Doug Polen

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Doug Polen (born September 2, 1960 in Detroit, Michigan) is a former world champion motorcycle road racer. He raced successfully in AMA Superbike, Japanese Superbikes, Superbike World Championship and Endurance racing.

He was a private entrant in AMA 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.^[1] Polen joined Eraldo Ferracci's "Fast By Ferracci" Ducati team in 1990. After breaking his contract to go to the Superbike World Championship, he won the Superbike World Championship in both 1991 and 1992.^[2] 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 1994 he joined the Honda UK team in WSBK, inisisting on Dunlop tyres. He left the team abruptly in early 1995 but not before teaming up with Aaron Slight to win the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race on a Honda RC45.^[3] 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 14 fastest laps in WSBK in 1991 is a single-season championship record.^[4]