Thursday, May 19, 2022
MCNews
  • NEWSLatest
  • REVIEWS
  • LATEST BIKES
  • RACING
  • FEATURES
  • TOURING
  • PRODUCTS
  • MEDIA
    • GALLERY
  • MORE
    • POPULAR ARTICLES
    • MCNEWS COMMENTS
    • MAIN FORUM
    • CONTACT US
    • ABOUT US
No Result
View All Result
MCNews
  • NEWSLatest
  • REVIEWS
  • LATEST BIKES
  • RACING
  • FEATURES
  • TOURING
  • PRODUCTS
  • MEDIA
    • GALLERY
  • MORE
    • POPULAR ARTICLES
    • MCNEWS COMMENTS
    • MAIN FORUM
    • CONTACT US
    • ABOUT US
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
MCNews

Yvon Duhamel passes away aged 81

French-Canadian road racer most active in the 1960s-1970s

Motorcycle News by Motorcycle News
August 24, 2021
in American Road Racing, Motorcycle News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare

Yvon Duhamel – 1939-2021

Yvon Duhamel, a member of the AMA Hall of Fame Class of 1999 was known for riding the temperamental and brutally fast Kawasaki H2R in AMA road race nationals in the 1970s.

Kawasaki’s H2R 750 as raced by Yvon Duhamel – Image by Phil Aynsley

The French-Canadian racer is best known for representing team Kawasaki green and competed in every style of motorcycle racing from motocross and dirt track to road racing and drag racing. He was 81 when he died on August 17.

Duhamel competed in numerous world championship motorcycle races during his active career. His spirit for racing infected his sons, Miguel and Mario, who became renowned road racers during the 1990s, with Miguel winning the AMA Superbike title in 1995 and becoming the all-time leading AMA Superbike race wins leader in 1998.

Born in Montreal on October 17, 1939, Duhamel was an avid bicyclist and established a small shop when he was only 13.

At 15, Duhamel bought his first motorcycle, a 500cc Triumph T-100. At age 17, he began ice racing. By 1959, and at the age of 19, Duhamel began his racing career in earnest on a BSA Gold Star.

By the mid-1960s, Duhamel began competing in the Daytona 200 and the Laconia Classic in New Hampshire. In 1967, Fred Deeley Yamaha offered Duhamel a chance to race at Daytona in the Lightweight (250cc) class on one of the new Yamaha GP bikes. He finished eighth. In 1968 and ’69, Duhamel returned to Daytona and won the Lightweight class both years. He also won the 250cc class at Indianapolis in ’69.

During the 1968 Daytona 200, Duhamel finished second behind Harley-Davidson’s Cal Rayborn and became one of the first two-stroke riders to make a Daytona podium finish. In 1969, he earned the pole in the Daytona 200 with the first-ever qualifying lap above 150 mph.

By the 1970s, Duhamel was considered a road racing specialist and helping to solidify his reputation was the fact that Kawasaki hired him in 1971 to be one of its factory riders. The company was known for making fast, three-cylinder, two-stroke racers, and Kawasaki needed an expert rider to handle the explosive and narrow powerband of the bike. Duhamel proved to be one of the few riders in the world who could tame Kawasaki’s H2R.

Duhamel earned Kawasaki its first AMA national victory in 1971 at Talladega, Ala. From 1971 to 1973, Duhamel was the winningest rider for Kawasaki, earning five national victories for Team Green during that period.

By the mid-1970s, Duhamel was busy racing overseas, competing in the 250cc Grand Prix. He was also a factory world endurance racer who competed in the famous LeMans and Bol d’Or 24-hour endurance races on modified versions of the popular KZ1000 street bike.

RelatedPosts

Tauranga's Scott Wilkins takes the Kawasaki Ninja H2R to over 360 km/h - Image by Steve Knowles

Scott Wilkins breaks NZ landspeed record on Kawasaki H2R

March 14, 2022
The infamous Kawasaki H2R 750 two-stroke triple

The infamous Kawasaki H2R 750 two-stroke triple

August 24, 2021

In the United States during the mid-1970s, Duhamel won a slew of production races for Kawasaki on its Z-1 in races that would eventually become AMA Superbike. By the late ’70s, Duhamel began to scale back his racing schedule.

Soon, his sons were beginning to get involved in racing and Duhamel gave them full support. While Duhamel never completely retired from racing, Yvon, Mario and Miguel Duhamel competed together in the 1988, 24-hour world championship endurance race in Bol d’Or. The three became the first father-and-sons team to compete in that event. During the mid-1990s, Duhamel returned to racing in the AMA Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster Series. He earned a few top-10 finishes, proving that he could still be competitive, even in his 50s.

