DuHamel Wins Record Tying 5th Daytona 200!

2005 AMA Lockhart Phillips Formula Xtreme Championship
Daytona 200 by Honda
Round 1: Daytona, FL
March 12, 2005

The name's DuHamel. Miguel DuHamel. Winningest roadracer in AMA history,
and now a five-time champ of American motorcycle racing's most prestigious
event: the Daytona 200 by Honda.

That's right, there's a new Mr. Daytona in town, and with his fifth victory
today he ties Scott Russell on the all-time Daytona 200 win list and now
rightfully owns a share of that history-making moniker as well.

In fact, the 200, run this year for the first time on Formula Xtreme-spec
600cc bikes, turned out to be an all-Honda affair from start to finish,
with DuHamel leading a Red Rider podium sweep that included Erion Honda's
Kurtis Roberts in second and Team Honda's Jake Zemke in third with all
three riders finishing at least a lap ahead of the rest of the field. And
while Roberts, returned to the AMA series after a year of racing for his
father, Kenny Roberts, on the MotoGP circuit, rode the wheels off his Erion
CBR600RR and repeatedly swapped the lead with DuHamel well past the 25-lap
mark, the majority of the afternoon clearly belonged to DuHamel.

So dominant was Miguel today that he made this grueling event look, well,
easy, consistently reeling off laps in the 1:42 range and leading for 51 of
the 68 laps to cross the stripe nearly 43 seconds ahead of Roberts' #80
machine. Even Kurtis's two-pit-stop strategy (compared to DuHamel's three)
couldn't put a dent in the French Canadian's lead. It also didn't help that
Roberts' second pit went awry, adding to what ultimately became an
insurmountable deficit.

"I was really pushing it hard," said DuHamel from the winner's circle. "Up
until that first pit stop [on lap 21] I thought we would all regroup and be
together for the whole 68 laps. I just put my head down and ran as hard as
I could."

As for Zemke, last year's Formula Xtreme Series runner-up and a pre-race
favorite today, this was just not his Daytona 200 to win, even though he
ran up front and battled both Roberts and DuHamel tooth-and-nail in the
opening 15 or so laps.

"It was a long race," said #98 from the podium. "From the very get-go I
knew we were in trouble. Getting behind Miguel and Kurtis, we just picked
the wrong gearing. We didn't have enough gearing to pull the wind. And then
in the infield, those guys with the shorter gearing were able to pull me
off the corners."

DuHamel, meantime, let everybody know he'd enjoy both his new Rolex (for
winning the 200 pole) and new nickname before putting his head down
defending his 2004 FX title and getting back into the mix in the AMA
Superbike Championship.

"It feels great winning five," said the newly crowned Mr. Daytona - or
would that be Monsieur Daytona? - as he gave due credit to his standout
CBR600RR FX machine. "This year it felt like the Daytona 255. It seemed
like it would never end. It's amazing to have a bike that's as early in its
development as the 600 Xtreme is and do 200 miles on that bike at 180 mph.
It's quite a testament to how Honda builds motorcycles - for power and the
long run."

Daytona 200 by Honda Results
1. Miguel DuHamel - Honda
2. Kurtis Roberts - Honda
3. Jake Zemke - Honda
4. Danny Eslick - Suzuki
5. Chris Peris - Yamaha
6. Jason Perez - Yamaha
7. Ty Howard - Yamaha
8. Michael Barnes - Yamaha
9. Taylor Knapp - Yamaha
10. Simon Turner - Yamaha

AMA/Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Points Standings
1. Miguel DuHamel - Honda
2. Kurtis Roberts - Honda
3. Jake Zemke - Honda
4. Danny Eslick - Suzuki
5. Chris Peris - Yamaha
6. Jason Perez - Yamaha
7. Ty Howard - Yamaha
8. Michael Barnes - Yamaha
9. Taylor Knapp - Yamaha
10. Simon Turner - Yamaha



2005 AMA Superbike Championship
Round 1: Daytona, FL
March 12, 2005

The 2005 Daytona round of the AMA Superbike Championship was a sprint race
consisting of 15 laps, a mere (at least by AMA Superbike standards) 44.25
miles, and pin-it-to-the-stops liter-bike barnstorming.

And when the checkered flag finally flew, Team Honda's Jake Zemke and
Miguel Duhamel crossed the stripe a solid fifth and sixth, respectively,
with Erion Honda's Kurtis Roberts, back riding red after a year in the
MotoGP ranks, logged a ninth. While deep in the chase, Zemke and DuHamel
encountered lapped traffic, had to stand up their bikes to avoid contact,
and went briefly off course.

Defending AMA Superbike champ Mat Mladin took the win, with 2003 World
Superbike champ and AMA Superbike newcomer Neil Hodgson second, and Ben
Spies filling out the podium in third.

