Joe's Racing/Dunlop/Pro Honda Oils-sponsored RC45, Tiger Sohwa on the #41 Muzzy Kawasaki/Dunlop/Motul/SBS-backed ZX-7R and Colin Edwards on the #45 Vance & Hines/Yamaha/Arai/Dunlop-backed YZF750.

In what would come down to James' losing the series title to Corser at the season finale by mere points due to a mechanical, pundits could point to the outcome of this race as being the true culprit in James' failure to secure his second premier championship after having won the title riding for Yoshimura Suzuki in the '89 season.  With a handful of laps to go, James' team mate Edwards threw it away on the outside of 14, with the battle having whittled down to the two Yamaha and two Ducati factory pilots, with Merkel trying his best to keep them honest.  With the waving yellow being presented on the lap after the crash for the field, leader Picotte was passed by James coming out of 14 for the run up the hill.  But the AMA officials ruled that since no passing is allowed under those conditions, James pass was voided and his failure to meet the black flag for a stop-and-go meant he was eventually relegated down the field in the final results.

Eventually at the season-ender at Road Atlanta, a mechanical having to do with the power valve on James' Yamaha caused the machine to slow with the laps winding down in the season finale, and gave Corser the edge he needed to finish enough ahead of his title rival to clinch the championship by just a few points.  James at least got the consolation, as earlier in the day he had clinched the '94 AMA 600 Supersport Championship, but his second premier title in the over-four decades old Superbike Series was not to come. 
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With the great finale in the 2011 version of the AMA Superbike Championship coming down to the final event of the year at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Cycle News.com's Larry Lawrence talks about some of the other close finishes in the premier road racing series in America over the years in this week's 'Archives' column in the Digital Edition of CN.  Read on as one of the best in the sport takes us for a trip down memory lane as he talks some of the closest finishes over the years in the AMA Superbike Championship Series:

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20110920#pg97
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AMA Road Racing: Ferracci Ducati 848EVO & Celtic Racing Ready for Daytona 200

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Troy Corser snugs his Arai helmet into place before jumping on his #19 Fast By Ferraci Ducati 955 to make another run at qualifying for the AMA Superbike Championship Series round at the Coca-Cola Super Cycle Classic in Elkhart Lake, WI. in June of '94. Legendary tuner and team owner Eraldo Ferracci can be seen in the left of the shot looking over the rear of the Fast By Ferracci/Pro Grip/SBS/Dunlop-sponsored machine while the rest of the team gets ready to hand off to Corser, who would go on to win the '94 AMA Superbike Championship, the second in a row for Italian Ferracci after having won the '93 title with Doug Polen. Polen and Ferracci also won the '91-'92 World Superbike Championships together before turning their focus towards the United States' based AMA Championship. Corser also went on to win two World Superbike Championships after heading to Europe to play in the '95 season, where he is now a member of the official BMW World Superbike Championship team.
Ferracci has had numerous 'A-Listers' on his roster of riders throughout his years of competition in the States and abroad, amongst them Mat Mladin, Tom Kipp, Gerald Rothman, Freddie Spencer, Mike Hale and Larry Pegram to name just a few. Teaming up with Celtic Racing and rider P.J. Jacobsen (2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Rookie of the Year) for the 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona SportBike Series with the new-for 2011 Ducati 848EVO, Ferracci looks to wave his magic wand again in the U.S. series after a several year break.
Look for this team to be in the running the entire season once the riders hit the track at Daytona this coming Thursday, March 10. Between P.J.'s current rise in the racing ranks, Celtic Racing's ability to field a great team, and Ferracci's well-known tuning abilities with the Ducati, this team could very well be the one to beat for the 2011 AMA Road Racing Daytona SportBike Championship. And you can watch the Daytona 200 live on SpeedTV on Saturday, March 12 at 1300 EST.
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After a several year break in running the AMA Road Racing Series, long-time tuner to the stars Eraldo Ferracci is again getting ready to contest the series for the 2011 season with another potent Ducati. Teaming with Celtic Racing and 2010 AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year P.J. Jacobsen, the squad will be running in the Daytona SportBike class and looking to end Ducati's jinx of being able to complete the 200 mile endurance race at the World Center of Speed.