Tags: Kawasaki H2RYvon Duhamel
Motorcycle News

Motorcycle News

Related Articles

Royal Enfield EOFY Sale Now On

Royal Enfield EOFY Sale Now On

May 18, 2022
Massive MX1 round up from ProMX Round Three in Wodonga

ProMX Images – Wodonga ProMX Images Gallery F

May 18, 2022
Moto News Weekly | Price awarded OAM | Hard Enduro | SX | AFT

Recall Round-Up: Triumph Speed Triples | BMW K 1600 | Indians

May 18, 2022
Royale Motorcycles - No. 55 GT Production Café Racer

Busted Knuckles Build Off People’s Choice winner announced

May 18, 2022
Load More

SOCIALS

  • 7.2k Followers

SUPPORT OUR SUPPORTERS

INCASE YOU MISSED

Max Fricke wins in front of 50,000 strong Polish crowd

Max Fricke wins in front of 50,000 strong Polish crowd

May 15, 2022
Jack Miller stoked with French GP victory | Quotes from all riders

MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 & MotoE Le Mans Previews/Schedules

May 12, 2022
Moto News Weekly | Price awarded OAM | Hard Enduro | SX | AFT

Recall Round-Up: Triumph Speed Triples | BMW K 1600 | Indians

May 18, 2022

GET LATEST NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

MCNews

MCNEWS.COM.AU is a specialist on-line resource that provides motorcycle news for motorcyclists. MCNews covers all areas of interest for the motorcycling public including news, reviews and comprehensive racing coverage.

© 2022 MCNews

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
    • ALL NEWS
    • ALL NEWS CONDENSED
    • POPULAR ARTICLES
    • BMW News
    • Honda News
    • Husqvarna News
    • KTM News
    • Suzuki News
    • Yamaha News
    • Triumph News
    • CFMOTO News
    • Ducati News
    • Moto Guzzi News
    • Royal Enfield News
    • Kawasaki News
    • Aprilia News
    • Harley News
    • Indian News
    • MV Agusta News
    • Benelli News
    • GASGAS News
    • BETA News
    • Norton News
    • Victory News
    • EBR News
    • Rieju News
    • E-Bike News
    • Scooter News
    • LAMS News
    • ATV / SSV News
  • REVIEWS
    • All Bike Reviews
    • LAMS Reviews
    • KTM Reviews
    • Honda Reviews
    • Yamaha Reviews
    • Triumph Reviews
    • BMW Reviews
    • Suzuki Reviews
    • CFMOTO Reviews
    • Ducati Reviews
    • Kawasaki Reviews
    • Husqvarna Reviews
    • Aprilia Reviews
    • Benelli Reviews
    • BETA Reviews
    • E-Bike Reviews
    • EBR Reviews
    • GAS GAS Reviews
    • Harley Reviews
    • Indian Reviews
    • Kymco Reviews
    • Moto Guzzi Reviews
    • MV Agusta Reviews
    • Norton Reviews
    • Royal Enfield Reviews
    • Scooter Reviews
    • Sherco Reviews
    • Victory Reviews
    • Rieju Reviews
  • NEW PRODUCTS
  • LATEST BIKES
    • ALL LATEST BIKES NEWS
    • BMW
    • Honda
    • Husqvarna
    • KTM
    • Suzuki
    • Yamaha
    • Triumph
    • CFMOTO
    • Ducati
    • Moto Guzzi
    • Royal Enfield
    • Kawasaki
    • Aprilia
    • Harley
    • Indian
    • MV Agusta
    • Benelli
    • GAS GAS
    • BETA
    • Norton
    • Victory
    • E-Bike
    • Scooters
    • LAMS
    • Rieju
  • RACING
    • ALL RACING
    • ROAD
      • MotoGP
      • WSBK
      • ASBK
      • BSB
      • Real Road / TT
      • Historic Road Racing
      • Japan / Asian Road Racing
      • Endurance Road Racing
      • American Road Racing
      • NZ Road Racing
      • Supermoto
      • MiniGP
    • DIRT
      • Supercross
      • AMA MX
      • Australian Pro MX
      • MXGP
      • Enduro / Rally
      • Dirt / Flat Track
      • Speedway
  • FEATURES
  • TOURING
  • GALLERY
  • LATEST COMMENTS
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT US
  • COMMUNITY FORUM

© 2022 MCNews