Even though Rich Oliver started his pro career on an aging Kawasaki Superbike he really came into his own in the mid-1980s when he began focusing on AMA 250 Grand Prix racing. After winning four consecutive 250GP titles, Yamaha finally gave Oliver a shot on a factory Superbike in 1998 & ’99. Oliver had some excellent performances on the factory Yamaha R1, including winning the pole at Road Atlanta for the Big Kahuna National. He also finished on the podium in the 1999 Daytona 200. Lesser remembered is that Yamaha also put Oliver on an R6 in the ’99 Pro Honda Oils AMA 600 Supersport Series. Oliver was putting in solid performances in Supersport. At the first Laguna Seca round that year he finished a very solid fifth in the rain, ahead of riders like Eric Bostrom, Steve Rapp, Nicky Hayden and Miguel Duhamel. Oliver was a very respectable fourth in the Supersport standings (behind the Hayden brothers Nicky and Tommy and Jamie Hacking) after the Road Atlanta round when a Superbike crash there shattered his elbow and put him out for just about the rest of the season. His excellent performances on the 600 showed the overall versatility Oliver had as a rider.

Rich Oliver in pre-season testing in January of 1999 at Laguna Seca Raceway. Oliver was best known for his 250 Grand Prix and Superbike performances, but he showed a lot of promise on 600s as well showing his versatility. (Henny Ray Abrams photo)