‘Turk’s’ Qualifying Controversy

• Larry Lawrence

Gerald Rothman, Britt Turkington and Jason Pridmore in Daytona’s media center podium for the 1993 AMA 750 Supersport front-row qualifying press conference. There was a bit of a controversy after Turkington won the pole that year with a blistering pace of 1:56.872 on his Yoshimura Suzuki. ‘Turk’s’ time was not only a 750 Supersport track record, he shattered the previous year’s record set by Scott Russell by over a second and a half. He was also over a second and a half faster than second-place qualifier Rothman. While Turkington was a great rider at the peak of his game, there were questions flying about why he was so much faster than the rest of the field. His bike didn’t go through a post-qualifying tear down and fuel wasn’t tested. Yoshimura explained that Turkington was using a new generation of hollow tube needle jets in the carbs that improved atomization for a better fuel-air mix. In spite of the controversy Turkington’s Yosh Suzuki survived an extensive post-race teardown after he built a big lead and then backed off in the closing laps to win the race.

(L to R) Gerald Rothman, Britt Turkington and Jason Pridmore in Daytona’s media center podium for the 1993 AMA 750 Supersport front-row qualifying press conference. There was a bit of a controversy after Turkington won the pole that year with a blistering pace of 1:56.872 on his Yoshimura Suzuki. ‘Turk’s’ time was not only a 750 Supersport track record, he shattered the previous year’s record set by Scott Russell by over a second and a half. He was also over a second and a half faster than second-place qualifier Rothman. While Turkington was a great rider at the peak of his game, there were questions flying about why he was so much faster than the rest of the field. His bike didn’t go through a post-qualifying tear down and fuel wasn’t tested. Yoshimura explained that Turkington was using a new generation of hollow tube needle jets in the carbs that improved atomization for a better fuel-air mix. In spite of the controversy Turkington’s Yosh Suzuki survived an extensive post-race teardown after he built a big lead and then backed off in the closing laps to win the race.

(L to R) Gerald Rothman, Britt Turkington and Jason Pridmore in Daytona’s media center podium for the 1993 AMA 750 Supersport front-row qualifying press conference. There was a bit of a controversy after Turkington won the pole that year with a blistering pace of 1:56.872 on his Yoshimura Suzuki. ‘Turk’s’ time was not only a 750 Supersport track record, he shattered the previous year’s record set by Scott Russell by over a second and a half. He was also over a second and a half faster than second-place qualifier Rothman. While Turkington was a great rider at the peak of his game, there were questions flying about why he was so much faster than the rest of the field. His bike didn’t go through a post-qualifying tear down and fuel wasn’t tested. Yoshimura explained that Turkington was using a new generation of hollow tube needle jets in the carbs that improved atomization for a better fuel-air mix. In spite of the controversy Turkington’s Yosh Suzuki survived an extensive post-race teardown after he built a big lead and then backed off in the closing laps to win the race.

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