American Honda Racing

Miguel Duhamel

Neil Hodgson

Miguel Duhamel National #: 17 AMA Superbike Height: 5’ 6” Weight: 145 lbs. lb. Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada Date of Birth: 5/26/1968 Place of Birth: LaSalle, Quebec, Canada First Race: 1976, age 8 Current Race Bike(s): Honda CBR1000RR, Honda CBR600RR (Daytona 200 only) Marital Status: Single Mechanic(s): Chris Vandervoort,Bryce Eikelberger, Dave Presler Crew Chief: Al Ludington Training: bicycling, weight lifting, motocross Hobbies: golf, motocross Description: Eight AMA national roadracing championships. Five Daytona 200 wins. 86 career AMA wins. These are accomplishments any professional racing team would relish. Yet they are the feats of just one man—Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel. As the winningest road racer in AMA history, the 39-year-old Honda racing icon has racked up five 600 Supersport titles, a Superbike crown and two 600-class Formula Xtreme titles. He holds the Supersport class record for most race wins (41) and the longest winning streak (10). He is second in career AMA Superbike victories (32) and was the last rider to win titles in both the 600 Supersport and the Superbike class in the same year (1995). In 2007, Duhamel started off the 17th year of his remarkable career claiming four Superbike podiums in the first six starts, including second at the opener in Daytona. After two years of intensive development, American Honda’s in-house CBR1000RR Superbike road-racing program was bearing fruit. Duhamel would podium two more times before fate dealt him an ugly blow during a practice session at Road Atlanta on August 8. “When my tire overheated I just lost traction going into the corner,” recalls the Canadian of his impact with Road Atlanta’s turn 11, deemed by many as the most dangerous corner in America. “The motorcycle hit the air fences, moved that out of the way, then I got through the hay bales and hit the wall at 120 miles per hour. The injuries were a lacerated liver, one lung collapsed, the other punctured, broken ribs, internal bleeding, bone chips in my right ankle, a sprain on my left ankle, and pretty much a sprain of everything else in my body.” Incredibly, he did not suffer a concussion. “It was definitely a critical moment.” Veteran observers assumed Duhamel’s stellar career was over. They were wrong. Duhamel is no stranger to serious injury, having shattered his left femur and kneecap in 1998 during a practice session on the rain-slick New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon. Yet less than nine months later and with virtually no off-season training he showed up in Florida and won the grueling Daytona 200--and the 600 Supersport race as well. It was one of the most amazing performances in AMA motorcycle-racing history. Will 2008 be the comeback year of all comeback years? With an all-new CBR1000RR Superbike underneath him, Duhamel is every bit as hungry for a championship as he was when he chased down Kawasaki teammates Doug Chandler and Scott Russell to win his first Superbike victory in 1990. “There’s no hiding it--the Honda machine always has the best motor,” says Duhamel. “We have great top speeds at Daytona, over 200 miles per hour. Honda has built a terrific streetbike, and the new CBR1000RR is a solid platform for our in-house American Honda factory effort. I’m really looking forward to putting it through the paces.” With one of the sport’s best crews in his corner--led byveteran Al Ludington--Duhamel likes his chances even more. “A lot of credit for my success goes to my Honda Racing crew. I’ve got a great crew with Al and the guys: Bryce Eikelberger, Dave Presler and Manny Macias. They know how to make the machine go fast.” By his own account, Duhamel is not the same man he was when he started racing motorcycles. Over the years he has matured and become more disciplined in his race-craft. His inner drive is just as strong, however, and his self-awareness helps him marshal his resources on and off the track. “I just try to make myself a better person physical and mentally and I want to bring a championship back to Honda in the worst way. We almost won the championship in 2004. We had six wins that year.” Duhamel enjoyed one of his finest seasons in 2004, notching 15 podium finishes in 18 Superbike outings to finish second in the championship. That same year he scored podium finishes in each of the 11 Formula Xtreme races on his way to his first title in the class. Just as impressive, Duhamel won three national races on two separate race weekends, including two Superbike victories and a Formula Xtreme win on the same day at Virginia International Raceway, a feat never before accomplished in AMA road racing. In 2005, Duhamel collected his fifth Daytona 200 win on a Formula Xtreme-spec CBR600RR and went on the win his second consecutive class title. But for Duhamel the sense of accomplishment fell short, as American Honda devoted its CBR1000RR Superbike effort to a first-year development program. While 2006 was challenging, Duhamel knew he had to put his head down and lead the team’s climb back to the top of the sport. Now he stands at the verge of Honda’s return to AMA Superbike dominance. And the view for 2008 is clear all the way to the podium.

Victories/Accomplishments for Miguel Duhamel:

Year Accomplishment 2007 8th AMA Superbike (season shortened by injury) 2006 3rd AMA Superbike 2005 5th AMA Superbike 1st AMA Formula Xtreme Wins fifth Daytona 200 2004 2nd AMA Superbike 1st AMA Formula Xtreme 2003 5th AMA Superbike 11th AMA U.S. Supersport Wins fourth Daytona 200 2002 3rd AMA Superbike 2001 5th AMA Superbike 3rd AMA 600 Supersport 2000 9th AMA Superbike 5th AMA 600 Supersport 1999 Daytona Double Winner: Daytona 200 (third time), Daytona 600 Supersport 16th AMA Superbike 16th AMA Supersport 1998 10th AMA Superbike 12th AMA 600 Supersport 1997 1st AMA 600 Supersport 2nd AMA Superbike 1996 1st AMA 600 Supersport 2nd AMA Superbike 2nd Daytona 200 1995 1st AMA Superbike 1st AMA 600 Supersport 1993 1st AMA 600 Supersport 3rd AMA Superbike 1992 12th 500cc Grand Prix World Championships FIM World Endurance Championship team member 1991 1st AMA 600 Supersport 3rd AMA Superbike 1st Daytona 200