Mid-June used to mean Loudon for the Superbike ranks. And Loudon usually meant racing in the rain. And, if you're going to have a bench-racing session about racing in the rain at Loudon, then there is but one race to talk about, above all other—the 1993 Loudon Classic, won on June 20 that year by Scott Russell.

For a man commonly known as "Mr. Daytona" because of his prowess in Daytona Beach, Scott Russell's 1993 Loudon win was one third of a trifecta which made him a legend. Russell accomplished so much in 1993, but perhaps the most impressive feat that season didn't take place at Daytona or Suzuka or at a European racetrack. It happened at Loudon. The people who were there that day will never forget what they witnessed.

Then the reigning AMA Superbike champion, Scott Russell only raced a few rounds in the US in 1993—Phoenix, Daytona and Loudon. He was beaten at Phoenix by Doug Polen, at Daytona by Eddie Lawson, but slammed home such a devastating performance at Loudon that all prior runner-up finishes were forgotten. His grandma was trackside to see him race Loudon.

Russell was racing in Europe after Daytona in 1993, trying for his (and Kawasaki's) first World Superbike championship; he was not scheduled to race in America after Daytona. However, in 1993 there was turmoil on the US side of the Muzzy Kawasaki team, at least according to Russell's then mechanic, Gary Medley.

"Rob had Miguel DuHamel and Tiger Sohwa racing here then, and I think they thought that all the good equipment was going to Europe for Scott, because they were not doing so well."

"Even Dale Quarterley on a Muzzy customer Superbike was more competitive than the factory riders, at times."

"The old man was pissed!" (Muzzy)

A last-minute plan was hatched after the Spanish World Superbike round at Albacete whereby Russell and Medley—who were hanging out at the Kawasaki race shop in Germany—would get flights to the US and Russell would race the event on one of Sohwa's back-up bikes. The plan was hatched the Monday before Loudon, okayed by Kawasaki on Tuesday and flights arranged for Wednesday, which would put Medley and Russell into New Hampshire on Thursday, for the start of practice on Friday.

An early problem was that Russell and Medley missed their flight out of Germany and were delayed by six hours in leaving the continent. They flew into New York, according to Medley, and arranged another flight into Concord Massachusetts, which put them into Loudon late.



This was in an era when Russell, the defending Loudon Classic winner, didn't believe that he suffered from jet lag, at times showing he could go without sleep for days, so his body being on a euro-clock didn't matter. He didn't need sleep, he told everyone.

They arrived. Russell had only slept an hour in the rental car. Medley prepped the back up bike by putting Russell's number on it.
Russell went out in a wet but drying track and went faster than anyone else—teammate or not—snatching pole from second-fastest Jamie James on the Vance and Hines Yamaha. Russell's margin over James in qualifying was a half-second on the short little track. Conventional wisdom had it that no one could go faster in the second qualifying session because of the rain, and many riders left their bikes under the pit lane tents.

Somebody just forgot to tell Russell.

It was pouring that Sunday as the riders took to the grid, rainsuits over their leathers. In appalling conditions, where you'd think twice about riding to the track, much less racing on it, Russell showed that day what made him so great—precise and fearless riding. He nailed the start and was off, with DuHamel and Sohwa trying to keep pace in the downpour. There were two races in retrospect, one for Scott Russell to see how far in the order he could lap the field (answer: eighth), while the other was to be the soul who finished behind Russell. His future brother-in-law, Mike Smith, won that one.

Kawasaki ZX7RR mounted Russell won the race by almost forty seconds; the following Monday a local paper ran an image of Russell charging through the downpour, with a huge rooster-tail of water spraying off his rear tire.

Russell did his share of winning that season in 1993—he won both the Suzuka eight hours and the World Superbike title—but he may have not have been more impressive—ever—than he was that afternoon at Loudon.

"Scott, just ... he just had something more when it rained than a lot of riders. I mean, he had such control and confidence in the wet. A lot of riders hate racing in the rain, but Scott enjoyed it, and did really well at it," says Gary Medley.

"I don't think there were any questions about equipment after that race that year. In pretty typical form, Muzzy silenced it. I think that was just the way he dealt with things—head on. Not a lot of bullshit with Rob. Somebody says something, and he's like, 'That so? Well, I think you're wrong and I'm gonna prove it.'."




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Back when races were shown on television months after they'd run (if ever) and the Internet was still in its womb, computer geek race fanatics would log on computer bulletin boards to learn race results and get reports. Sometimes, you'd know the outcome of races the same day they were held (amazing, eh?).

