THE HISTORY BEHIND THE WORLD'S GREATEST MOTORCYCLE RACE
3 March 2000
THE HISTORY BEHIND THE WORLD'S GREATEST MOTORCYCLE RACE
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The excitement is building for the season-opener
of the 2000 AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship at the Daytona 200
by Arai. But this world-renowned event did not gain it's status overnight.
For the past 59 years, American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Pro Racing
has brought top-caliber national and international talent to "The World's
Greatest Motorcycle Race." A brief history of the Daytona 200 and the
personalities which brought the event it's stature follows.
Motorcycle road racing was one of a number of racing events, including
stock car racing, actively sought by Daytona Beach in the mid-1930s to
enhance the tourist potential of "The World's Most Famous Beach." The
automotive speed-trial/time-trial events that had spotlighted the area
since 1903 departed the beach and "The Birthplace of Speed" in 1935 for the
wide-open spaces of Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats.
Long distance motorcycle road racing had been a fixture in the
Southeast for five years before making a permanent home in Daytona. The
inaugural running of the Daytona 200 By Arai (or as it was known in the
early years, the "Handlebar Debby" came on Jan. 24, 1937. The race drew an
unprecedented 120 entries.
The 3.2 mile course was unique. It featured 1.5 miles of beach and
another 1.5 miles of asphalt public roadway connected at the north and
south ends by banked sand turns. The starting area was at the south turn
with the prime spectator area- the north turn- located nearly in the center
of the beachfront community.
The organizers miscalculated the time it would take to run the race
and started it at low tide. The entire field had to avoid the rapidly
rising tide to finish the event. Ed Kretz, of Monterey Park, Calif.,
averaged 73.34 mph aboard an American-made Indian motorcycle and won the
inaugural City of Daytona Beach trophy. If a rider won the trophy three
times, he got to keep it. Today, it resides in the trophy case of Dick
Klamfoth, who won in 1949, 1951 and 1952.
The races continued on the beach through 1941. Then, World War II
intervened. Racing was discontinued by the AMA "in the interest of national
defense" There were no races during 1942-1946.
The sixth running of the Daytona 200 took place on Feb. 24, 1947.
Bill France Sr. was the promoter as the record entry of 184 racers returned
to fight for victory on the same 3.2 mile course. Newspaper stories recount
that the "city fathers" asked the townsfolk to open their homes to visiting
motorcyclists because hotel rooms and camping areas were filled to
capacity. "Daytona was the center of American motorcycling and the flag
bedecked streets were packed with motorcycles bearing license plates from
every state and province," noted American Motorcycling Magazine in their
coverage.
In 1948, a new beach/road course greeted the racers. Daytona Beach and
the surrounding areas were growing and the organizers were forced to move
the circuit down the beach toward Ponce Inlet. The new course measured 4.1
miles with wider, more sweeping turns.
Floyd Emde won the 1948 running of the Daytona 200 on an Indian
motorcycle. Nearly two years later, his son, Don, was born. In 1972, Yamaha
rider Don Emde won the Daytona 200. They are the only father-son winners in
Daytona 200 history. Beach racing came to an end with the running of the
1960 race.
Brad Andres, winner of the 1959 race, added a second victory to his
record and those of Harley-Davidson. The 19-year history of beach racing
opened -- and closed -- with victories by riders on American-made
motorcycles. In 1961, the Daytona 200 and its companion events moved to
Daytona International Speedway. The AMA was concerned that the motorcycles
wouldn't be able to maintain the speed necessary to negotiate the 31-degree
banking in the turns of the 2.5 mile trioval. A compromise was struck and a
two-mile course using the infield road course and a part of the
frontstretch was used.
Harley-Davidson rider Roger Reiman started on the pole and led 99 of
the 100 laps to start what would become a two-wheeled tradition at the
"World Center of Racing." Second place finisher Don Burnett learned a few
lessons in the 1961 race that he put to good use in 1962 to claim victory.
Beginning with the 1964 race, the course utilized both the infield and
a major portion of the 2.5 mile trioval. Reiman won both the 1964 and 1965
races on a 3.81-mile course.
Over the years, the length of the road course - due to adding a
"chicane" on the backstretch and a reconfiguration of the infield portion
of the track - has changed by small measurements. The 3.81 mile course was
utilized through the 1972 races, 3.84 miles through 1975, 3.87 miles
through 1984 and 3.56 miles since 1985.
The list of winners, near-winners and famous names from the Daytona
200 history books reads like a who's who of road racing worldwide. World
road racing champions and champions-to-be Phil Read, Giacomo Agostini,
Jarno Saarinen, Johnny Cecotto, Steve Baker, Kenny Roberts, Freddie
Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Kevin Schwantz, Fred Merkel, Doug Polen and the
unprecedented winner of the race a record five times Scott Russell, have
been a part of Daytona history. Gary Nixon, Dick Mann, Cal Rayborn, Gene
Romero, Dale Singleton and David Sadowski have also added their names to
the pages as have countless others.
The 50th running of the Daytona 200 took place on Sunday, March 10,
1991. Miguel Duhamel from Verdun, Quebec, Canada, riding a Honda, was the
winner. Duhamel seemingly has a flair for the dramatic, as he also captured
the 55th running of the Daytona 200 in the closest finish in the race's
history. Duhamel edged five-time Daytona 200 winner Russell by a mere .010
seconds. Duhamel went on to win the 1999 Daytona 200.
Now a three-time and reigning Daytona 200 Champ, Duhamel will be
defending his title on Sunday, March 12, in the 59th running of the Daytona
200 By Arai Superbike Classic. For ticket information regarding the Daytona
200 By Arai or any other event during Daytona 200 Week, call the Speedway
ticket office at (904)252-RACE.
Content for this release provided courtesy of Daytona International
Speedway and Lawrence Media. For immediate post-race results, rider
information, AMA Pro Racing notes and news, check the Pro Racing pages of
AMADirectlink, at www.amaproracing.com
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