Doug Polen
| Doug Polen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Polen at Suzuka in 1990. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Doug Polen (born September 2, 1960) is an American former world champion motorcycle road racer. He raced successfully in AMA Superbike, Japanese Superbikes, Superbike World Championship and Endurance racing.
Motorcycle racing career
Polen was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was a privateer in AMA competition in the early 1980s, before quitting racing to concentrate on business commitments. In 1986 he returned to AMA, ultimately getting a works Yoshimura Suzuki ride in 1988 before going to international racing.[1] Polen joined Eraldo Ferracci's "Fast By Ferracci" Ducati team in 1990. After breaking his contract to go to the Superbike World Championship, he won the title in both 1991 and 1992.[2][3] In 1992 he also finished third overall in the AMA national championship.
In 1993 he left the world championship to compete exclusively in the United States and won the AMA national crown. In 1994 he joined the UK-based Castrol Honda team to race the then-new RC45 in the Superbike World Championship, insisting that the team use Dunlop tyres due to his close ties with the company. He left the team abruptly in early 1995 but not before teaming up with Aaron Slight to win the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race for Honda.[4] After returning to the AMA series, he set his sights on the FIM Endurance World Championship and eventually won that championship in 1997.
His total of 18 AMA pole positions was a record until Mat Mladin matched it in 2006. His 13 fastest laps in World Superbike competition in 1991 is a single-season championship record.[5]
Polen was inducted to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2011.[6]
Career statistics
Superbike World Championship
Races by year
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Races by year
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 500cc | Suzuki | JPN Ret |
AUS | USA | SPA | NAT | GER | AUT | YUG | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | SWE | CZE | BRA | NC | 0 |
References
- ↑ "Aztrackday Superbike School To Offer Instruction By Polen". Road Racing World. 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ↑ Dean Adams. "Eraldo's Boy Speaks Out: Interview with Larry Ferracci from 1995". Superbike Planet. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ↑ Doug Polen career World Superbike statistics at worldsbk.com Archived April 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Doug Polen". motorcycle.com.
- ↑ "2006 Superbike World Championship - Round 12 - Magny Cours". mcnews.com.au (Motorcycle News Australia). 2006-10-08. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ↑ "Ducati celebrates the AMA Hall of Fame Induction of two legends: Phil Schilling and Doug Polen". Ducati press release. Motorcycle Daily. November 22, 2011
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Doug Polen. |
| Preceded by Raymond Roche |
World Superbike Champion 1991-1992 |
Succeeded by Scott Russell |
| Preceded by Scott Russell |
AMA Superbike Champion 1993 |
Succeeded by Troy Corser |
| Preceded by Brian Morrison |
Endurance FIM World Champion 1997 With: Peter Goddard |
Succeeded by Doug Polen Christian Lavieille |
| Preceded by Doug Polen Peter Goddard |
Endurance FIM World Champion 1998 With: Christian Lavieille |
Succeeded by Jéhan d'Orgeix Terry Rymer |