Keith Patti filed his reports on such a bulletin board, and this is his blow by blow 1993 Loudon report.—Editor


Rain has the spectators crowded in the top of the grandstand. Prepared motorcyclists have their rain suits on, a good idea in this weather. They're hanging on the fence lining the front straight.

The riders take their sighting lap, the sky looks no lighter, so there's no real hope for any drier race than the 250s had. They need this sighting lap more than on a dry track, New Hampshire International Speedway's 1.6 mile road course is covered with standing water and puddles.

The rain is not as bad as during the 250 GP, but it's still raining steady. Colin Edwards' bike is balking on the grid. It's stalled and the crew can't get it restarted. Edwards may miss the 70th Loudon Classic.

Russell, Smith and a charging DuHamel lead the pack through turn one. Dale Quarterley is fourth. DuHamel takes second past Smith, but Smith comes back past the Canadian.

Russell pulls away in the lead. Smith is second, then DuHamel, Quarterley and Jacques Guenette going well on the Yamaha. Jamie James passes Guenette as they head down the front straight for the first time. Crevier is picking his way through the pack, it's his first ride on the Ducati.

Russell continues to pull away, he wheelies on the straights, giving a show for the spectators who are braving the elements to watch the show. Smith is alone in second, then DuHamel, Quarterley, James, Guenette, and Polen. Russell has four second on Smith after three laps. Polen goes past Guenette, and now Sohwa pressures the Canadian. Sohwa goes by to take over sixth.

Quarterley closes in on DuHamel. Quarterley teaches the Penguin Racing School here at NHIS, and he's acknowledged as the most experienced rider on this track. Quarterley passes DuHamel and hangs on for
third. DuHamel looked to the inside in the bowl, but had second thoughts so Quarterley keeps third place.

Russell is running 1:29 laps, well off the pace but ungodly quick considering the conditions. Russell, Smith, Quarterley, DuHamel, James, Polen, Sohwa, and Guenette. Crevier is ninth and now Andrew Stroud has passed Stevens for tenth. James is closing on DuHamel in fourth. Colin Edards arrives on track two laps down, he passes Russell, then Russell takes back the position from the rookie Superbike racer. Edwards sees God and Russell continues alone down the front straight.

Sohwa takes Polen on the inside as they set up for the transition to the back side of the track. Polen is obviously biding his time. He'll go fast only when he has to, and at this time he doesn't.

After thirteen laps, Russell leads Smith, Quarterley, James, DuHamel, Sohwa and Polen. Sohwa looks surprisingly smooth, calm and collected regardless of the conditions. The former Japanese champion gained a lot poise after his 750 Supersports win yesterday.

Smith is trying hard to reel in Russell, but he may be trying too hard as his Honda gets out of shape cresting the hill heading for the bowl. Russell shows he's under full control with a short wheelie down the front straight, continuously stretching his lead.

James now closes on Quarterley. Russell has over six seconds on Smith. another three seconds back to Quarterley, then only two seconds back to James. Quarterley passes his pit sign and gets word on James' charge, so, after wringing it out, he turns up the wick. Besides Quarterley picking up speed, James is held up by traffic so Quarterley gains a bit on the Yamaha.

The traffic is slowing James to the point he's being caught by DuHamel. Russell has a ten second lead and now seems to be easing off a bit. Russell is through the back straight before Smith enters the front straight.

In case you think the rain has stopped, it hasn't. Stroud and Crevier dice for eighth. Stevens is tenth and Sadowski is eleventh. Stroud passes Crevier. Crevier doesn't like it, but there's little he can do in the rain.

Crossed halfway flags at the stripe. Russell leads Smith by twelve seconds. Quarterley is seven seconds back from Smith. then James, DuHamel, Sohwa and Polen. Then Stroud, Crevier, Guenette, Stevens and Sadowski. Russell waves to the announcers in the "tree house" on the back side of the track. Sohwa slices through traffic, still working on his Supersports victory high.

Over twenty seconds separate Smith and Russell, but it's less than three seconds back to Quarterley from Smith. The rain tires are working well, Russell goes 1:26, the fastest lap of the race so far. DuHamel is closing on James. Crevier goes past the tower alone, and there's a question to what happened to Stroud. A rumor says Crevier hit Stroud's kill switch...

Smith slides in turn one, and Quarterley moves onto his rear wheel. Quarterley goes to the outside, and with a backmarker they're three wide going through turn eight, heading back onto the infield. Quarterley takes second from Smith, but after he clears the infield, he drops the Kawasaki in turn three. He looses a handful of places while his bike's on the ground.

