The 1989 season was not the year to be on a Suzuki Katana 600 in AMA 600 Supersport racing. Yamaha launched its FZR600 that year and instantly made the already horsepower challenged Katana the toad of the class. It was so bad that Yoshimura Suzuki’s Scott Russell said thanks, but no thanks to racing the bike at Daytona that year. His mechanic Vic Fasola was famously quoted as saying the only way to make a Katana go fast was to “drop it off the top of a building”. Suzuki had the bike and a young Miguel Duhamel was willing. He raced it at Daytona that weekend and finished 12^th. Fortunately Miguel would later get to race Hondas in Supersport and become the all-time wins and championship leader in the class.

He would go on to become the King of Supersport racing, but at Daytona in 1989 Miguel Duhamel could only muster a 12th place finish on the Yoshimura Suzuki Katana 600. (Larry Lawrence photo)