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polen at suzuka in 1990 . united states united states doug polen 1990 suzuka 8h.jpg doug polen
 doug polen
doug polen

doug polen -lrb- born september 2 , 1960 -rrb- is a former world champion motorcycle road racer .
he raced successfully in ama superbike , japanese superbikes , superbike world championship and endurance racing .
polen was born in detroit , michigan .
he was a privateer in ama competition in the early 1980s , before quitting racing to concentrate on business commitments .
in 1986 he returned to ama , ultimately getting a works yoshimura suzuki ride in 1988 before going to international racing .
polen joined eraldo ferracci 's `` fast by ferracci '' ducati team in .
after breaking his contract to go to the superbike world championship , he won the title in both and .
in 1992 he also finished third overall in the ama national championship .
for 1993 he left the world championship to compete exclusively in the united states and won the ama national crown .
in he joined the uk-based castrol honda team to race the then-new rc45 in the superbike world championship , insisting that the team use dunlop tyres due to his close ties with the company .
he left the team abruptly in early but not before teaming up with aaron slight to win the prestigious suzuka 8 hours endurance race for honda .
after returning to the ama series , he set his sights on the endurance world championship and eventually won that championship in 1997 .
his total of 18 ama pole positions was a record until mat mladin matched it in 2006 .
his 13 fastest laps in world superbike competition in is a single-season championship record .
polen was inducted to the ama motorcycle hall of fame in 2011 .