Equipped with an all-new Ducati 848EVO, the FBF/Celtic Racing team and rider Jacobsen should have a foot up on the field, especially with Ferracci's long-time ties to the Italian factory. With endurance levels of the desmodromic-based internals having escalated over the years, FBF looks to taste the victory champagne for the first time at Daytona.

This should be a great combination for this team for the 2011 season and things kick off on the Sunshine State's East Coast racing facility this Thursday, March 10.
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Thanks to RoadRacingWorld.com for this press release from Fast By Ferracci where The Italian Master himself talks about the team's chances in the 2011 AMA Road Racing Daytona SportBike Series class:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=43538
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You can read up on Eraldo Ferracci's history in AMA Road Racing and World Superbike Championship history here:

http://www.ferracci.com/about/about.php
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Check out Celtic Racing via their official website:

http://www.celticracing.com/news.html
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Keep up with Celtic Racing and Fast By Ferracci this year via their FaceBook page:

http://www.facebook.com/CelticRacing
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Happy Birthday to Miguel Duhamel From Stu's Shots!

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Miguel Duhamel on the #17 Team Honda RC51 rolls it out of turn 8 while qualifying for the AMA Superbike round at Road America in June of 2000. The new big-twin 1000cc RC came out with a bang and Honda looked to capitalize on the extra 250cc that twins were allowed over the four cylinder inline crowd. Nicky Hayden won Daytona on one with his championship in 2002 and Miguel took the bike to victory at Daytona in '03 as well in a Honda RC-sweep with Ben Bostrom in 2nd and Kurtis Roberts in 3rd. Miguel also won at Elkhart Lake in '00 when this was shot.
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The all-time winningest rider in AMA Road Racing, and AMA 600 Supersport competition as well, Miguel is seen on the #1 Smokin' Joe's Honda CBR600F while qualifying for the weekend's event at Mid Ohio in the summer of '97. Miguel won five class championships in the AMA 600 Supersport class and is the series all-time winner in the class as well. Miguel won the series championship in '91, '93, '95-'97. At one point in his career he had won 10-600 races in a row.
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I've been going to AMA road races since the '82 season, and first started going to WERA events when the big TZ's and the Harley Davidson two-stroke Italian twins were dominant in the mid-late '70's. But in all my years of following and going to races, I have never heard a roar from a crowd like what came forth all the way around the 2.5 mile Mid Ohio track during the AMA Superbike final in 1994 during the first few laps. EVER.
Harley Davidson had just gotten into the AMA Superbike series with their VR1000 and had hired Miguel Duhamel, fresh off his '93 run with Muzzy Kawasaki and winning his 2nd AMA 600 Supersport Championship. Harley was hot to win and prove they could get off the porch and run with the big dogs, and Miguel was hired to help prove it. And for that brief showing that afternoon in the summer of '94 he had damn near everyone in hearing and roaring distance believing it, too. After having put the almost-then-already-outdated VR on the front row during qualifying, The Master got the jump at the green flag of the final and led the first few trips around the circuit to the delight and glory of just about everyone present that day. Not to mention gaining a few new fans in the process. He did it again later in the year at Brainerd, and although I wasn't there for that one, I always swore I felt the vibration here in Indy from the roar up north. Even though the VR-thing never panned out-for Miguel or for H-D for that matter-about the only other accolade the bike had was Chris Carr putting it on the pole at Pomona in '95. But for those few shining minutes that hot summer day 16 years ago, the Harley VR reigned supreme in Lexington, OH., at the hands of The Grand Master Miguel.
Following Miguel into and through the carousel on the first lap of the final are (in no particular order) team mates Pascal Picotte #21 and Troy Corser #19 on the Fast By Ferracci Ducatis, Tom Kipp on the #16 and team mate Thomas Stevens on the #11 Team Yoshimura Suzukis, Jamie James on the #2 Vance and Hines Yamaha, Dale Quarterley on the #32 Team Mutant Ninja Turtles Muzzy-leased Kawasaki (and the winner of the '93 Mid Ohip Superbike final), and Tiger Sohwa on the Team Muzzy Kawasaki #41. Eventual winner Colin Edwards was right behind Sohwa and James and Tiger would round out the podium at the end of the day.
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After returning from Europe and his foray into the World 500cc Championship with Team Yamaha France-and winning the FIM World Endurance Championship for Team Kawasaki France while across the pond-Miguel was teamed with Dale Quarterley on the Team Muzzi Kawasakis, with Miguel contesting the AMA 600 Supersport Championship for the '93 season as well. Here's Miguel at Mid Ohio during the summer of '93 en route to winning the weekend's final and the championship at the end of the year. 1993 would be the second of Miguel's five championships in the class-his first in '91 riding for Martin Adams' Team Commonwealth Camel Honda. Miguel's other championships also came on Honda's, marking '93 his lone year on the Green Machines.
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Probably the bike he is best known for riding, if nothing else for the iconic purple/maroon and bright yellow paint job, Miguel took the Smokin' Joe's Team Honda RC45 to the top of the rung in it's second year of AMA Superbike competition by winning six straight races during the season to bag his only premier-class championship. The roaring RC V-4 was a screamer and Miguel tamed the beast as the '95 AMA Superbike Champion. Here he is in action at Gateway/St. Louis Raceway in August of '95 in what was the hottest weekend EVER attended by humans and machines alike. The bike dominated in it's six years of U.S. based competition, and Miguel won the Daytona 200 in '96 and it's last year of competition in '99. No one tamed the beast quite as well as Miguel did. He also finished second in the championship on this bike to Doug Chandler in '96 and '97.
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One of the all-time greats of AMA Road Racing is celebrating a birthday on Wednesday May 26th, and Stu's Shots wants to be one to wish him a big happy birthday!

