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AMA: Nicky Hayden debuts RC51 with phenomenal finish

13 March 2000

2000 AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, Round 1: Daytona 200
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, March 12, 2000

Team Honda's Nicky Hayden, the 18-year old phenom from Kentucky, came
agonizingly close - 0.011 seconds behind race-winner Mat Mladin - to becoming
the youngest rider to win the Daytona 200. Like Hayden, the Honda RC51 shocked
competitors with a performance unprecedented for a totally-new motorcycle. Red
Rider Miguel Duhamel, the three-time Daytona winner and defending race champion,
finished fourth by inches on the other RC51.