Road Racer X 2010-08

worldmags & avaxhomeworldmags & avaxhome

COM


RO

AD

RA

CE

R X

VO

LU

ME

8 N

UM

BE

R 4

V8#4

COVER PHOTO OF JORGE LORENZO BY MARTIN HEATH. ELENA MYERS INSET BY RILES/NELSON; LEON HASLAM INSET BY WHEELER/BROWN

Valentino Rossi started the 2010

season with an unexpected win

in Qatar, but he was bested by

teammate Jorge Lorenzo at the

next to rounds. The Doctor’s tribe

hopes Father Time hasn’t fi nally

caught up to #46. Let us pray....PHOTO BY GIGI SOLDANO/MONSTER ENERGY


FEATURES

REGULARS

ALUMNI DAY

Former World Superbike Champion Scott Russell sounds off

on the Miller Motorsports Park SBK round.

RISE AGAIN

With the signing of Leon Haslam, Alstare Suzuki has returned

to the top of the World SBK fi eld and now hopes to retake

the crown.

38 60

WH

EE

LE

R

WH

EE

LE

R

THE PRINCE OF ENGLAND

The once-proud UK’s Grand Prix hopes could rest on the

shoulders of skinny, speedy 125cc ace Bradley Smith.

54

HE

ATH

8 GRID

10 MASTHEAD

14 IGNITION

16 PIT PASS

20 MAILROOM

22 CHATTER

25 ROAD RACERHEAD

36 MAMOLA

76 THE POINT

78 HERITAGE

80 AV ROOM

82 2 TRIBES

84 5 MINUTES WITH…

88 DELUXE

97 SPEED OF LIFE

ELENA MYERS CAN KICK YOUR ASS

Elena Myers is as friendly as any high-school girl you’ll fi nd—

until you put her on a racetrack.

THE BIKES OF LAGUNA

Experts agree that Laguna Seca is a rider’s track, but the

motorcycles that have won there are impressive nonetheless.

46 66

RIL

ES/N

ELSO

N

GO

LD

& G

OO

SE


8

DUCK TRACKER

The early part of the 2010 racing

season was uncharacteristically

rough for Ducati, as the Italian man-

ufacturer encountered problems in

both World Superbike and MotoGP.

Relief came at an unlikely venue

when Joe Kopp rode his Lloyd

Brothers-prepared, Ducati-powered

fl at tracker to victory at Arizona’s

Yavapai Downs Mile. It was the fi rst

time a non-Harley-Davidson had

won an AMA Pro Grand National

Twins race since 1998.

PHOTO BY BRIAN J. NELSON


CHRIS FILLMOREPEACE AND WHEELIES | WWW.TROYLEEDESIGNS.COM


EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: DAVEY COOMBS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: BRYAN STEALEY

EDITOR: CHRIS JONNUM

PRODUCTION MANAGER: JULIE KRAMER

PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING: SCOTT WALLENBERG

SENIOR EDITORS: LAUREL C. ALLEN, JEFF KOCAN

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA: LAUREL C. ALLEN

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: DAVID LANGRAN

PREPRESS MANAGER: DAVE BROZIK

ASSISTANT DESIGNER: MIKE FISHER

PHOTO EDITOR: ANDREW FREDRICKSON

SALES: PETE MARTINI, TIM CRYTSER

ACCOUNTS: JERRI WOOLEN

SYSTEMS MANAGER: DAN REINHART

STAFF: JESSICA COOMBS, STEVE COX, KELLY KIRBY, NICK

McCABE, HEATHER MOEBUS, DAVID PINGREE, BILLY URSIC,

JASON WEIGANDT

INTERNS: ALISSA MURPHY, JESSE CECIL, JEFFERY FEATHERS,

DIGGER BARRETT

VOICE OF REASON: RITA COOMBS

SENIOR SHOOTERS: ANDREW WHEELER, GRAEME BROWN, SIMON

CUDBY, BRIAN J. NELSON, ANDREW NORTHCOTT, TOM RILES

CONTRIBUTORS: COLIN EDWARDS, DON EMDE, JEFF EMIG, DAVID

EMMETT, MARK GARDINER, NICKY HAYDEN, ERIC JOHNSON,

RANDY MAMOLA, SHAN MOORE, JOHNNY MURPHREE, BEN SPIES,

LIAM SHUBERT, EVAN WILLIAMS

PHOTOGRAPHERS: JOE APPEL, STEPHEN DAVISON, GOLD &

GOOSE, JOHN HANSON, MARTIN HEATH, TONY SCAVO, ANDREA

WILSON, BARRY ZEEK

ROAD RACER X:

122 VISTA DEL RIO DRIVE, MORGANTOWN, WV 26508

TEL 304-284-0080 FAX 304-284-0081 WWW.ROADRACERX.COM

SUBSCRIPTIONS: 800-406-5420 (TOLL-FREE) OR 760-737-8792

The riders appearing in this magazine are, for the most part, highly trained

professionals or experts. Please don’t try to imitate them. When you ride a motor-

cycle, always wear appropriate safety gear and never ride beyond your capabili-

ties. Use your head, wear a helmet, and enjoy the ride.

Road Racer X (ISSN #1542-4022) is published bi-monthly by Filter Publications,

Inc., 122 Vista del Rio Drive, Morgantown, WV 26508 (phone: 304-284-0080).

Periodicals postage paid at Morgantown, WV 26508 and additional mailing offi ces.

Editorial contributions are welcomed, but must be guaranteed exclusive to Road

Racer X. We are not responsible for the return of unsolicited material.

Letters cannot all be answered, nor can all service inquiries be answered. We

appreciate correspondence sent to the editorial offi ces and will use the most

interesting and appropriate letters in the magazine.

One-year subscription rates (six issues) for U.S. and possessions $14.98, Canada

$24.98 (sales agreement No. 1768816), International $39.98. (Please remit by

money order or draft on a U.S. bank, payable in U.S. funds.)

Subscription inquiries: Please call 800-406-5420 (toll-free) or 760-737-8792.

All subscription correspondence should be addressed to Road Racer X,

PO Box 469086, Escondido, CA 92046-9086 or email customer service at

[email protected].

Advertising: Please contact Scott Wallenberg at 208-321-0037.

Newsstand distribution by Curtis Circulation. Copyright © 2010, Filter Publications,

LLC. All rights reserved. Nothing in this magazine may be reprinted in whole or in

part without the express written permission of the publisher.

HAVE YOU MOVED? Please notify us of any change of address.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Road Racer X, PO Box 469086,

Escondido, CA 92046-9086.

PRINTED IN USA

Riding like a girl

304-284-0080

RACERXBRAND.COMworldmags & avaxhomeworldmags & avaxhome

Incredible power output at all RPMs | Integrated fi t for maximum cornering clearance | Most advanced slip-on exhaust on the market Aerospace quality carbon fi ber and titanium | Designed by racers for racing | Incredible sound | Includes quiet insert(s) | Handcrafted in USA

APEX™

SINGLE SLIP-ON - $549.99DUAL SLIP-ON - $999.99FULL DUCATI RACE SYSTEM - $1999.99

CARBON / TI

WWW.FMFRACING.COM

TI/CARBON


TM

For more Dunlop tire information go to www.dunlopmotorcycle.com or call (800) 845-8378. ©2010 Dunlop Tires.

Performed on a closed course by professionals. Obey all traffic and safety laws. Dunlop does not endorse or encourage exceeding safe, legal speed limits.


To sportbike riders, there’s nothing quite as irresistible as an empty, winding road. The best

roads possess a rhythm all their own. And the best way to unlock it is on the most advanced

sportbike tire Dunlop has ever offered: The Sportmax Q2. The rear Q2 features Dunlop’s

Intuitive Response Profile (IRP), an innovative tire shape that puts down a big footprint at

high lean angles for enhanced turning and grip. IRP gives you greater freedom in line

choice through corners, and remarkably linear steering. Dunlop’s MT Multi-Tread™

technology provides a long-wearing center compound with special lateral grip compounds

on each shoulder for impressive cornering traction. Get in tune with that special piece of

road aboard the Sportmax Q2—only from Dunlop.

