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Inherit the Wind
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Miguel Duhamel
Jeff Buchanan
04/01/2007
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The intervening years have not dulled the details one
iota. Recalled with indelible lucidity by professional motorcycle racer Miguel
Duhamel, it was a deeply cathartic moment that defined just how cogent his
desire to win was. He refers to it as “the throttle incident.”
It was 1991,
and the 23-year-old Canadian was competing in his first Daytona 200—a rookie in
the world’s most prestigious motorcycle race. The Speedway’s renowned,
foreboding high banks are imbued with a rich history reaching back to its
pre-pavement days when the race was run on the sand of nearby Daytona Beach. The
list of winners is a who’s who of racing legends. A victory here carries as much
cache as a championship title.
Behind every championship is an indispensable team: Duhamel with crew chief Al
Ludington (top), and fiancée Linnea Deguzman. (Click images to enlarge)
On that particular Sunday, after 68 arduous
laps, approaching the end of the torturous 200-mile race, the rookie found
himself in the lead. With one lap remaining, young Duhamel was being hounded by
an imposing horde of unsentimental racers, with no qualms about derailing a
fairytale ending for the Daytona virgin. He might as well have had a bull’s-eye
emblazoned on the back of his leathers. But, after enduring 200 grueling miles
of the tumultuous, high-speed asphalt ballet, Duhamel had no intention of
relinquishing his lead—rookie status or not.
With the pack hot on his heels,
Duhamel needed a solid run out of the last corner onto the high banking for that
final, all-out dash to the checkered flag. Adrenaline flowing, he twisted the
throttle. The spent rear tire started to spin and stepped out in a slide,
threatening to high-side him out of the seat and toss his Daytona dream down the
pavement. In that millisecond, Duhamel’s experience told him one thing, while
his subconscious argued another. As his mind told him to roll off and let the
bike settle, an alter ego took over and kept the throttle pinned. The rookie won
the Daytona 200. In that watershed moment, Duhamel realized he possessed a
deeply embedded, immensely powerful will to win.
Since that day, Duhamel has
racked up an astonishing five Daytona 200 victories (going into the 2007
edition). He is king of the draft on the high banks, having mastered the
delicately timed nuances of capitalizing on competitors’ slipstreams to deliver
his patented slingshot pass. Duhamel has earned an amazing eight AMA
Championships—five in Supersport, two in Formula Extreme, and one in Superbike.
He enjoys one of the longest racing careers on record, staying consistently at
the top, for 15 seasons. He has witnessed an impressive string of talented
riders come up through the ranks— blossom, race, fade, retire—while his own
career continues unabated. In a profession as dicey, demanding, and
unpredictable as roadracing—where ability and staying power tend to be ephemeral
commodities—Duhamel, at 38, is in his prime.
Perhaps it was all preordained.
Before Miguel Duhamel was born, the blood that would flow through his veins was
being modified with the enzyme of speed by his father, legendary Kawasaki
roadracer Yvon Duhamel. The elder Duhamel obviously passed along a powerful
go-fast gene to his son, who started riding at age three and by six, was
pleading with his parents to let him race. As the wife of a famous racer, mom
knew all too well the risks of racing and put the kibosh on the matter. This is
when another, equally poignant incident changed Duhamel’s destiny.
 The winning combination—the #17 Honda with the throttle wide open, and a
determined gaze. (Click image to enlarge)
The
Duhamel family was on a ski holiday in St. Lucie, Quebec. Young Miguel went off
to clear the snow that had gathered on the chalet’s roof. Later, as the family
packed into the car, they realized Miguel was missing. To their horror, they
discovered he had been swept off the roof as he was clearing it, then buried
under several feet of snow. By the time they pulled him out of the icy tomb,
Miguel was blue, unconscious, and close to death. Fortunately, he was revived
without any lasting harm.
However, the experience had a profound
impact on Miguel’s mother. She came to the realization that life, not just
racing, held a myriad of dangers that could harm her children, so why not let
them do what they wanted. The imposed racing ban was lifted. As a caring,
worrisome mother, she hoped in earnest her son would not like it, but that would
not be the case.
Duhamel immediately fell in love with the challenges of
competition and began his steady climb through the ranks. Duhamel is quick to
credit his father as his hero—not only for his exploits on the racetrack, but
for his poise and dignity as a self-made man, father, and
husband.
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