Miguel Duhamel was a dominant AMA roadracer in the 1990s and early 2000s, and was a true iron man of the sport. Here are a dozen interesting facts about Duhamel, who was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2016.
- Duhamel is Canadian, born in Lasalle, Quebec, in 1968.
- He began racing motocross at age 9.
- Miguel’s father is AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Yvon Duhamel, best known as a Kawasaki road racer.
- The No. 17 that Miguel raced under was the same number used by his father.
- During his career, he rode for five factories in AMA and international competition.
- Duhamel won the AMA Superbike Championship in 1995. Bonus: He won the Daytona 200 five times.
- He also won five AMA Supersport titles and two AMA Formula Xtreme titles.
- Duhamel was one of the winningest AMA Superbike racers ever, with 32 class wins. His 40-plus AMA Supersport victories set a record.
- In all, he took home 86 career AMA wins.
- He credits attention to detail for helping give him the edge over the competition. For example, he said he paid a lot of attention to tire selection and riding setup.
- Duhamel was fanatical about physical training, particularly bicycle riding.
- He was a true iron man. In 1998, he had a horrific crash at Loudon, N.H. Doctors feared they may have to amputate his leg. He got a bone graft and raced at Daytona before the leg healed. He walked using crutches, but used a cane to get to his bike so the AMA wouldn’t know how seriously hurt he was. He then won the Daytona 200 AND the Supersport race.