Stay tuned as Miguel, Jake and Kurtis step up the pace aboard their factory
and Erion Honda CBR1000RRs as the 2005 AMA Superbike Championship picks up
again on April 22-24 in Birmingham, Alabama.

AMA Superbike Championship, Rd. 1 Results
1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki
2. Neil Hodgson - Ducati
3. Ben Spies - Suzuki
4. Aaron Yates - Suzuki
5. Jake Zemke - Honda
6. Miguel Duhamel - Honda
7. Jason Pridmore - Suzuki
8. Geoff May - Suzuki
9. Kurtis Roberts - Honda
10. Steve Rapp - Suzuki

AMA Superbike Championship Points Standings
1. Mat Mladin - 38 - Suzuki
2. Neil Hodgson - 32 - Ducati
3. Ben Spies - 29 - Suzuki
4. Aaron Yates - 27 - Suzuki
5. Jake Zemke - 26 - Honda
6. Miguel Duhamel - 25 - Honda
7. Jason Pridmore - 24 - Suzuki
8. Geoff May - 23 - Suzuki
9. Kurtis Roberts - 22 - Honda
10. Steve Rapp - 21 - Suzuki


2005 THQ AMA Supercross Series
Round 10: Daytona, FL
March 11, 2005

With its infield lights ablaze for just the second time in its 30-plus-year
Supercross history, Daytona International Speedway played host tonight to
round 10 of the 2005 THQ AMA Supercross Series. One of the premier events
on the SX calendar, the Daytona Supercross by Honda got underway before
thousands of fans on hand for Bike Week 2005 - and the Red Riders did not
disappoint.

Amsoil/Chaparral/Napster Honda's Mike LaRocco laid claim to top Honda
honors on the night, capturing his fourth podium finish of the season with
a solid third-place performance aboard his CR250R. Behind him came teammate
Kevin Windham two spots back in fifth leading Team Honda factory riders
Travis Preston in sixth, Ernesto Fonseca in seventh, and Andrew Short in
eighth.

Chad Reed took the 250-class win, with Ricky Carmichael finishing second.

The action over in the 125 East main event saw the Red Riders score even
more impressive - not to mention wilder - results. Amsoil/Chaparral/Napster
Honda's Josh Grant snagged the holeshot and led for most of the 15-lap
contest before getting caught by Josh Hansen on the last lap when the two
riders collided. Hansen managed to remount first and put enough space
between himself and Grant to win the dash to the checkers. Meantime, Grant,
in what was easily his finest performance in this his rookie SX season,
would hang on for second while Samsung Honda's Troy Adams would fill out
the podium in third.

Honda riders Steve Boniface, Donnie McGourty, Joaquim Rodrigues and Justine
Buckelew would finish 7-8-9-10 to round out the top 10 in perfect Red Rider
fashion.

Next week the THQ AMA 250 and 125 East Supercross Series moves just a few
miles inland to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, in that city's
inaugural hosting of a THQ AMA Supercross Series event.


THQ AMA 250 Supercross Results
1. Chad Reed - Yamaha
2. Ricky Carmichael - Suzuki
3. Mike LaRocco - Honda
4. David Vuillemin - Yamaha
5. Kevin Windham - Honda
6. Travis Preston - Honda
7. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda
8. Andrew Short - Honda
9. Tim Ferry - Yamaha
10. Sean Hamblin - Kawasaki


THQ AMA 250 Supercross Points Standings
1. Ricky Carmichael - 239 - Suzuki
2. Chad Reed - 207 - Yamaha
3. Kevin Windham - 172 - Honda
4. Mike LaRocco - 169 - Honda
5. David Vuillemin - 150 - Yamaha
6. Ernesto Fonseca- 137 - Honda
7. Sebastien Tortelli - 129 - Suzuki
8. Michael Byrne - 103 - Kawasaki
9. Heath Voss - 95 - Yamaha
10. Tyler Evans - 81 - Suzuki



THQ AMA 125 East Supercross Results
1. Josh Hansen - KTM
2. Josh Grant - Honda
3. Troy Adams - Honda
4. Chad Johnson - Yamaha
5. Kelly Smith - Yamaha
6. Ryan Mills - KTM
7. Steve Boniface - Honda
8. Donnie McGourty - Honda
9. Joaquim Rodrigues - Honda
10. Justin Buckelew - Honda


THQ AMA 125 East Supercross Points Standings
1. Josh Hansen - 80 - KTM
2. Grant Langston - 78 - Kawasaki
3. David Millsaps - 68 - Suzuki
4. Kelly Smith - 53 - Yamaha
5. Troy Adams - 51 - Honda
6. Josh Grant - 50 - Honda
7. Steve Boniface - 49 - Honda
8. Joaquim Rodrigues - 45 - Honda
9. Brock Sellards - 40 - Yamaha
10. Matt Walker - 38 - Kawasaki