OWN YOUR FAVORITE ROAD


When people ask how I got my job,

I like to say I tried racing but was

short on talent, so magazine work

was my backup. Though that’s true, I suspect

that what I lacked even more than skills was

bravery. Maybe my sense of self-preservation

is just too developed, but I’ve always been

hesitant to fl irt too closely with the edge of

control. I’ve had a few shoulder injuries, but

despite the fact that I’ve ridden motorcycles

for over three decades, I’ve never worn a cast

in my life.

Obviously, that attitude wouldn’t cut it at

the sport’s professional level, where it’s rou-

tine to sacrifi ce one’s body to the racing gods.

It’s easy to envy the top pros’ paychecks and

fame, but few would actually be willing to

submit to the requisite abuse.

Perhaps no rider epitomizes this more than

John Hopkins. When I recently asked him to

list the injuries he’s suffered in his career, he

went on for four minutes. Among the “high-

lights” are breaking seven bones (including a

femur) during his childhood motocross career;

breaking a collarbone during his AMA days;

mangling his left hand during his rookie Grand

Prix season; breaking both ankles while par-

ticipating in the Crossover Supercross Chal-

lenge; cracking ribs, breaking his left foot,

and blowing out his teeth at the Sachsenring;

breaking three ribs and having a footpeg go up

his anus at Motegi; breaking a scaphoid and

severing a tendon at Qatar; blowing out a knee

and breaking his left ankle and tibia at As-

sen; dislocating his hip and tearing ligaments

around his femur at the same track a year later;

and, in a horrifi c crash last year at the Nur-

burgring, suffering a massive brain contusion

and cartilage damage to his wrist and shoulder.

All in all, Hopper has undergone surgery an

incredible twenty-two times.

John’s ’07 Qatar crash continues to haunt

him. It happened early in the year, and because

Suzuki fi nally had a competitive bike, he con-

tinued racing rather than taking time to have

his wrist repaired. He rode that season and the

next, but his ’09 Nurburgring crash aggravated

the problem, and this time he elected to have it

fi xed. One of the pins installed during the pro-

cedure went through a nerve, causing intense

pain. After not sleeping well for a week despite

painkillers, Hopkins had the pin pulled, leav-

ing him worse off than pre-operation, as the

trauma created massive amounts of scar tissue.

He had almost no wrist movement through the

early part of this year.

After the second race, John had the scar

tissue removed, but it didn’t really help. Dr.

Ting saw him after Road Atlanta and

reported that the lunate bone was so

discolored in the MRI that it was unfi x-

able, a diagnosis that was confi rmed by

two other surgeons. When Dr. Ting says

to retire, most people pay attention, but

John eventually found a doctor in San

Diego who would operate. “I’m not

done racing by any means,” Hopkins

told me. “That’s why we searched so

long and hard for the surgeon—I wasn’t

ready to quit racing. Retirement was

just not an option.”

This doctor completely recon-

structed Hopkins’ wrist, re-breaking the

radius bone in his forearm and shorten-

ing it by 3mm, then plating that and in-

stalling eight screws and three external

pins. Cartilage and a donor tendon were

added as well. In early June, John said

the recovery was going well. He ex-

pected to have his cast removed around

the time this issue hits, after which he’ll

start a six-week rehabilitation period.

Realistically, that means his best hope is

to return in time for the VIR AMA Pro

round in mid-August.

I asked Hopkins if it’s possible that

he’s just avoiding the inevitable—re-

tirement—but he insisted that’s not the

case. “I’d be able to accept it,” he said.

“It would be disappointing, for sure, but

it is what it is. More important to me in

my life is the relationship with my wife.

We want to have kids in the future, and I want

to be able to play with them and take them mo-

tocross riding. I don’t want to jeopardize my

quality time with my family.”

Nonetheless, he’s determined to give it

another try this summer. I almost always re-

sist the cliched crutch of comparing sport to

armed confl ict, because I doubt that anything

can hold a light to the horror of war, but it’s

hard not to see parallels in situations like this.

There’s a line about war being the only thing

we have left to determine whether or not we’re

courageous, but I’d say professional motor-

cycle racing might also handle that task.

Whatever the case, I don’t care how much

money or fame Hopper and his cohorts get; I’m

glad I make my living as a journalist. X

A Road Racer X column by CHRIS JONNUM

14

BODY OF EVIDENCE

MO

RT

ON

John Hopkins has endured

more than his share of injuries.


www.RKExcelAmerica.com

Tel 760.732.3161

[email protected]

TOMMY HAYDEN

Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki

TRUSTED BY THE BEST TEAMS IN THE WORLD

WHY DOES TEAM YOSHIMURA TRUST RK

SEALED GXW CHAINS?

• 10x Longer Wearlife*• 20,000 Mile Warranty• XW-ring Nitrile Butadine Seals• Extreme Heat Protection• Reliable, Race Proven Brand

RK sealed chains are covered by RK’s unbeatable 20,000 limited warranty. Visit our website for more information.

*Compared to standard chains

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

Twitter® is a registered trademark of Twitter, inc.

Check us out on Facebook® and Twitter®

2CB�6HULHV


16

Getting Current

Considering the role nearby Silicon Valley has

played in technology’s march, it was only appro-

priate that Infi neon Raceway host America’s fi rst

electric motorcycle road race. The opening round

of the TTXGP North American Championship—

organized by Azhar Hussein, the man behind last

year’s historic electric race on the Isle of Man—

was part of AMA Pro’s weekend, and Zero-spon-

sored Shawn Higbee won on the same Agni bike

that topped the TT. Shown here are Spencer Smith

(19) and Zoe Rem (18).

Other North American rounds include Wis-

consin’s Elkhart Lake, Canada’s Mosport, and

Virginia International Raceway, while the rival FIM

e-Power series may add a U.S. round too.

World Superbike meets World Cup.

WH

EE

LE

R/B

RO

WN

Blusen’s chief red-shoelace tester.

NO

RT

HC

OT

T

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON

Ah, to be Tom Sykes….

WH

EE

LE

R/B

RO

WN

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON

CJ crushed grapes in Sonoma with an 1198.


17

How’s the bouquet on that merlot, Danny?

EJ hitched a ride with CU!

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON

Now that’s hardcore!

WH

EE

LE

R/B

RO

WN

De Puniet to self: “Should I try a Sykes?”

NO

RT

HC

OT

TN

OR

TH

CO

TT

Reunited?

With all of the top MotoGP riders’ contracts

up at year’s end, this was bound to be a silly

season for the ages, and it didn’t take long to get

started. After Round 2, a strong rumor surfaced

that Casey Stoner would follow former team

manager Livio Suppo from Ducati Corse to HRC.

Both sides denied it, but insiders insist it’s true.

Almost simultaneously, stories circulated that

Ducati had extended an offer to Valentino Rossi

that included not just fi nancial considerations

but “philosophical” aspects. Italian fans would

love such a scenario, and though it might seem

unlikely, one doubts that both Vale and Jorge

Lorenzo will remain at Fiat Yamaha. With gossip

like this, who needs racing?


With every MotoGP race victory, we learn more about tires and how they

perform on and off the race track. That’s good for racing and it’s even better

for you. Ride on Bridgestones. And start setting your own records.

bridgestonemotorcycletires.com

The BT-016, featuring Bridgestone’s “3LC” (Dual Compound) for the front and “5LC” (Triple Compound) for the rear, delivers the grip performance demanded in every aspect — braking, side grip cornering, and traction at the exit of a corner.


mailroom

HOG CALLWho cares that Harley-Davidson returned to

racing? They don’t make a competitive bike

that can challenge the rest of the industry

(Japanese or Italian) and need a special class

of their own. They had a great opportunity to

challenge in the AMA with Buell and took

a championship with Danny Eslick piloting

it, only to drop the brand. Why would I be

interested in watching, riding, or racing a

substandard product that would never be

televised in the fi rst place? I welcome the

return of Eric Buell Racing and the real chance

that America will once again begin the long

journey to the top of the racing podium.

