Three of Kawasaki’s top hopes for the 1971 Daytona 200 line up for a photo before the race. The riders are New Zealand’s Ginger Molloy (No. 56), Ralph White (No. 47) and Canadian Yvon Du Hamel (No. 11). Team manager Bob Hansen is in white t-shirt and pants standing between White and Du Hamel. On the far right is Rex Beauchamp, a Harley-Davidson rider. Kawasaki’s 500cc Triple, the H1R, was not the most reliable race bike. Molloy and White made it 17 laps of the 53-lap race before their H1Rs quit. Du Hamel made it 25 laps before the motor on his bike expired. Dave Smith (not pictured) managed to crack the top-10 on a Kawasaki, finishing ninth. Kawasaki found enough reliability in the bike for Du Hamel to win on the H1R later that summer at Talladega to give Kawasaki its first AMA National victory.

Three of Kawasaki’s top hopes for the 1971 Daytona 200 line up for a photo before the race. The riders are New Zealand’s Ginger Molloy (No. 56), Ralph White (No. 47) and Canadian Yvon Du Hamel (No. 11). On the far right is Rex Beauchamp, a Harley-Davidson rider. Kawasaki's team manager Bob Hansen is in white t-shirt and pants standing between White and Du Hamel. (Courtesy DIS)