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Rich leads into the International Horseshoe turn at Daytona on lap one, Turner, Sorensen, Sorbo, Piles and the rest chase the blue rocket.

Photo by 2WF.COM

TEAM OLIVER YAMAHA'S RICH OLIVER AND CREW CHIEF ROBERT WARD WIN THE LAST DAYTONA 250 GRAND PRIX RACE EVER!  AFTER QUALIFYING WAS RAINED OUT, OLIVER WAS FORCED TO START FROM THE FIFTH STARTING POSITION ON THE SECOND ROW OF THE 50 BIKE FIELD.  RICH TOOK THE LEAD INTO TURN ONE AND WAS NEVER PASSED, PULLING A SMALL GAP SLOWLY OVER DEFENDING CHAMPION CHUCK SORENSEN THAT GREW TO FOUR SECONDS BY THE HALFWAY POINT. AT THIS CRITICAL MOMENT, OLIVER WAS ABLE TO PUSH BY LAPPED TRAFFIC AND INCREASE HIS MARGIN TO 10 SECONDS OVER APRILIA'S SORENSEN, WHO WAS WELL CLEAR OF HARD RIDING SIMON TURNER ON A HONDA. OLIVER FINISHED THE RACE CLEAR OF SECOND PLACE BY 11.464 SECONDS AND CLEAR OF THIRD BY 1:02.948.  RICH LAPPED UP TO NINTH PLACE AND TOOK 28:46.442 TO RUN THE 15 LAP RACE.  AVERAGE SPEED WAS 111.464 MPH. OLIVER SET A NEW TRACK RECORD ON LAP 7 WITH A 1:53.929, AND ALSO CLOCKED THREE OTHER LAPS DURING THE RACE UNDER THE OLD TRACK RECORD.  THIS WAS THE 11TH TIME HE HAS FINISHED ON THE PODIUM AT DAYTONA, 10 TIMES IN 250 GP RACES AND ONCE WITH A THIRD IN THE DAYTONA 200. OLIVER COMMENTS, "I REALLY ENJOYED RACING TODAY, I'M GLAD WE WERE ABLE TO GET OUR RACE IN WITH THIS WET WEATHER ALWAYS BEING A FACTOR.  CHUCK, AS HE NORMALLY DOES PUSHED ME QUITE HARD AND FORCED ME TO RIDE MY BEST. BUT I DO ENJOY THE CHALLENGE AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW WHAT THE MYSTERY SCHOOL TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT--TEACHING ONE HOW TO WIN RACES!  I FEEL THAT MY YAMAHA REALLY DID RUN IT'S BEST TODAY, AND ROBERT SURE DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB TUNING THE ENGINE TO IT'S VERY EDGE, BUT NOT OVER IT!  THE DUNLOPS WERE GREAT, AND THE FERODO BRAKES GAVE ME AN ADVANTAGE LAP AFTER LAP.  I KNOW THAT YAMAHA USA IS PLEASED THAT WE WON. THEY HAVE HELPED ME FOR YEARS AND I FEEL PROUD TO BE PART OF THE YAMAHA FAMILY. I ESPECIALLY ENJOYED THE FANS WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT DURING THE YAMAHA WEEKEND OF CHAMPIONS EVENT, WHILE SIGNING POSTERS FOR THEM IN THE YAMAHA TENT.  THAT WAS A GREAT MOTIVATOR FOR ME TO RIDE MY BEST THIS LAST TIME. THANKS TO ALL MY SPONSORS, FANS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS THAT HAVE HELPED ROBERT AND I ACHIEVE OUR GOAL THIS YEAR AT DAYTONA.  I'LL SURE MISS RIDING THE HIGH BANKS AT 14,OOO RPM!"

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