KEN RYDER

Dallas, TX

Ken is referring to AMA Pro’s new Vance &

Hines XR1200 series…CJ

JOINING JUMPMANGreat cover on your May/June issue. I’m

happy to see Jake Zemke landed on his feet

this season with National Guard/Jordan

Suzuki, and he’s certainly making the most of

the opportunity. Sometimes it seems that the

sport doesn’t realize how fortunate it is to have

Michael Jordan involved. I guarantee you he’s

not getting any richer through his racing efforts,

yet he’s continuing while many efforts that one

would’ve presumed are more passionate have

fallen by the wayside. Not only that, but his

celebrity power is drawing outside interest,

with ESPN’s recent E:60 being one good

example. Now that he’s winning at the top

level, I hope MJ stays around for a long time.

JIM MASON

Atlanta, GA

HIGHRISEAdmitting you’re a dirt bike guy while editing

a road racing magazine is pretty funny. Your

article on the Ducati Hypermotard [“The

Bridge” May/June] was nice, but there are

lots of nice standard bikes out there with

high bars (FZ1, Z1000, Tuono, et al). If one

wants to do the high-bar thing and save about

$14,500 while keeping high performance,

you can just add a Spiegler LSL Superbike

bar kit (or any of the adjustable, raising clip-

on kits like Heli, etc.) to your existing sport

bike to get the feel of a motocrosser or old-

school 1970s superbike. They make them

for most bikes, and aside from changing

the weight distribution and geometry a tad,

they’re quite nice and relatively cheap. I did

my Gixxer 750 with a Spiegler kit because I

have a broken neck with titanium Herrington

rods down the cervical and thoracic spine, so

I can’t bend down in the classic racer pose

anymore. It was either that or a rocking chair

for me. (I’d probably fall and hurt myself

in a damn rocker, so road racing is still the

safest option.)

These kits can be changed to any size,

and if you crash, it’s only anywhere from

$25-1,000 to switch out the 7/8” standard

bars. The motocross/dirt bike guys and

gals love ’em. Wherever I go, I always

attract a big crowd (unfortunately not from

the ladies, but from the dirt bike crowd

marveling at my “motocross Gixxer”). The

race guys in the pits now call me Captain

America, Easy Rider, or Chopper Dude, due

to the high bars (which are really only about

5” from stock clip-ons).

Just an FYI. Keep up the good work

(and get a monthly going—tired of waiting

two months to go to the bathroom!).

STEVEN HOLT

Fallbrook, CA

Good letter, Steven. For what it’s worth,

my point in that story is that our roots stay

with us, so despite the fact that I’m now

completely into road racing and mainly ride

sport bikes, I still feel more natural when I

get on a Supermoto-style bike. I also love

standard bikes and think they’re actually

more versatile than Supermoto machines,

but the geometry differences between sport

bikes and SuMo bikes go beyond handlebar

position. That said, those riser kits make sense

in many ways (especially economically!),

and I appreciate you pointing them out. Now

go to the bathroom already!… CJ

I’m looking to get some exposure for my

artwork. I’m getting a website constructed

as we speak. I’m a big fan of MotoGP and

superbike. This pen-and-ink is of the “Kool-

Aid Kid,” and it’s called “Rossi’s Ninth!”

Your magazine and web site are terrifi c;

maybe someday I can contribute to the mag.

SAM BARRESE

Pittston, PA

Sam, you just did. By the way, nice reference

to that old Kool-Aid letter! CJ

MAD HATTERAfter noticing the Monster Energy hat John

Hopkins is wearing in some of the recent

RRX issues, I really want that hat. After

searching on Amazon and eBay with no

luck, I fi gured I’d ask you people. Maybe

you can point me in the right direction?

CHRIS HARDIN

Grand Island, FL

Chris, we checked with Monster, and

I’m sorry to report that those hats are for

sponsored athletes only and aren’t for sale.

Maybe you can send in a resume!…CJ

If you have comments or questions, send

them to us at:

[email protected] or

Road Racer X Mailroom

122 Vista del Rio Dr.

Morgantown, WV 26508

Be sure to include your full name and

hometown. Letters may be edited for

clarity and length.

Write Now

20

RIL

ES

/N

EL

SO

N

AR

TW

OR

K B

Y B

AR

RE

SE


+ 7.8 hp

+ 6.9 Ft-lbs

- 9 lbs

YAMAHA YZF R1Evolution system

World Superbike Champion 2009, Ben Spies

Only the best materials are used1.

Use of high level technology 2.

in a state-of-the-art factory

Designed & created 100% in-house3.

Extensive R&D carried out in-house4.

A wealth of experience5.

10 REASONS WHY AKRAPOVIČ

12 Motorcycle World Championship titles in 20096.

Innovative design; increased performance,7.

weight reduction

Meeting stringent environmental demands8.

Attention to detail; exceptional longevity9.

Technology in combination with passion10.

“Akrapovič exhaust is the best

choice for my bike.” Ben Spies

Akrapovič USA support

phone: +1 619.339.0955

e-mail: [email protected] the full range of accessories and merchandise visit our online store.

www.akrapovic.com


“Ben needs to win and challenge for the podium in his

fi rst season.”

Wayne Rainey, on Ben Spies’ debut season in MotoGP/GP

Week (UK)

“When the pavement tries to persuade your bones to move

beyond their comfort zone, the Handroid answers no.”

From a review of the Knox Handroid motorcycled glove/Wired

“Don’t push me too hard!”

Valentino Rossi, joking during a press briefi ng while wearing his Dai-

nese D-Tech “airbag” leathers

“You don’t despoil the American fl ag, do you?”

Jim Allen, on why he didn’t discard his Dunlop shirts upon retiring/

Superbike Planet

“I like to think that he’ll be the reigning 250 World Cham-

pion forever!”

Announcer Toby Moody, on Hiroshi Aoyama, who won the class’

fi nal title last year/Eurosport

“Well, they’ve gone green for the environment; they haven’t

used a lot of fuel tonight.”

Steve Parrish, on the supposedly environmentally friendly Pramac

Racing team, after both riders dropped out of the Qatar Grand Prix

in the early laps/BBC

“Riding around on his motorcycle with no helmet…. That

pretty much defi nes him.”

Former NASCAR great Darrel Waltrip, on NFL player Ben Roethlis-

berger, who was injured in a 2006 bike crash and has been accused

of sexual assault/Sports Illustrated

“Holy s--t, Mat Mladin’s following me!”

Laurel Allen, on her new Twitter fan

“He is a very quick rider who also rarely falls, which is very

important to a lean team like ours!”

Erik Buell Racing’s Facebook status, in reference to hiring Geoff May

to their American Superbike team

22

“There’s Leon Camier, who’s got the

most decorous pair of elongated side-

burns that we’ve ever seen on a young

fellow since the heyday of the 1960s.”Jack Burnicle, during the broadcast of the Portimao World

SBK race/Eurosport

NO

RT

HC

OT

T

“Solid race, but really wanted to be up on that podium

poppin bottles, with them monster girl models!”

@NickyHayden69, after the Monster-sponsored Le Mans

MotoGP, where he fi nished fourth for the third time in a row

“Almost forgot how good I am at making latte’s until I

knocked up two stunners this evening ;-)”

@chazdavies

“By all the comments I should have defi nitely chose

my words more wisely. How’s about ‘I created two

beautiful, delicious latte’s’!!”

