Doug Polen’s club racing career was best remembered by his exploits in the Suzuki GSXR Cup Series. Lesser known was his success in the Honda Interceptor Series in 1986. Polen won the Honda Interceptor final in ’86 (after battling with a novice rider by the name of Scott Zampach) and took home a good chuck of money from Honda along the way. This photo is from an Honda 500 Interceptor race at Little Talladega where he won by a half lap in an eight-lap spring race over a loaded field of riders. Polen rode the wheels off the Honda, literally squeling tires on the little Honda in the turns similar to what you hear in Supermoto racing today. But at time those kinds of sounds coming from road racing bikes was unheard of.
Doug Polen racing a Honda 500 Interceptor in 1986. (Larry Lawrence photo)
Rider Files 
Hi Larry, That has to be one of your best pics to date! I always thought that Doug was a very speacial rider.Back then i didnt know that he was a former AMA pro.It was a wet Interceptor final in 86 at Atlanta and Doug still won anyway. He was a thinking mans type of rider,a lot like Eddie Lawson.Many times guys like Ski,Jaimie and Russell scratched their heads on how to keep up with him! Rick
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