“Jack Johnson, Jeff Cole and of course the amazing Miguel Duhamel represent the passion, focus and talent that drives motorcyclists to the competitive arena,” said Ken Ford, a member of the AMA board of directors and chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation board. “Competition breeds success, not just for the individual and his or her team, but all motorcyclists as we benefit from technological advances discovered through racing.”
The 2016 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held during the American International Motorcycle Expo, which runs Oct. 13-16 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
Jeff Cole was not just a brilliant fabricator, but he could translate rider feedback, whether highly technical or casual commentary, into geometric expression. In many ways, his revolutionary frame designs changed the racing landscape by accomplishing what was previously thought impossible.
C&J racing frames recorded countless AMA Grand National victories and championships since 1970, including 20 AMA Grand National Championships in a 22-year span. His designs also proved to be successful in road racing, motocross, international enduro and desert racing.
Miguel Duhamel was the AMA road racing paddock’s most dominant rider in the 1990s and early 2000s. The charismatic Canadian, who was as fast as he was popular with fans, lit up the record books throughout an era that saw some of the fiercest competition ever in the AMA road racing ranks.
At the height of his career, Duhamel was the winningest AMA Superbike racer in history with 32 class wins. He captured the Superbike crown in 1995, won the Daytona 200 five times, took five AMA Supersport titles and two AMA Formula Xtreme titles on his way to amassing 86 career AMA wins. His 40-plus AMA Supersport victories are a record-more than three times the number of the next person on the list. He is the only AMA road racer to compete for five different factories.
Jack Johnson won his first Nevada State Championship title in desert racing at age 10, but his formal career launched a decade later. Johnson was first overall in the 1973 Mint 250, 1975 Mint 400, 1976 Mint 400, 1978 Cherry Creek Hare and Hound and in the 1979 Baja 500, where he was also first in the solo “Iron Man” class.
Johnson also won first overall at the Baja 1000 with Larry Roeseler in 1978, 1979 and 1980, and in 1982 with Al Baker. He consistently won his class in the Baja 1000 from 2001 through 2007. He also was a two-time International Six Days Enduro medalist, winning gold in 1981.
Cole, Duhamel and Johnson, all from competition categories, join motorcycling enthusiast and pioneer Gloria Struck and dirt-track racer Ronnie Jones in the Class of 2016. Struck and Jones belong to the well-qualified category, which recognizes candidates whose accomplishments transcend the traditional competition and non-competition categories. The non-competition members of the Class of 2016 will be announced shortly.
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame induction ceremony is open to the public and, for the third consecutive year, takes place in conjunction with AIMExpo. For more information: www.americanmotorcyclist.com.
