AMA Riders Duhamel, Oliver to be Inducted Into Sonoma Wall of Fame

SONOMA, Calif. (Friday, March 17, 2006) - Legendary riders Miguel
Duhamel and Rich Oliver will be honored as the first AMA motorcycle
riders to be inducted into the Infineon Raceway Wall of Fame, raceway
officials announced today.

 

Construction of the Wall of Fame was announced at the 2005 Dodge/Save
Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup weekend, with drivers Rusty Wallace and Mark
Martin selected as the first inductees. The two drivers, along with the
NHRA's Warren Johnson, will now have company as Duhamel and Oliver will
be officially enshrined during a public ceremony at the Kawasaki AMA
Superbike Showdown weekend, presented by Supercuts, May 19-21.

 

The announcement was made during a Yamaha-sponsored test session on
Friday at Infineon Raceway. Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, Ducati, Attack
Kawasaki and Mat Mladin Motorsports also attended the test session.

 

"Our objective in creating the Wall of Fame was to recognize those
individuals whose legacy and accomplishments have helped shape the
history of this raceway," said Steve Page, president and general manager
of Infineon Raceway. "Miguel and Rich have had so many dominant
performances here and provided our fans so many thrills, it is fitting
that they should be our first inductees from the motorcycle world."

 

Duhamel (Honda) has built the most prolific career of any AMA rider at
Infineon Raceway - the AMA has visited the Sonoma Valley for 24 years,
including the last 12. Duhamel has a record nine victories at Infineon
Raceway, including five in Superbike, three in Supersport and one in
Formula Xtreme. Duhamel has won both Superbike and Supersport in the
same weekend a record three times (1993, 95, 98), and he won Superbike
and Formula Xtreme on the same weekend in 2004. Moreover, Duhamel is a
five-time AMA Supersport national champion and he won the Superbike
national title in 1995.

 

"This has always been one of my favorite tracks, and this is a great
honor for me," Duhamel said. "I've always had a lot of success here, and
I'm really looking forward to coming back in May for the ceremony."

 

Oliver, a resident of Auberry near Fresno, dominated the 250 Grand Prix
class in Sonoma, taking the checkered flag four consecutive years
(1994-97). He is the only AMA rider in history to win a feature race
four consecutive years at Infineon Raceway. Moreover, he won the Grand
Prix title a fifth time in Sonoma in 2003 before eventually retiring
from AMA competition. Oliver is also a five-time AMA 250 Grand Prix
national champion. He joins Duhamel as the only riders with five class
victories over their careers in Sonoma. 

 

 "I was surprised and honored when Steve (Page) called me," said Oliver,
who primarily rode a Yamaha during his career. "It's sort of a sign that
retirement from active racing has set in and seeing the awards come down
is real special. It's also neat to have it happen where it all started,
in Sonoma. I started my career there in 1976 with the AFM (American
Federation of Motorcyclists) and to go back there for this honor is
incredible."

 

Both Duhamel and Oliver will be presented with granite plaques etched
with each rider's likeness during the ceremony in May. The plaques will
be on display as part of the Wall of Fame, which will be constructed
behind the main grandstand and accessible to the public.

 

The Wall of Fame will include competitors from all forms of motor racing
at Infineon Raceway, including NASCAR, NHRA POWERade Drag Racing,
American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), open-wheel cars, sports cars,
and more. It will also include those who have made significant
contributions to the raceway over the years. A raceway committee will
oversee the selection process on an annual basis.