Doug Polen from his Fast by Ferraci daysDuring round three of MotoAmerica – North America’s new road-racing series spearheaded by three-time GP Champion Wayne Rainey – at Virginia International Raceway, Doug Polen will return to the track.The two-time World SBK Champion will participate Sunday in the Dunlop Tires Lap of Honor. The Michigan native will pilot Dunlop’s Yamaha YZF-R6, and will also be present at the Dunlop truck greeting fans and signing autographs.
Polen rose through the amateur ranks, winning races across the country before turning pro. He competed in AMA races before focusing on the World Superbike Championship, which he dominated in both 1991 and 1992 on a Fast By Ferracci Ducati.In the 1991 title chase, he set fastest lap at 13 different tracks, a single-season record that remains to this day. In 1992, he not only won the World Superbike Championship, he also competed in enough rounds of the AMA Superbike championship to finish third. In 1993, he was back in the U.S. full time, and won the AMA Superbike championship.In 1995, he won the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours with teammate Aaron Slight on Honda’s RC45. In 1997, he set his sights on the World Endurance Championship, and won it. Polen won extensively on Dunlop tires, and was known as one of the best development riders in the paddock. He worked closely with Dunlop to develop race tires throughout his professional career.Polen will be on hand Sunday to sign autographs during and after the fan walk from 10:15 to 11 a.m. He will then ride the Dunlop Tires Lap of Honor at 11:30 a.m. on Dunlop’s test bike. He will also be the official trophy presenter on Sunday for the MotoAmerica Superbike race.For additional information, visit MotoAmerica.
Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends.
My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Discover how the YZF-R7 provides the perfect balance of rider comfort and true supersport performance by checking it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or see it for yourself at your local dealer.
This week’s episode features Senior Editor Nic de Sena’s impressions of the beautiful new Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST that is loosely based around the original FXRT Sport Glide from the 1980s. Hailing from The Golden State, these cult-status performance machines became known as West Coast style, with sportier suspension, increased horsepower, and niceties including creature comforts such as a tidy fairing and sporty luggage.
In past episodes you might have heard us mention my best friend, Daniel Schoenewald, and in the second segment I chat with him about some of the really special machines in his 170 or so—and growing—motorcycle collection. He’s always said to me that he doesn’t consider himself the owner, merely the curator of the motorcycles for the next generation.
Yet Daniel is not just a collector, but I can attest a really skilled rider. His bikes are not trailer queens, they’re ridden, and they’re ridden pretty hard. Actually, we have had many, many memorable rides on pretty much all of the machines in the collection at one time or another.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