Miguel Duhamel, the all-time winningest rider in AMA Road Racing history, with a total of eight-series championships, will be toasting his 42nd birthday tomorrow.
Since 1990, when he won his first AMA Superbike final at Heartland Park Topeka, Miguel has been not only the winningest rider in AMA history, but also one of the most approachable of riders and champions over the years. The fact that he still isn't racing actively/regularly now, in spite of his 42 years, is more of a testament to the series' and economic maladies of the last two+ years. If the man was out there on a top-notch ride, he would still be going at it strong, believe me!
With five Daytona 200 wins to his credit ('91, '96, '99, '03 in AMA Superbike and '04 in AMA Formula Xtreme), Miguel's winning record and championship record read like a who's who:
'95 AMA Superbike Champion
'04-'05 AMA Formula Xtreme Champion
5-Time AMA 600 Supersport Champion ('91, '93 (his only on a Kawasaki), '95-'97
'92 FIM World Endurance Team Champion
And those are just the MAJOR highlights. He also placed runner-up in the AMA Superbike Series in '96 and '97 to eventual champion Doug Chandler, and in '04 to eventual champion Mat Mladin. And he still stands second to Mladin in overall superbike wins, though by half of Mat's 82 premier-class wins.
Duhamel raced a very wide variety of machines since his first win at Topeka almost 20 years ago. Suzuki inlines ('90), Honda V-4's ('91 for Commonwealth Camel Honda and '95-'99, Honda's big-twin RC51 ('00-'03), Kawasaki inlines ('93 for Muzzy) and Honda inline fours ('04-'08). And that was just in the AMA Superbike Series. He also ran Honda inlines in the 600 Supersport Series as well as the AMA Formula Xtreme Series ('91, '95-'06), and Kawasaki inlines in '93 for Muzzy as well. And there could be more I missed, but you get the idea. The man has seen and embraced changes in the sport and has lead through those changes as well.
And he has suffered. Several near, career-ending injuries suffered at New Hampshire and at Road Atlanta that would have quelled mere mortals. But not Miguel. The Grand Master came through it all, even when he was being helped ONTO the bike and OFF of the bike (when winning the Daytona 200 on the RC45 in '99 he had to have help as his leg injury from the previous year was still healing.)
I could go on and on, but I have thrown in some bio and interviews at the bottom to help fill the stats in.
Needless to say, I have been and always will be a fan of Number 17, The Mighty Miguel, for not only his prowess on a bike and on the track, but as a great leader and representative of the sport, as well as a person. Very few in the paddock were as personable, friendly and outgoing as Miguel. And I've got a lot of signed pictures to back it up......
So on this fine day, Stu's Shots again says thanks to Miguel for all the memories, the wins, and all the agony you put yourself through to show the U.S. fans how ironclad you are and what a true champion and person you are.