Twenty six laps in the book, Russell is away in the lead. Smith has inherited second, then James, DuHamel, Sohwa, Quarterley and Polen. Crevier has problems with his new Italian ride, he stops on pit road, then pushes the bike behind the wall.

Less than ten laps to go. Thirty seconds between Russell and Smith. The battle for third is heating up. James, DuHamel and Sohwa are nose to tail. Quarterley is just out of the frame. James and DuHamel slice through traffic and leave Sohwa and Quarterley to fend for themselves.

DuHamel is right on James' rear wheel, but he doesn't appear to have the advantage to make the pass. James gasses it, as much as he can, and makes a cushion from DuHamel. Sadowski has a problem, he was
running just outside the top ten until water drowned his engine.

Five laps to go and Russell is still pulling away from Smith. the gap is over thirty seconds. James has pulled away from DuHamel, but Sohwa has closed on the Canadian Daytona winner, and that's the race.

Sohwa passes DuHamel. Sohwa set up DuHamel behind a backmarker to take fourth on the back straight. Jamie James' bike appears to be blowing oil. He slips a bit but hangs on. Sohwa and DuHamel close on the wounded Yamaha.

Sohwa takes third place. It's nail biting time watching James ride his broken bike. DuHamel passes James and points at the Yamaha, trying to inform James of his trouble.

White flag for Scott Russell while all eyes are on James. His bike continues to slow, but he keeps it up and heads for the finish.

Russell takes the checkered flag for his third consecutive win at the Loudon Classic. Mike Smith comes home second, and Sohwa takes third. DuHamel, James limped to fifth.

Russell takes a victory lap, and wheelies with the checkers held high. Now he stands on the pegs, both hands holding the checkered flag over his head! It's still raining, and he's not exactly creeping down the track.

Loudon, NH Provisional results for the Superbike, 70th Loudon Camel Classic:

Ps.Ql.No. Rider , Machine Laps
-- -- ---- ------------------------------------------
1 1 1 Scott Russell, Santa Ana, CA, Kawasaki 40
2 4 68 Mike Smith, Canton, GA, Honda 40
3 9 60 Takahiro Sohwa, Bend, OR, Kawasaki 40
4 6 17 Miguel DuHamel, Canada, Kawasaki 40
5 2 2 Jamie James, Livingston, LA, Yamaha 40
6 8 32 Dale Quarterley, Rockland, MA, Kawasaki 40
7 3 23 Doug Polen, Denton, TX, Ducati 40
8 15 53 Andrew Stroud, San Gabriel, CA, Ducati 39
9 12 39 Jacques Guenette, Canada, Yamaha 39
10 7 11 Thomas Stevens, Sanibel, FL, Suzuki 39
11 26 50 Brad Hazen, Garden Grove, CA, Kawasaki 38
12 25 36 Jim Sabin, Dallas, TX, Kawasaki 38
13 22 25 David Sadowski, Buford, GA, Kawasaki 38
14 28 79 Rick Shaw, Miami, FL, Yamaha 37
15 32 89 Michael Fitzpatrick, Columbia, MD 37
16 13 67 Benoit Pilon, St. Jerome, QU, CAN, Yamaha 36
17 16 52 Marc Smith, Newington, CT, Kawasaki 36
18 14 31 Louis Saccoccio, Cranston, RI, Suzuki 36
19 21 57 Eric Moe, Spring Lake, MI, Honda 36
20 29 96 Craig Gleason, San Marcos, TX, Suzuki 36
21 17 29 Pablo Real, Miami, FL, Ducati 36
22 27 63 Greg Kopp, Drums, PA, Ducati 36
23 30 43 Steve Moriarty, Rye, NH, Kawasaki 35
24 20 66 James Lussier, Kingston, NH, Kawasaki 31
25 31 76 Brett Ray, Greenacres, FL, Suzuki 28
26 23 55 Anthony Fania, Milford, NJ, Kawasaki 27
27 11 14 Steve Crevier, Canada, Ducati 26
28 18 37 John Ashmead, W. Palm Beach, FL, Kawasaki 17
29 5 45 Colin Edwards, Conroe, TX, Yamaha 5
30 24 18 Scott Gray, Santa Rosa, CA, Kawasaki 1
31 33 13 Stephen Decamp, Deltona, FL, Kawasaki 1

Margin of Victory: 39.033 seconds
Time of Race : 59:11.200