Jacques Guenette Jr. en route to finishing ninth on his factory Kawasaki Superbike at Mid-Ohio in 1991. Guenette, from Laval, Quebec, burst onto the scene in 1989 when the 19-year-old shocked everyone by coming straight out of Canadian regional club racing to finish third behind Michael Barnes and Jeff Farmer in the AMA 600 Supersport finale during the October Daytona races.

In 1990 Guenette furthered his growing reputation by scoring three top-10 Superbike finishes on a privateer Yamaha entry. At that point it appeared that the young French Canadian was on his way to being one of the elite riders in AMA road racing and perhaps the next Miguel Duhamel. This led to the young Guenette getting a development ride with Muzzy Kawasaki in 1991 being teamed with Scott Russell.

Unfortunately Guenette’s trajectory after getting the factory ride leveled off. His once great promise gradually fizzled to unfulfilled expectations. He had four top-10 Superbike finishes in ‘91, with a best of fourth at Road America, but injuries and sub-par performances left him ranked ninth at the end of the season- a couple of points behind Freddie Spencer and a few points ahead of Tom Kipp.

It was a better picture in 750 Supersport for Guenette. He scored four podiums in that series and finished third behind Scott Russell and Britt Turkington. It wasn’t enough however to hang on to the Kawasaki ride. Guenette raced on with Rueben McMurter’s Honda squad and later with Yamaha Canada. He scored a handful of top-10 finishes racing in AMA Superbike through 1994.

Guenette’s younger brother Hugo also had a brief AMA racing career in 750 Supersport. Both brothers moved on to sports car racing by the 2000s.