American Honda Announces 2000 Motorcycle Racing Teams
13 September 1999
New Orleans, LA - American Honda announced today their Motorcycle Racing Teams
for 2000 before 1200 of their dealers gathered at the New Orleans Convention
Center.
Affirming the company's commitment to maintaining leadership in all aspects of
its business, Ray Blank, Vice President of Sales and Operations, stressed the
importance of racing to Honda.
"I don't think anyone who knows Honda can think of Honda without thinking of
racing. It goes way beyond marketing and image. It's so important to our
research and development. And racing has focused mainstream attention on
motorcycling, captured the imagination of the public, and drawn them closer to
our sport."
The New Team
Leading the charge on the factory road racing team for 2000 will be multi-time
AMA Champion Miguel Duhamel. Duhamel's record speaks for itself. He has won more
AMA Superbike and 600 SuperSport races than any rider in history, along with a
record five 600 SuperSport titles and a Superbike championship.
Joining Duhamel will be 18-year-old phenom Nicky Hayden. Hailing from Kentucky,
Hayden is currently poised to win his first 600 SuperSport title in 1999.
Duhamel and Hayden will be riding Honda's latest Superbike weapon, the all-new
RC51 V-twin, and the formidable CBR600F4 in SuperSport competition.
The Honda-supported Erion Racing Team will be anchored by 1999 Formula Xtreme
Champion, Kurtis Roberts. He'll be joined by Joshua Kurt Hayes, a privateer
sensation in 1999, with top-five championship standings in both 600 SuperSport
and Formula Xtreme competition.
Honda's 1999 motocross team returns for 2000 riding Honda's all-new
aluminum-framed CR250R. Former World 250cc Motocross Champion, Frenchman
Sebastien Tortelli, will be looking to add more Supercross wins to his resume,
and take the AMA 250 National title that eluded him due to injury this year.
After coming in second in the 250 Supercross series twice, and a top-five
placing in the outdoor Nationals, Ezra Lusk plans to top the leader boards in
both classes in 2000.
Kevin Windham has the same idea as well, after a strong Supercross season and a
stellar outdoor season that's seen him notch more overall victories than any
other rider.
Mike LaRocco will also be back in 2000 on the Honda-supported Jack in the
Box/Factory Connection team on a CR250R.
Off-road, Honda will once again sponsor Scott Summers and Johnny Campbell.
Summers owns nine off-road championships, an AMA record, and was looking for his
10th when a broken leg suffered in training sidelined him in 1999. Summers will
compete in the AMA Grand National Cross Country championship aboard Honda's
radical new XR650R.
Desert great Johnny Campbell, wiith two back-to-back wins in both the Baja 1000
and Baja 500, will be looking to extend his dominance with Honda's potent new
XR650R.
AMA History
In AMA road racing, Honda has 83 Superbike race wins, seven National
championships, and records for the most consecutive titles and wins in a season.
In 600 SuperSport, Honda owns 72 race wins and six championships.
Honda's motocross team is equally legendary, having won fully one-half of all
Supercross titles, 13 of 26, and 40 percent of the national motocross
championships, 30 out of 74.
Off-road, Honda is a nine-time Baja 1000 winner and defending champion of both
the 1000 and 500 races, and has scored four AMA Hare Scrambles championships and
five Grand National Cross Country titles.
An Unequalled Record
Since its first humble ventures at the Isle of Man in 1959, Honda has amassed
an unsurpassed record of world and national championships. In Grand Prix
road racing, Honda has won 464 races and 50 world championships; far more than
any other manufacturer.
In AMA racing, Honda riders have bagged an unparalleled 86 National
Championships in every arena, including road racing, motocross, Supercross and
off-road competition.