@chazdavies, shortly after the previous comment

“At Phillip Island, the water is too cold, and there may

be sharks.”

Jorge Lorenzo (@lorenzo99), on why he won’t perform his Jerez

lake jump in Australia

“I would

feel like

a traitor

if I left

Yamaha.”Valentino

Rossi, on the

prospect

of going to

Ducati

BR

OW

N/W

HE

EL

ER


w w w . s u o m y . c o m

ATLANTIC CITY

m a d e i n i t a l y

Distributed by customer service contact:

SUOMY AMERICA 3337 El Sorbante Street SAN MATEO CA 94403

T 650.571.8448 F 650.571.8700 E-MAIL: [email protected] [email protected]

vandal helmet

- 100% hand made

- fully customizable fit

- ultra lightweight

- industry leading graphics

- unbreakable/fogfree shield

- 24/7/365 customer service


��


25

Texas Two-Step

Ever wonder what music the Monster

Energy Tech 3 Yamaha team blasts

after hours or before a race? Ben and

Colin have the answer.

Call it a Comeback

Two of road racing’s most popular rid-

ers consider returning to their respec-

tive paddocks—Troy Bayliss to World

SBK and Eric Bostrom to AMA Pro.

Deployed

Road race fans can be found in

some unlikely places, and thanks to

members of the U.S. military, so can

Road Racer X.

Ask Nicky

Ducati’s MotoGP American discusses

his unfinished business in flat track

and why dirt bikes are a valuable

training tool for road racers, despite

the risks.

CJ

NO

RT

HC

OT

T

Page 28

Page 30

Cover Me

As fans, we’re lucky to be around

during the reign of Valentino

Rossi. His fellow Grand Prix

racers probably don’t feel so fortunate,

though—how would you like to be the

best non-Doctor racer of this millenni-

um’s fi rst decade? The Italian has taken

seven of nine premier-class titles since

2001, with only Nicky Hayden and Casey

Stoner interrupting his run. Meanwhile,

notable riders like Max Biaggi, Sete Gib-

ernau, Marco Melandri, Dani Pedrosa,

and—last year—Jorge Lorenzo had to

settle for second best.

It has to be a frustrating predicament

for men who would almost certainly be

champions in almost any other era. But

while some can take satisfaction in com-

peting with arguably the greatest of all

time, Lorenzo has consistently challenged

Vale head-on since entering the class in

2008—to the point that he could almost

be accused of impersonating Rossi.

For starters, Lorenzo is on the same

team as Rossi, which means he’s armed

with identical equipment. He has the same

leathers sponsor in Dainese, and his person-

alized graphics are defi nitely comparable,

with Valentino’s blue/white/yellow replaced

by Jorge’s blue/white/red and Rossi’s sun/

moon theme mirrored by Lorenzo’s angel/

devil. During the Spaniard’s rookie season,

he even ran a #48, just two numbers off

of his teammate’s famous #46 (Jorge has

since switched to #99).

The emulation has extended to Loren-

zo’s victory celebrations, which call to

mind Rossi’s famous post-race skits. Vale

celebrated an ’07 Jerez Grand Prix win by

bowling down friends dressed as bowl-

ing pins, and less than three

months later, Jorge’s rock-

star-costumed pals joined

him with guitars in a Barce-

lona gravel trap.

The thing is, Lorenzo’s

imitations of the great rider

don’t end off the track. In

fact, three rounds into this

season, it appeared that

Jorge had the best chance of

knocking his teammate out

of the top slot. Though Vale

topped the season opener in

Qatar, Lorenzo was second,

and he came out on top at

the next two races, in Jerez

and Le Mans. Granted, the

momentum could well have

shifted by the time you read

this, but it seems clear the

Spaniard has taken a step

forward this year. Suffi ce

to say “Por Fuera” should

be fun to watch at Mazda

Raceway Laguna Seca’s

Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix.

It’s tempting to chide Lorenzo for be-

ing derivative, and there’s no arguing that

he’s got a bit of an ego (he released his

fi rst autobiography before he’d complet-

ed a single premier-class race, whereas

Rossi waited until he’d amassed fi ve titles

in the division). That said, rare is the suc-

cessful racer who’s not at least a little

egotistical. And if you have to pick some-

one to emulate, you could do a lot worse

than The Doctor. CJ

NO

RT

HC

OT

TC

OU

RT

ES

YN

AT

IVID

AD

Page 33

Page 34

Jorge Lorenzo

NO

RT

HC

OT

T

MU

SE

AU


26

Call it a Comeback

Farewell, #100

Comebacks are always in

fashion, and despite the

pitfalls that await many

racers unable to give up the ghost,

that’s particularly true in road rac-

ing. At press time, the World Su-

perbike and AMA Pro paddocks

looked set to welcome back two

of their most popular riders, the

most notable being three-time SBK

World Champion Troy Bayliss.

The Australian’s post-2008 re-

tirement was picture-perfect: he clinched the title a round early,

then put a stamp on it with a double victory at the fi nal round;

Bayliss himself called it “the perfect end to my racing career.” By

this May, however, he was lapping Mugello on a factory Ducati

superbike (posting quick times and calling it “an easy return to

CJthe saddle”) and openly contem-

plating a return to racing. That idea

has been greeted with glee by fans,

but perhaps less so by the strug-

gling Ducati Xerox riders.

The U.S. paddock, meanwhile,

has welcomed the return of missing

Boz Bro Eric Bostrom, who took a

break from racing after an unsatis-

factory 2008 season and promptly

disappeared into a Brazilian-based

narrative that encompassed man-

goes, grapes, and shady real-estate deals. (If AMA Pro fans are

glad to have him back, Eric himself is even gladder.) The four-

time AMA champion returns via a three-round Cycle World/At-

tack Performance deal and told RRX that the idea of a future

full-time return does hold some attraction. LCA

The past handful of seasons have been frustrating for

two-time World Superbike champ Neil Hodgson, and it

seems the popular Brit has fi nally had enough. In late

April, while struggling with a shoulder injury aggravated at the

opening British Superbike round, he told Reuters news service

that he’d decided to retire. “It will take time for me to come to

terms with this,” he said, “but it is the right decision.”

Hodgson came to the AMA Pro series after a disappoint-

ing ’04 season in MotoGP, but instead of dominating the U.S.

series—his stated

intention at the

time—he often had

diffi cultly making the

podium, fell afoul

of teams with their

own problems (em-

ployers Ducati and

Honda both left the

series during this

time), and saw his

’09 season derailed

by an MX training

accident. Through-

out it all, though, Neil

remained a fan fa-

vorite, as evidenced

by the outpouring

of support that fol-

lowed his April an-

nouncement.

NO

RT

HC

OT

T

(Erik) Buell is Back

If powerhouse OEM Harley-Davidson abruptly discontin-

ued your product line mere months after you’d won an

AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Championship, what would

you do? If you were Erik Buell, you’d take a day or two to

recover from the shock and then use the next six months

to create Erik Buell Racing, begin offering three models of

race-ready motorcycles, and announce the creation of your

own in-house AMA Pro American Superbike team with rider

Geoff May on board. “I love the people in racing,” Erik told

RRX. “It’s always been in my blood, and quite frankly, we

were too far away from it for way, way too long. I’m really

happy to be back, and I don’t ever want to leave again.”

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON

Could a Bayliss return be as

sweet as his departure?

Neil Hodgson

Geoff May made his fi rst outing on the

Buell at AMA Pro’s Infi neon round.


RKT201SPEEDMASTERGPXSERIES


28

NICKY HAYDEN

While fellow Americans Colin Edwards and

Ben Spies struggled at the early MotoGP

rounds, the ’06 champ fi nished fourth in the

fi rst three races. In his words, he hoped to be

“poppin’ bottles” soon.

