Wayne Rainey (left) and Bubba Shobert (helmeted) share a laugh before the start of the 1987 Mid-Ohio AMA Superbike race. It was a hot weekend and the two had taken shelter from the sun under the starter’s bridge. I believe that’s Darrel Dovel in the striped shirt. Dovel was AMA road racing referee back then and 20 years earlier had been one of the top racers in the country. Rainey and Shobert were factory Honda teammates.
Wayne Rainey (left) and Bubba Shobert (helmeted) share a laugh before the start of the 1987 Mid-Ohio AMA Superbike race. (Larry Lawrence photo)
Rider Files 
Isn’t that Schwantz bending over in front of them?
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That is Muzzy in the upper right?
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Kevin, Gary
Right on both. That is Schwantz and Muzzy.
I guess it’s true that racers have eagle eyes. You guys both prove it.
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And the general public is very lucky (not) to have heard all the crazy off track adventures Bubba & Wayne have between them.
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Ok,eagle eyes,who is standing just behind Wayne and who is that holding the bike up in the background.
It’s just an boring evening waiting for the thunderstorms to brew up.
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The official in the striped shirt is former racer Darrel Dovel.
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The first 4 wheel skmokey burn-out I ever saw was from these two champs in a rental car at Laguna Seca. Funny stuff! Thanks Wayne and Bubba.
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Isn’t this the event where the Honda and Suzuki teams protested each other and had to pull the engines post race? I was standing there in the impound watching them tear down that year. The Yosh guys had their engine out first and treated the teardown as a race too!
Schwantz won that year as I recall!
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Yes, there was some serious bad blood between Honda and Suzuki that year with protests flying from both.
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