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Doug Polen (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional motorcycle road racer.[1] Polen was a dominant national and world champion road racer in the late 1980s and early 1990s, culminating with his Superbike world championships in 1991 and 1992.[2][3] He raced successfully in AMA Superbike, Japanese Superbike Championship, Superbike World Championship and endurance racing. Polen was inducted to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2011.[1][4]

Doug Polen
Polen at Suzuka in 1990.
NationalityUnited States United States
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Superbike World Championship
Active years1988 - 1992, 1994 - 1995
ManufacturersDucati, Honda
Championships2 (1991, 1992)
1995 championship position-
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
80 27 40 17 17 1002

Motorcycle racing career

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Born in Detroit, Michigan, Polen's family moved to Denton, Texas, where he began his motorcycle road racing career in 1977 as a privateer racer.[1] Injuries sustained in a crash in mid-1982 made Polen decide to quit racing but, friends convinced him to begin racing again in late 1985.[1] In 1986, he competed in the newly created Suzuki GSXR National Cup Series. He was so successful at winning races that in only two years, he earned $260,000 in contingency fees while competing in the Suzuki sponsored series.[5] He earned more money than any privateer rider in the history of American motorcycle racing.[5] His success earned him a contract to race for the Yoshimura Suzuki racing team in 1988.[1][6] With the Yoshimura team, he became the first competitor to win both the AMA 750cc Superbike and the 600cc Supersport titles.[1]

In 1989 Polen had the opportunity to race for the Yoshimura team in Japan, winning the Formula 1 and Formula 3 in the All Japan Road Race Championship, the first time anyone had captured both titles the same season.[1] While in Japan, Polen received a one-time offer to race in the Japanese round of the 1989 Superbike World Championship and, made an impressive debut by winning the first race and finishing the second race in fourth place.[2] Polen joined Eraldo Ferracci's "Fast By Ferracci" Ducati racing team to compete in the 1991 Superbike World Championship.[1] He won the championship in a dominating fashion, winning 17 of 24 races in the series and finishing 150 points ahead of his nearest rival, the defending world champion Raymond Roche.[1][2] He also set a World Superbike Championship record by winning 6 consecutive pole positions, a record which stood for 18 years until it was broken by Ben Spies in 2009.[3][7] Polen successfully defended his title by winning the 1992 Superbike World Championship.[1][2] He also finished third overall in the 1992 AMA Superbike national championship.[1]

In 1993, Polen left the world championship to compete exclusively in the United States and won the AMA Superbike national championship.[1] 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.[8] 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.[9][10] He teamed up with Peter Goddard to win the 1997 FIM Endurance World Championship before switching to a Honda to win the 1998 Endurance World Championship with Christian Lavieille.[1]

Polen's 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.[11] After retiring from racing, Polen formed a road racing school to help motorcyclists improve their skills. In 2011 Polen was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.[1]

Career statistics

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Superbike World Championship

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Races by year

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Year[2] Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos. Pts
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
1988 Suzuki GBR
EX
GBR
EX
HUN HUN GER GER AUT AUT JPN JPN FRA FRA POR POR AUS AUS NZL NZL NC 0
1989 Suzuki GBR GBR HUN HUN CAN CAN USA USA AUT AUT FRA FRA JPN
1
JPN
4
GER GER ITA ITA AUS AUS NZL NZL 21st 33
1990 Suzuki SPA SPA GBR GBR HUN HUN GER GER CAN CAN USA USA AUT AUT JPN
8
JPN
DNS
FRA FRA ITA ITA MAL MAL AUS AUS NZL NZL 48th 8
1991 Ducati GBR
1
GBR
Ret
SPA
1
SPA
1
CAN CAN USA
1
USA
1
AUT
2
AUT
1
SMR
1
SMR
1
SWE
1
SWE
1
JPN
1
JPN
1
MAL
4
MAL
5
GER
1
GER
2
FRA
1
FRA
1
ITA
1
ITA
2
AUS
2
AUS
1
1st 432
1992 Ducati SPA
2
SPA
6
GBR
6
GBR
4
GER
1
GER
1
BEL
5
BEL
1
SPA
Ret
SPA
1
AUT
3
AUT
5
ITA
2
ITA
3
MAL
8
MAL
1
JPN
1
JPN
1
NED
1
NED
Ret
ITA
10
ITA
5
AUS
2
AUS
4
NZL
1
NZL
2
1st 371
1994 Honda GBR
9
GBR
7
GER
5
GER
3
ITA
12
ITA
15
SPA
6
SPA
7
AUT
3
AUT
3
INA
4
INA
6
JPN
10
JPN
16
NED
11
NED
Ret
SMR
11
SMR
7
EUR
12
EUR
Ret
AUS
11
AUS
11
4th 158
1995 Honda GER GER SMR
17
SMR
Ret
GBR GBR ITA ITA SPA SPA AUT
Ret
AUT
Ret
USA USA EUR EUR JPN JPN NED NED INA INA AUS AUS NC 0

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

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Races by year

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year[12] 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

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Doug Polen at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Rider Profile - Doug Polen". wsb-archives.co.uk. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  3. ^ a b DeWitt, Norman L. (2010). Grand Prix Motorcycle Racers: The American Heroes. ISBN 9781610600453. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  4. ^ "Ducati celebrates the AMA Hall of Fame Induction of two legends: Phil Schilling and Doug Polen". motorcycledaily.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Doug Polen: King of Club Racers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  6. ^ "Aztrackday Superbike School To Offer Instruction By Polen". Road Racing World. December 11, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  7. ^ "Spies Breaks Record, Earns Seventh Consecutive World Superbike Pole Position, At Miller". roadracingworld.com. May 30, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  8. ^ Dean Adams. "Eraldo's Boy Speaks Out: Interview with Larry Ferracci from 1995". Superbike Planet. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  9. ^ "Doug Polen". motorcycle.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2006.
  10. ^ "1994 Suzuka 8 Hours results". motoracing-japan.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  11. ^ "2006 Superbike World Championship - Round 12 - Magny Cours". mcnews.com.au (Motorcycle News Australia). October 8, 2006. Archived from the original on October 7, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  12. ^ "1989 Japanese Grand Prix results". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
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Preceded by World Superbike Champion
1991-1992
Succeeded by
Preceded by AMA Superbike Champion
1993
Succeeded by
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