ELENA MYERS

Proving she deserves her place on the AMA

Pro SuperSport grid, the 16-year old scored

her fi rst win at Infi neon Raceway—a historic

moment in U.S. racing

MOTO2

Several rounds into the series, MotoGP’s

newest class continues to deliver bulging

grids and some of the closest racing we’ve

seen, earning rave reviews from fans and

riders alike.

KENNY NOYES

America’s sole Moto2 rider has been fast in

testing and qualifying—he took pole in Le

Mans—but through the fi rst three rounds,

he’d had bad luck in the races.

BEN SPIES

The Texan fi nished an impressive fi fth in his

rookie MotoGP opener but had to retire from

Round 2 and crashed out of Round 3, proving

that despite his massive talent and now-

legendary rookie WSBK season, he’s still only

human (though less human, it must be said,

than the rest of us).

CASEY STONER

Many had picked the ’07 MotoGP champ for

title number two before the season, but amid

rumors that he’s already signed with Honda,

he crashed his Ducati out of two of the fi rst

three races.

NORIYUKI HAGA

A powerful championship runner-up for years

in World Superbike, Haga was expected to

seal the deal in 2010 with rival Ben Spies out

of the way. Instead, the Ducati Xerox rider

made the podium just twice in the fi rst twelve

races and turned in a string of poor results

that have left Nitro fans confused.

If you plan to attend this year’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix

at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, take yourself to the

movies—specifi cally, the inaugural Leo Vince Movie

Night. Back in February, Leo Vince launched a contest for all

motorcycle-loving aspiring fi lmmakers; the winning fi lm (not

yet chosen at press time) garnered its creators airfare, accom-

modations, and tickets to the race, where the fi lm will have

several showings. And unlike your local $17-per-ticket movie

theater, admission to the Leo Vince screenings is free.

The Perfect Date

National Guard/Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke has been

on the gas this season in American Superbike, turning

in a string of podiums and top-fi ve fi nishes that put

him top in points as this issue went to press. Because

Zemke’s no ordinary class leader, Leo Vince etched

him this extraordinary exhaust can, but if you’re jeal-

ous, take heart: custom etching is available even for us

(slow) plebs. Check www.leovinceusa.com for details.


»www.ktm-rc8.netD

o n

ot

imit

ate

th

e r

idin

g s

ce

ne

s sh

ow

n,

we

ar

pro

tec

tive

clo

thin

g a

nd

ob

serv

e t

he

tra

ffic

re

gu

lati

on

s!

The exclusive KTM 1190 RC8 is sharper and lighter than anything that calls itself

competition: 88.5 lbft. torque, 155 HP at 10,000 RPM and weighs less than 440 lbs. fully

tanked. The 1190 RC8 possesses all of the typical KTM genes: swingarm, brakes and

premium components are taken directly from racing. KTM: a clear alternative to ordinary.

Experience it for yourself: at your KTM dealer.

View contingency online at www.ktmawards.com

KTM Group Partner


30

300

Grand Prix rounds Loris Capirossi

had started as of the Qatar season

opener.

41

Entrants on the grid in the debut

Moto2 race, at Qatar.

10%

Decrease in motorcycle deaths in

2009, according to a Governors

Highway Safety Association report.

Among the cited reasons for the

fi rst recorded drop in twelve years

is decreased riding because of the

economy and a harsh winter.

2011

The season in which production-

derived liter engines might debut

in MotoGP—one year earlier than

originally planned, depending on

manufacturers’ leasing prices of

800s for satellite teams.

20

Years since an American had scored

pole position in Grand Prix racing’s

middleweight class when Kenny

Noyes did so at the Le Mans GP. The

previous rider was John Kocinski.

27

Riders qualifying within one second

of pole in the Moto2 class at Le

Mans, a record.

1

Females who have won professional

AMA Pro road races—16-year-old

Elena Myers became the fi rst when

she topped the Race 1 SuperSport

contest at Infi neon Raceway in May.

by NICKY HAYDEN

Nick,

I signed Road Racer X’s petition to get

Ducati Corse to let you ride a Lloyd

Brothers bike at the Indy Mile. Is this

just a pipe dream, or do you think there’s

actually a chance this time?

PAULA JENKINS

Bishop, CA

First, I’d like to say it’s awesome that Joe

Kopp won on a Ducati in Arizona. It would

be a great story for me to try at Indy, but truth-

fully, it’s a pipe dream. As much as I’d love

to go over there that weekend, with what I’ve

got going on right now, something like that

could only happen in the movies. We’ve got

a busy schedule this summer, and it wouldn’t

be any fun to fi nish with MotoGP qualifying,

grab my steel shoe as I head out the door, slide

over there to the fairgrounds, and run around

mid-pack in a semi. Just because Chris Carr

did some road racing in his day doesn’t mean

he’s going to come over and take Rossi and

Lorenzo to school, and those guys are the same

way in dirt track; they’re at the top of their

sport, and trying to win against them would

be just as hard. If I were to do it, I’d want to

do it right, and it’s hard to imagine that be-

ing possible while I’m still

racing MotoGP. That said, I

haven’t put dirt track to bed

yet—not by a long shot.

Nicky,

As someone who can relate

to dirt bike injuries, I’d like

to ask why road racers train

on dirt bikes. How does it

help with road racing? Does

the rear really spin and step

out that much anymore in

MotoGP? Seems everyone

is getting injured in the last

few years, including you,

Lorenzo, Rossi, Bautista,

and Hodgson.

ERIC ZAHLMANN

Las Vegas, NV

It really is a touchy subject.

I’m sure some people at

home think, What are these

clowns doing, going off on

dirt bikes and getting hurt?

It’s not like that; there’s a

reason Rossi was out riding his dirt bike two

days after he got home from winning the Qatar

GP. If he just wanted to have fun, he’d be at the

beach with his buddies, not out in sweaty mo-

tocross gear at a hot track somewhere pound-

ing out laps. There’s a benefi t to it. You can go

to the gym and do curls, ride your bicycle, and

do cross-training, but the truth is that when it

comes to training the mind and muscles how to

push the limits on a motorcycle, there’s really

only one way—riding motorcycles.

I know dirt bikes don’t always carry over

exactly, but it’s surprisingly close. A motor-

cycle’s a motorcycle, and the coordination and

balance needed to ride them are pretty consis-

tent. On the other hand, it can be very risky at

times and cost people races and even seasons.

You have to fi gure out how to take the least

amount of risk possible. Teams know riders do

it, but it’s not something they really talk about

a lot. I’ve never had a team manager ask me

how my TT track is doing, but behind closed

doors, they make sure I’ve got plenty of parts

and everything else I need to ride.

Keep up with Nicky this summer at

www.nickyhayden.com.

NO

RT

HC

OT

T


Ask Your Dealer To Contact

To find out more about our high-performance product line, visit your local dealer, www.HOTBODIESRACING.com or

call 800-555-2805 for a free patch and decals.

John Hopkins Monster M4 Suzuki AMA SuperBike

21

$ 49 .95

SuzukiGSX-R1000Tag Bracket

0910

I’d be interested to hear why the Jack & Jones Moto2

team has decided not to run a front fender. I know

front fenders play a very important role in aerodynam-

ics for MotoGP bikes (to the point where regulations

are in place to actually limit the size and shape of

front fenders), and one would think that in a spec-

engine series, each team would go to any length pos-

sible to gain a top-speed advantage.

BRIAN CHILDREE

Salt Lake City, UT

We posed Brian’s question to Jack & Jones by Antonio

Banderas rider Kenny Noyes, who said the team planned

to test a front fender at the series’ Mugello round. “The

problem for the fi rst three races,” Kenny said, “was that

the front fender we had was pretty good for aerodynam-

ics, but it created cooling issues. We gained a little down

the straight, but we lost power and acceleration as the

engine got hot, which, at the end of the day, my crew

chief fi gured would be worse.

