Throwback Thursday: Firebird AMA 750 Supersport Finale (1995)
Larry Lawrence | May 26, 2016
Photo by Henny Ray Abrams
Firebird International Raceway, in Chandler, Arizona, is a track that probably never should have hosted an AMA National Road Race. The 1995 AMA 750cc Supersport Series finale drove that point home. On a day that should have been one of pure celebration, instead had everyone holding their collective breath after former AMA and World Superbike Champion Fred Merkel was airlifted out of the facility after a high-speed crash into a concrete wall. Merkel eventually recovered from the injuries, but he never raced again.
This photo is early in the race with Thomas Wilson, on the Kinko’s Kawasaki, leading Tom Kipp and Merkel (No. 27). Both Wilson and Merkel crashed. Kipp went on to win the race and secure that year’s AMA 750cc Supersport Championship over Merkel. On the podium Kipp said, “My thoughts and prayers are with Fred Merkel – he made my job tough all year.”
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