Russell Rides An R1

[FZ1riderNY]

I don't know if anyone saw this today but they had a speed contest at Bristol Motor Speedway to see who is the fastest on this particular 1/2 mile oval. Entries included USAC Midget Cars, USAC Modified Cars, Street Cars, and on two wheels, a Yamaha R1 piloted by Scott Russell (Mr. Daytona). The R1 was done up in the Kenny Roberts paint scheme. Have a look.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QPh1L6eYSc]YouTube - Scott Russell Rides An R1[/ame]

 

[johnnyontherocks]

I wonder what the speed was of the other contestants

 

[FZ1riderNY]

The winner was one of the USAC Modifieds and he ran a 13.246 seconds at 144. something miles per hour. And thats his average speed! The Sprint Cup record is over 14 seconds. I think Scott could have run a higher line and shaved a few seconds off his time, but at 46 years old, and the fact that this was a "last minute" deal for him, he played it safe and ran the low line.

 

[NJFZ1]

Yea, he didn't look too comfortable on the bike, but the way that race track is made it's certainly not ideal for motorcycles. I did like that wheelie at the end

 

[NightTrain]

Isn't that the anniversary edition R1 they put out in 2006? I think I still have some photos of him on his ZX7r from Daytona, that I took in the late-80's. If I can find them I should have them scanned. Russell was a childhood hero along with Duhamel (and of course others).