ASK US

ANYTHING NO

RT

HC

OT

T

“We have an awesome chassis,” he continued, “but

our weak point has been aerodynamics, and we’ve gener-

ally run toward the rear on top-speed charts. So that’s

what the team is working on now, and in addition to the

front fender, they’re working on a complete new faring

and ram-air intakes to get the Jack & Jones Promo Harris

closer to the top of the charts.”


NAME: David S. Natividad

RANK: Sergeant First Class

BRANCH: U.S. Air Force

JOB DESCRIPTION: Small Arms Master Gunner

HOMETOWN: Laguna Beach, California

I’m currently deployed to Asadabad, Afghani-

stan, as personal security for fi eld grade of-

fi cers of the 40th Infantry Division’s ADT (Agri-

business Development Team). We’re helping get

the country back on its feet through agriculture,

livestock, and watershed improvements—bringing

them out of the 18th century and into the 21st! We

will be completing our year in August (and home

before September) after seeing more combat than

any of the other ADTs combined in this country.

But it’s a rewarding mission, especially seeing the

children who will grow up in the areas where we’re

seeing positive change. Hope to see you around

the circuits this year…. Loyal to RRX, even in the

combat zones of Afghanistan!

CO

UR

TE

SY

NA

TIV

IDA

D

Ask Your Dealer To Contact

Andrew Pitt

HANNspree Ten Kate Honda World SuperSport

1

HondaCBR600RRWindscreens

0710

$ 69 .95

To find out more about our high-performance product line, visit your local dealer, www.HOTBODIESRACING.com or

call 800-555-2805 for a free patch and decals.

NEW !Solid Black Eclipse Series


34

COLIN

I’m at the stage in my life where music

is not very important to me. I don’t have

time to think about it or download stuff.

I might catch a song here and there that

I like, but that’s usually where it ends.

Sure, I’d love to have it on my iPod, but

I just don’t have time.

I do a lot of listening to the radio,

but even then it’s not usually music—

I spend a lot of time on Sirius Patriot,

which is a right-wing station. I’ve got

kids, so I’m more interested in learning

about what’s going to affect their future

than in listening to music. When I do

want some music, I like old-time stuff.

If I had to choose something to listen

to, it would just be anything from the

late ’70s. Sometimes I’ll listen to Sirius

1 Classic Rewind, which plays a lot of

classic vinyl.

At the races, I’ve got an iPod next

to my chair in the garage that I’ll listen

to, but that’s not really to pump my-

self up. In fact, if a good song comes

on—maybe some Eazy-E or something

goofy—I’ll crank it to pump the team up

more than anything. Sometimes they’re

working on the same old stuff day-in

and day-out, so I fi gure it’s a way to

break the monotony.

Ten years ago it was different—I lis-

tened to a lot of music, including before

I went out on the bike. I think it’s natural

that as we get older, music takes a back

seat for some of us. It’s just not some-

thing I need anymore. That said, I’m

not completely out of the loop on cur-

rent music. These days I’m an expert on

Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, Pink,

and Taylor Swift—stuff my kids listen to!

BEN

Music is actually pretty important in my

life, and I’m always keeping an eye out

for something new on iTunes. Just with

the amount of training I do, having some-

thing good to listen to helps the time

pass, and that’s also true with the travel

we do. I’m defi nitely really into music.

I’m pretty open-minded when it

comes to types of music. Honestly, I’ll

listen to just about any kind of music

except for techno—which is actually

pretty common in Europe, unfortunate-

ly. What I listen to at a given moment

depends on a lot of things: what hit

songs are coming out, what kind of

weekend I’ve had, what kind of mood

I’m in throughout the weekend, things

like that. Sometimes you’ve got to fi nd

some speed and almost need to get

a little angry, so you listen to harder

music; other times you’ve already got

a good pace and you just sort of need

something to keep you calm.

Typically, though, I’ll listen to some-

thing a little faster before a race, just

to get me in the right frame of mind.

Sometimes, whatever song I listen to at

that point will get stuck inside my head.

In fact, I’m glad there’s no microphone

inside my helmet, because there have

been times I’ve been jamming stuff

out on the straightaway. I’ve looked at

video of myself on the starting line, and

I’ve seen my fi ngers moving on the le-

vers to the beat of the song. Believe it

or not, Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone”

from the Top Gun soundtrack is one of

my regulars before a race. It started out

as a joke, but I’m not going to lie: that

song gets me pumped up!

NO

RT

HC

OT

T

TEXAS TWO-STEP

NO

RT

HC

OT

T

Colin Edwards & Ben Spies On … MUSIC

SCOTT RUSSELL

is a road rac-

ing legend also

known as “Mr.

Daytona” for his

fi ve victories in

the 200, though

his Florida

exploits and ’92

AMA Superbike crown are arguably

matched by his ’93 World Superbike

title with Muzzy Kawasaki. He now

does racing commentary for Speed

TV, and for this issue, he gave us his

thoughts on the Miller Motorsports

Park WSBK race.

MIKE FISHER

began working

for Road Racer X

and Racer X as an

intern fi ve years

ago and has since

joined the crew

as a full-time

designer, assisting

with magazines, event programs, and

websites. A senior at the University

of Colorado, Mike resides at the foot

of the Rocky Mountains and spends

his weekends racing motocross and

enduros. He’s been known to squeeze

in dual-sport adventure rides on his

lunch break, blaming his four-hour dis-

appearances on long lines at Subway.

ALISSA MURPHY

has been work-

ing in the Road

Racer X offi ce

for two years

now, doing just

about every job

possible. Having

moved up from

organizing shelves, she now assists

in managing online advertising for

www.roadracerx.com and www

.racerxonline.com. She’ll bid the RRX

crew farewell this month to spend

her senior year of college in Australia

but says she hopes to be back in the

offi ce soon. (We hope she means it.)

CO

UR

TE

SY

MU

RP

HY

CO

UR

TE

SY

FIS

HE

R

ZE

EK


Subscribe or renew noW for a

chance to win this Suzuki GSX-R1000

Team Jordan Replica Bike!Motorcycle Mechanics Institute has teamed up with

Michael Jordan Motorsports to help fans experience the thrill of

the high-powered Superbike series firsthand with this replica.

WIN!

Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of fi rst issue. Offer valid in U.S. only. Canadian orders add $10 for postage. Foreign residents add $25 for postage. U.S. funds only.

Pay only $7.98 for 6 digital issues, no matter where you live! For offi cial rules, see www.roadracerx.com.

$14.98

6 issues(one year) for only

SUBSCRIBE ORRENEW NOW

AN

D

Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of first issue. Offer valid in U.S. only. Canadian orders add $$10 for postage. Foreign residents add $$25 for postage. U.S. funds only.

Name:

Address:

City:

State: Zip:

E-mail:

Please check:

Payment enclosed Bill me later Renewal

BTJ10

Send me 6 print issues PLUS 6 digital

issues for only $17.98 USD.

Send me 6 print issues for only $14.98 USD.

Send me 6 digital issues for only $7.98 USD.

Pl h

Please send coupon and check or money order (made out to Road Racer X) to:

Road Racer X, PO Box 469086, Escondido, CA 92046-9451

SAVE 50% OFF THECOVER PRICE!

Subscribe online at

www.roadracerx.com/subscribe or

simply send in the coupon below:

The first 1,000 subscribers

WILL ALSO RECEIVE A

TEAM JORDANJAKE ZEMKE POSTER!F

RE

E!


When Larry Lawrence contacted

me for this issue’s Heritage col-

umn on the original all-American

Grand Prix rider roster—Kenny Roberts and

Eddie Lawson in 1983—it got me thinking

about my own participation on an all-U.S.

squad. That was the team Roberts started

in ’86, and on which I was paired with Mike

Baldwin. In fact, because Roberts was the

owner, you could make a case that it was

even more American than either that ’83 ef-

fort (which was an Italian operation) or Colin

Edwards and Ben Spies’ current Monster

Yamaha Tech 3 team (which is French).

