At the recent AMA Pro Racing event at Road America I rediscovered a photo angle I shot 20 years earlier and had forgotten about. This shot is from the entrance to turn 6, just as rider come up a steep hill, cross under the Chevy Bridge and pitch their bikes to the left. These two photo were taken from the same angle separated by 20 years. The first is Thomas Stevens leading a pack in the ’91 Road America Superbike race. Stevens, on the Vance & Hines Yamaha, leads Muzzy Kawasaki’s Jacques Guenette (39), Two Brothers Honda’s Freddie Spencer (tucked in behind Guenette), Commonwealth Honda’s Rich Arnaiz (20) and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Tommy Lynch (30). The second shot is this year’s Daytona SportBike race with Grave’s Yamaha’s Josh Herrin leading Celtic Racing Ducati’s PJ Jacobsen (behind Herrin), Dane Westby on the No. 5 M4 Suzuki, Cory West of Vesrah Suzuki (behind Westby) and GEICO Suzuki’s Danny Eslick (69). It’s comforting in a way to see how similar things look from turn six at Road America after 20 years. Even the racing lines are largely the same. By the way – the Superbikes in 1991 were lapping at 2:18s, while the 600cc Daytona SportBikes did laps as fast as the high 2:20s this year. Of course the track today is slower with the addition of the chicane back at the turn 11 kink.

Thomas Stevens leading a pack in the ’91 Road America Superbike race. Stevens, on the Vance & Hines Yamaha, leads Muzzy Kawasaki’s Jacques Guenette (39), Two Brother Honda’s Freddie Spencer (tucked in behind Guenette), Commonwealth Honda’s Rich Arnaiz (20) and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Tommy Lynch (30). (Larry Lawrence photo)

This year’s Road America Daytona SportBike race with Grave’s Yamaha’s Josh Herrin leading Celtic Racing Ducati’s PJ Jacobsen (behind Herrin), Dane Westby on the No. 5 M4 Suzuki, Cory West of Vesrah Suzuki (behind Westby) and GEICO Suzuki’s Danny Eslick (69). (Larry Lawrence photo)