Duhamel ties 200 win mark

[totalmotorcycle]

Duhamel ties 200 win mark
By GODWIN KELLY Staff Writer Last update: March 13, 2005




DAYTONA BEACH -- Miguel Duhamel was so good and so fast that by midway through Saturday's Daytona 200 by Honda, he was racing himself -- and pushing hard.

In a relentless display of speed, Duhamel overpowered the competition, lapping all but two of the 70 other competitors, to win his record-tying fifth 200 title at Daytona International Speedway.

He is now tied with Scott Russell in the most career wins category, but stands alone as the American Motorcyclist Association's current top rider.

"I'm honored to be tied with Scott. He had the magic touch here," said Duhamel, who led a Honda sweep of the top three positions.

If Russell had a magic touch, then Duhamel wields a sledgehammer.

Duhamel pushed his Honda CBR600RR to its limits despite having nearly a one minute lead on the competition. His average speed was 100.7 mph.

Duhamel becomes the first rider to win on Daytona's new motorcycle course, which was shortened to 2.95 miles this season, which upped the lap count from last year's 57 to Saturday's grueling 68.

"The Daytona 200?" said Duhamel, who started from the pole position. "It felt like the Daytona 255 because it felt like it would never end. This is quite a testament to how Honda builds motorcycles.

"I was really pushing it hard," he added. "I was kind of racing myself. I just wanted to go hard the whole time. I really wanted to earn it. The best way was going hard each lap."

Kurtis Roberts, son of three-time Daytona 200 winner Kenny Roberts, was a distant second, but earned his third podium finish in four appearances here.

Roberts, who employed a two-pit-stop strategy, crossed the line 42.586 seconds behind Duhamel.

"We had some issues with our two-stop strategy," Roberts said.

Roberts, making his only scheduled start in the AMA's Formula Xtreme class, was taken out of contention by a pair of painfully slow pit stops.

"We could have been there," Roberts said. "The pit stops have to be without a problem."

Roberts and Duhamel had a frightening moment just seconds after the race began from a standing start on pit road. As they exited pit road and entered Turn 1, their bikes bounced off each other.

"A guy you race with all the time comes over and doesn't give you any room, I was a little surprised," Duhamel said. "It was a big contact. It was hard contact. For a 200-mile race, I don't think that was the smartest strategy."

Jake Zemke, Duhamel's teammate, was third, surprising because his Honda 600 offered the rider a variety of problems in the opening laps.

Zemke realized after one lap he picked the wrong gear for the downsized track, and quickly developed an overheating problem.

"I was in trouble from the get-go," he said. "My bike started overheating and spitting water on the wind screen. I had to back off there for a while."

With Roberts slowed by pit gremlins, including an air gun malfunction, and Zemke tethered by engine temperature issues, Duhamel was free from the burdens of wheel-to-wheel competition.

Still, the spirited French Canadian rider rode like he was being chased by a ghost.

"I tried to get some gap going," Duhamel said. "You never know what will happen. I raced all 68 laps."

Duhamel, 37 this year, said he will return in 2006 in attempt to break the tie with Russell.

"I'm hungry and trained all winter long," he said. "I'm thinking my best is front of me."