Prior to ’86, I’d raced Hondas for two

seasons—fi rst privately in ’84 and then on

Rothmans Honda with Freddie Spencer and

Wayne Gardner. Kenny approached me and

said they were putting together a team, that

Lucky Strike was the sponsor, and that he

wanted me on it.

I was happy to be back on a Yamaha, as

I’d had a relationship with them since sign-

ing a two-year deal with the U.S. offi ce in

1975 when I was 14. When I started out in

the world championship in ’79, it was with

a Yamaha 250 in a Bimota chassis. A few

races in, I was running second or third in the

standings with a couple of podiums when I

had a falling-out with Bimota and my man-

agement contacted Serge Zago’s team. At

the time, Baldwin was doing some races on

a private Suzuki 500 that belonged to Zago,

and he had an extra 350 that he was just

using to get extra track time during practice.

Serge took it upon himself to put 250 cylin-

ders on the engine, and that enabled me to

continue racing.

Leading up to the Dutch TT, there was a

non-championship race in Belgium that I was

going to. Zago asked if I could take Baldwin’s

500 engine and run it in for Assen, and I got

a kick out of riding the 500 there. Afterward, I

got a call saying that Mike had broken his fe-

mur in the U.S. and asking if I wanted to also

race the 500 in the Netherlands. That was my

start on 500s; I rode in the last half of the

twelve-race series, got my fi rst premier-class

podium, and fi nished eighth in the world

championship. Eight years later, Baldwin and

I became teammates on Roberts’ team.

Between that and Kenny and I know-

ing each other quite well—I’d raced against

him and trained at his house—we had some

good history even though it was a new team.

I enjoyed being Mike’s teammate. He has

somewhat of a reputation, but we got along

okay—he just marches to his own drummer.

I’ll give you an example: Once, he

was having some jetting problems at Spa

Francorchamps and his bike was popping

and barking. Finally, he stuck his front tire

against a wall and just did a big burnout.

There was smoke everywhere and we were

all looking at each other, puzzled. It was just

his way of getting the point across that it

wasn’t running right! Mike still makes me

laugh to this day, and by the

way, he looks the same at 55

as he did back then.

We raced with that roster

for two years, and it was a pret-

ty good team. I was third on the

year in ’86, with Mike fourth;

in ’87, I was second, while he

missed most of the season with

injuries and fi nished eighteenth.

One race that stands out is the

fi rst round of our second year

together, at Suzuka, where

we should’ve fi nished 1-2. I

took off in the rain and he was

chasing me. I was ahead by

about twenty seconds before

I backed off, and he closed it

down to about twelve seconds

before he fell off.

One interesting footnote is

the Laguna Seca race. Back

then it was a national, but the

executive director, Lee Moselle,

used to invite us international

guys—me, Kenny, Eddie, and Freddie—to

do it on our Grand Prix bikes. Brown & Wil-

liamson, the company that owned Lucky

Strike’s U.S. rights, wanted us to run Kool

livery, and the stuff looked awesome. I still

have a set of the leathers.

Our equipment was so good that there

was no way the series regulars could hang

with us, so we had an agreement that the

majority of those laps were playing around

and we’d put on a show, pulling wheelies.

Of course Mike ignored that, pinned his

ears back, and went for it! Again, he was

just his own guy.

Anyway, riding with that team is a spe-

cial memory, and I’m sure Colin and Ben are

enjoying something similar this year. It’s go-

ing to be a lot of fun to cheer for them at the

Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix—but just watch

out for those burnouts! X

A Road Racer X column by RANDY MAMOLA

ALL AMERICAN

36

DO

N E

MD

E A

RC

HIV

ES

DO

N E

MD

E A

RC

HIV

ES

Randy Mamola Mike Baldwin


7YV[LJ[�`V\Y�WHZZPVU��1VPU�[VKH`�H[

(4,90*(546;69*@*30:;�*64

:P[[PUN�6U�;OL�:PKLSPULZ�0Z�5V[�(U�6W[PVU�:WVY[IPRLZ�HYL�HTHaPUN��I\[�MVY�KLJHKLZ�[OL`»]L�ILLU�^LHYPUN�H�[HYNL[·HUK�[OL�(4(�OHZ�^VYRLK�Q\Z[�HZ�SVUN�[V�WYV[LJ[�[OPZ�L_OPSHYH[PUN�JSHZZ�VM�TV[VYJ`JSLZ��-LKLYHS�SLNPZSH[PVU�^HZ�PU[YVK\JLK�PU�� [V�IHU�[OLT��I\[�[OL�(4(�Z[LWWLK�PU�HUK�JVU]PUJLK�[OL�IPSS»Z�ZWVUZVY�[V�IHJR�VMM��6\Y�MVLZ�JVU[PU\L�[V�[HYNL[�ZWVY[IPRLZ��I\[�[OL�(4(�YLTHPUZ�]PNPSHU[��ÄNO[PUN�\UMHPY�SH^Z�HUK�YLN\SH[PVUZ�HPTLK�VUS`�H[�TV[VYJ`JSLZ��Z\JO�HZ�IPSSZ�HPTLK�H[�WYL]LU[PUN�TVKPÄJH[PVUZ��PU[YVK\JPUN�OVYZLWV^LY�SPTP[Z�HUK�L]LU�PUZ\YHUJL�ISHJRSPZ[PUN��0THNPUL�THUKH[LZ�MVY�6,�L_OH\Z[Z��HPYIHN�YPKPUN�Z\P[Z�HUK�YVSS�JHNLZ��

0TWVZZPISL��`V\�ZH`&�(SS�P[�[HRLZ�PZ�H�Z[YVRL�VM�[OL�WLU�


38

Seventeen years

after winning the

World Superbike

title, an American

legend analyzes the

series’ visit to his

home country

BY SCOTT RUSSELL

PHOTOS BY

ANDREW WHEELER

eh U.S has a proud tradition in World Super-

bike, both because we’ve won more champi-

onships than any other country and because

we pretty much invented the sport. I r aced as a

card at all three Brainerd SBK rounds from 1989-’9’ 1,

and then I competed at Laguna Seca as a full-timer

in ’97 and ’98. I’ve attended the last two rounds at

Miller Motorsports Park as a Speed TV broadcaster.

Unfortunately, I’ve never won my home race, as

there was no American round when I was at the peak

of my career—my AMA Superbike and World Super-

bike titles came in ’92 and ’93, respectively, between

the series’ stints at Brainerd and Laguna. Still, the

American rounds were always something special, and

I’ve enjoyed seeing the U.S. event evolve over the

years. The only problem with going to it now is that it

makes me want to put my leathers back on!

GO

LD

& G

OO

SE


39

WH

EE

LE

R


(Main) Max Biaggi, a

former Grand Prix rival

of the author, swept the

USA World SBK round.

(Top) Leon Camier was

runner-up in Race 2, giving

Aprilia its fi rst SBK double

podium. (Left) If not for

mechanicals in both races,

Carlos Checa would al-

most surely have repeated

his 2008 double.

40

I really like the people at Miller, and it’s obviously a top-notch

facility—about as good as it can be, really, and the week-

end ran pretty smooth. Compared to last year’s event, they

did a much better job of promoting it, and judging by the

offi cial three-day crowd of 55,000, moving the race to Mon-

day of Memorial Day Weekend was a good idea. Still, I have

to say that times have changed. Coming back to Laguna when I

was racing was a much bigger deal.

Part of that is because Laguna is just a more glamorous place,

and the way Miller is designed, the spectators get sort of spread

out. Also, there aren’t many places that have the character of

Laguna, which was able to build itself into an institution over a

number of years. Miller is doing its best to lay the groundwork

for a new tradition. Salt Lake City is a naturally beautiful area, so

maybe Miller will end up with its own unique vibe. It’s going to be

tough, but I hope they can do it.

