Throwback Thursday: Fred Merkel and Wayne Rainey Battle in Seattle
Larry Lawrence | February 4, 2016
Photo by Dale Brown/Cycle News Photo Archives
This week’s Throwback Thursday photo was taken at Seattle International Raceway in September of 1983. It shows Honda’s Fred Merkel and Kawasaki’s Wayne Rainey battling for position in a qualifying heat race at the AMA Superbike race on the racing circuit in Kent, Washington. At this point in the season Rainey was locked in a fierce battle for the AMA Superbike title with Honda’s Mike Baldwin. At this point in the heat race Merkel (No. 84) had a slight edge on Rainey (No. 60). Also in the photo are John Bettencourt (No. 50), Wes Cooley (No. 34), Jimmy Adamo (No. 26) and several other riders in the background. Rainey would go on to take victory, not only in the heat race, but also in the national. The win edged him ahead of Baldwin in the standings. Rainey won the championship and of course would go on to become three-time 500cc Grand Prix World Champion and now directs MotoAmerica.
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