And have a VERY Happy Birthday!
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Miguel's career highlights from Wikipedia.com:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Duhamel
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Dave Despain from Wind Tunnel chats with Miguel before the 2009 edition of the Daytona 200. This clip has some short, but terrific racing highlights of Miguel's racing career. Worth the 4 1/2 minutes to check it out and listen to the all-time winningest rider in AMA Road Racing speak about his past, present and future:
http://multimedia.foxsports.com/m/video/21921362/wind-tunnel-miguel-duhamel.htm?q=%22honda%22
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Miguel's bio as of 2007 from Motorcycle-USA.com:
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/474/1147/Motorcycle-Article/Miguel-Duhamel-Bio.aspx
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Here's an August 2009 interview with Miguel that shines a light on more of his thoughts and career from the great folks at RoadRacerX.com:
http://www.roadracerx.com/features/tuesday-conversation/tuesday-conversation-miguel-duhamel/
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One thing I would like to mention before I close. You would think after all Miguel has done for the sport and for the AMA and all of his championships that they would have an official bio on him. Nothing. Now he WILL be in the AMA Hall of Fame eventually, but to not have a bio on the winningest rider in AMA Road Racing with 8 championships to his credit is a disservice to this great man and rider.
Just sayin'. Whether Pickerington or Daytona is listening is another......

Again we'd like to congratulate Miguel and wish him a very happy birthday, and thank him for all of his years of riding hard and racing harder. And for being a champion's champion in life and on the race track as well. And thanks for putting up with me and signing the probably close to a dozen and a half or so pictures over the years! It has always been a pleasure to talk to and with you! Not to mention a good laugh or two.
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Troy Corser Gets BMW World Superbike Team Best Result Yet at Valencia

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Colin Edwards on the #45 Vance and Hines Yamaha leads Troy Corser on the #19 Ferracci Ducati in the carousel turn at Mid Ohio during the AMA Superbike final in summer of 1994. Dale Quarterley on the #32 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Kawasaki follows, with Tom Kipp on the #16 Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750 in pursuit, Jamie James (partially hidden) on the #2 Vance and Hines Yamaha, Tiger Sohwa on the Team Muzzy #41 ZX7, Thomas Stevens on the #11 Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750, Mike Smith on the Smokin' Joe's #68 Honda RC45 and Fred Merkel on the #27 Team Muzzy Kawasaki ZX7 all vying for position. This shot was early in the final and Miguel Duhamel is already through on the soon-to-break Harley Davidson VR1000. Edwards went on to win his first AMA Superbike final later in the race and Corser went on to win the 1994 AMA Superbike Championship at the season finale at Road Atlanta a little over two months later. He then vaulted to World Superbikes, won his first WSBK Championship while riding for Ducati in '96 and bagging his second in '05 while riding for Suzuki. Let's hope he can make it a hat trick and get one for BMW before he retires. Corser did a great job over this last weekend by just missing the box in race one at Valencia in World Superbike competition. The BMW team is getting closer thanks to one of the masters of bike set up and testing. We can't wait to see him not only on the box but on TOP as well!
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One of the stories that missed being front and center over the weekend was Troy Corser taking the #11 BMW Motorrad Motorsport S1000RR to a fourth place finish in World Superbike race one at Valencia. Of course, fourth doesn't seem like a great accomplishment for a former multi-time champ and multi-race winner like Corser, but for the second year World Superbike BMW team it is quite the accomplishment. After a slow, crash-filled first round race weekend in Australia for the team, Corser running within less then 4.5 seconds of winner Carlos Checa just three rounds into the season is a pretty big leap. Coupled with the addition of David Tardozzi, his former crew chief at Ducati, Corser and team are very steadily getting the handle on the second year mount.
Bravo to Troy and Team Motorrad Motorsport BMW for this great stride, and we'll be looking to see more out of this great team as the year progresses. And with six different manufacturers in the top six in race one at Valencia, the competition is fierce in the series, but we know Troy and company are up to it. Bravo and go get 'em, mate!
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Here's Troy's official take on the weekend outing at Valencia thanks to the folks at Crash.net across the pond. Great job Troy and we can't wait to see you ON the podium soon with the BMW team!
http://www.crash.net/world+superbikes/news/158665/1/best_yet_for_bmw_as_corser_closes_on_podium.html
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Troy Corser Wants to Go Out With a Bang In World Superbike

Troy Corser burst onto the world motorcycle scene in '94, when after having won the '93

Australian Superbike Championship, he was given a try out by Eraldo Ferracci on one of his

FBF (Fast By Ferracci) Ducati's at the urging of former World 500cc Champion Barry Sheene.

Passing the try out with flying colors, Mr. Corser then set the AMA Superbike scene on fire

during the '94 season, and won the title outright as a rookie by clinching the title at the season

ending round at Road Atlanta over '89 AMA Superbike Champion Jamie James by one point.

What had been considered all but undoable in coming to the states, on unfamiliar equipment

(after having ridden a Honda RC-30 to the Australian title in '93), racing on tracks he had

never seen before, and racing against a crop of factory-backed racers that were hungry for

blood. Needless to say, it wasn't 'undoable' and Corser and Ferracci put the stamp of approval

on a season that saw the FBF team take their second AMA title in two years, after having won

the World Superbike crown with one Mr. Doug Polen in the '91-'92 seasons, and the AMA crown in '93. Quite a run for sure!

Fast forward to the upcoming 2010 World Superbike season, and the accomplishments that Troy Corser has amassed in the world motorcycle racing scene are too numerous to list here.

A few highlights would be his double World Championships in '96 for Ducati and '05 for Suzuki,

and his nickname of Mr. Superpole garnered after having bagged numerous pole positions over

the years in World Superbike as well. Not too mention his ability to set up and test a road race

machine and his sheer ability to bring it home in one piece.

Thanks to the very fine folks acrossed the pond at the very fine site http://www.crash.net/, Troy speaks

about his career 'winding down' and how after the first season with the new BMW superbike what his expectations are and how he would like to be able to cap off such an illustrious career.

A very interesting article and discussion with TC to say the least, which I have included below

along with Troy's official website and another interesting link with some background on him as

well. Good reading and enjoy:

http://www.crash.net/world+superbikes/news/155614/1/corser_reveals_his_final_career_goal.html

http://www.troycorser.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Corser

The shots for tonight's post are from the '94 season here in the AMA Superbike Championship-

when men were men, superbikes were weapons of choice, and racing in America was a good thing. From the top, you have Troy on his #19 FBF Ducati blazing a trail on the back straight

at Road Atlanta in practice for the season ending round that weekend. Then on to Troy in a pack

of riders at Mid Ohio during the superbike finale. Leading his team mate #21 Pascal Picotte on

another FBF Duck is future 2-Time World Superbike Champ #45 Colin Edwards en route to his

first AMA Superbike win for Vance and Hines Yamaha, with Miguel Duhamel on the #17 VR-1000 Harley Davidson partially hidden behind TC, and bringing up the rear is Jamie James, the

former AMA Superbike Champ on the #2 Vance and Hines Yamaha.

We then have a shot from earlier in the season at Road America during practice of Troy hanging

on the wall as Eraldo Ferracci looks over the scene as the team works on the #19 superbike. Then back to Mid Ohio during practice as Troy runs behind Mike Smith on the #68 Smokin' Joe Honda RC-45 followed by Eric Moe on the #57 as they take the last corner onto the pit front stretch. And last but not least is a shot of Troy's championship-winning mount in the paddock at Road Atlanta.

Thanks again for stopping in to hang out with us here at Stu's Shots and we hope you are doing well in the new year and the arctic cold that has enveloped the midwest hasn't totally frozen you

out from reality. Less then six weeks to the opening round of the World Superbike Championship and we will be able to feed our passion of motorcycle racing once again! God Bless and take care and we hope to see you back here again soon--and hopefully not with your tongues frozen to a

metal light pole.