Since I was at the race for the last two years, it’s clear to me

that the series could really use another top U.S. rider. Although the

crowd wasn’t as big in ’09, there was so much electricity with Ben

Spies doing well. Now that he’s in MotoGP it’s up to Roger Hayden

to represent, and he’s just not in a position to do that this year.

I’ve been asked if I can relate to Roger, since he’s an American

WH

EE

LE

R

ZE

EK

WH

EE

LE

R


41

racing the series on a Kawasaki like I was when I fi rst went over there,

but the situations are different. He’s jumped on a totally different team

where he doesn’t know anyone, whereas I got to take a nice support

group with me—my Muzzy team, my cousin, and my trainer. We also

had as good a Kawasaki as anybody in the world at that time. He

doesn’t have anything close to that. I feel for the kid, but it was either

stay home or go learn the tracks in Europe. He did the right thing.

I wish some top AMA Pro guys would come in as wildcards—

not only to help the race, but for their own sake. I remember when

I did Brainerd, it was really exciting to be able to match up against

the best in the world and use them as a measuring stick. Still,

we really need a top rider in the series full-time on a good team.

Coming back to Laguna as a former world champion was a real

big deal compared to doing Brainerd as a wildcard. It was defi -

nitely one of the biggest races, and one I focused on a lot leading

into it. I wanted to do good in front of the home crowd.

GOING HOME

These days, coming to the U.S. round of World Superbike is

like a family reunion for me. You see a lot of familiar faces in the

paddock, from guys whose names you might not know to good

friends. All the Yamaha guys I used to work for in Europe are still

there, and they worked with Spies last year. Also, a lot of the Ital-

ians from Infront are still the same. When I came on that scene

with Muzzy back in the day, we made a big splash with our wild

team colors—and of course the fact that we kicked everyone’s

ass! The promoters liked that, and we got along well and had a

good time. I’m an outgoing guy, and I like meeting people. Those

are some special memories, and when I see those people now,

we always have a big hug.

Also, some of the riders I used to race against are still out there

going fast. I’m still buddies with Troy Corser, Nori Haga was my team-

mate at Yamaha in ’98, and Ruben Xaus was around. Also, I’ve com-

peted against Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi in Grand Prix racing.

Honestly, it almost hurts seeing those guys still pulling down

good money and doing what they love. The motorcycles are more

rider-friendly than they used to be, and some of those riders say,

“It’s easier now, Scott. The bikes aren’t spitting you off left and

right like they used to, so you can go faster at an older age.” Look

at Biaggi. Watching him get both the wins in Utah, there’s still a

part of me that says if I was still out there, I almost know I could

hang. I’m doing Grand-Am racing now, which is a lot of fun, but

it doesn’t really fi ll that hole. I kick myself now for hanging up my

boots after I got hurt at Daytona, but at the time, it seemed like

(Clockwise from above left)

A classic-rock concert on

Saturday night brought new

locals to the track; with

perfect race-day weather,

the umbrellas were for sun,

not rain; a pre-race press

conference was held at the

state capitol building; crash-

es marred James Toseland’s

fi rst visit to the track.

ZE

EK

ZE

EK

ZE

EK

ZE

EK


42

the right thing to do. I’m not sure when that feeling will go away.

It’s also nice seeing the young riders challenging the veterans.

I’d say the guy I most identifi ed with at this year’s race was Johnny

Rea. He seems like a tough little guy, the kind you just have to hold

back because he’s always raring to go. I like the enthusiastic, fi re-

breathing young lions, and that’s what I see in him.

TIME MACHINE

I never got to race at Miller during my career, but the week before

this year’s World Superbike event, I did a WERA endurance race

with Dane Westby and Clinton Sellers on Team Zyvax. I really like

the racetrack. It fl ows well in spots, like Turn 1 through 5, and I like

the long straightaway and how it dips into Turn 1, Sunset Bend.

From Turn 5 to 6 is a little weird, and I’d say through Witchcraft and

into the Attitudes is the most challenging part. It’s pretty straight-

forward and not a real physical track, but it’s a joy to ride.

It was a good time, going out there to see if I have anything left,

and it gave me some perspective for calling the World SBK race on

TV the next weekend. You look at these guys and wonder if you could

do it, so it was nice to get my shot. In 2007, I had done a race there

with Jimmy Filice and Andrew Trevitt for a Sport Rider story. I didn’t

go that well, but this time was much better, probably because the

Yamaha YZF-R6 is so good. It’s turnkey—just get on it and go fast.

After being idle for a while, it was fun to be on pace, running re-

ally close times to Westby and Clinton on a 600. I think I surprised

a few people (including myself) being in the ballpark, especially be-

cause I only had a few short sessions to prepare. They were happy

because we won our class and fi nished second overall, so I can go

home and sleep now. It was a good time, and it tempts me to come

out and do the Daytona 200, but there’s no way I could do that on

a 600. At one point, Josh Herrin’s little brother, Zack, was following

me around on an identical bike. I looked over on the straight and

he just went fl ying by me. Those guys can get in that little bubble,

but I’m like a big parachute on a 600.

NOW & THEN

Just like the American round, the World Superbike series itself

has changed a lot. When I was there, there were maybe three or

four guys who could win. There have been six winners already

this year, so the fi eld’s deeper, with a lot of guys out there going

fast. I think that’s also because the bikes are easier to ride, but it’s

always tough to win. I don’t care when you come through what

series—to be the man, you’ve got to be special.

I’m not a big fan of all the engine management and rider aids

they have now. I’d love to see them go back to your right hand being

the only traction control, which would separate the guys some but

make the show more fun to watch. It might bring some more strategy

into it, instead of everyone just being full-blast. We were on 750s, so

they might not have worked the tires as much as these 1000s would

without traction control, but it would be cool to see these guys have

to work harder. It would favor riders who can look after their stuff to

the end, and I think it would make the show ten times better.

(Left) Points eluded Roger

Hayden in his fi rst home race

as a World Superbike rider.

(Above) Utah has now hosted

two World Supersport races,

and Kenan Sofuoglu has

topped them both. (Right)

Miller Motorsports Park

acknowledged Memorial Day

by planting 2,010 American

fl ags on the infi eld.

WH

EE

LE

R

WH

EE

LE

R

ZE

EK


44

From a dicing-for-the-lead perspective, the races

at Miller were pretty uneventful this year—not nearly as

close as I’ve seen from the series leading into this event.

There was some crashing going on, but it was pretty

spread out at the front. More than the actual racing,

what stood out was the big-picture drama, like Checa

dominating both races, only to break down both times

with similar freak problems, or Leon Haslam crashing

out of Race 2 and losing the points lead to Biaggi.

I could relate to both of those situations. In 1984, I

had a 45-point lead by Round 4, when we went into Al-

bacete and I crashed in both races—in oil one time and

by myself in the other one. I lost my big advantage, and

in the end, I lost the championship by fi ve points be-

cause of that. That same year at Mugello, I won Race 1

going away at Ducati’s home, on a Kawi—it was great.

The next race, I was leading by a country mile when I

had electrical problems like Checa.

Anyway, it was pretty cool to see Max pull the dou-

ble at Miller, and to see Aprilia go 1-2 in Race 2, for the

fi rst time in this series. I also like what I saw out of the

BMWs; they keep getting better every weekend.

All in all, it was a good time to be at Miller Motorsports

Park for the World Superbike race. The riders did a great

job, and the track is going the extra mile to reach out

to fans. Like I said, the one thing it really needs is a top

American rider. I wish it could be me. X

Like America itself, World Superbike is fairly young compared to its con-

temporaries. It’s been around for twenty-one years, while the Grand Prix

series got its start in 1949 and AMA Superbike kicked off in ’76. During

that tenure, SBK has hosted sixteen U.S. rounds at three different venues.

YEAR TRACK RACE 1 WINNER RACE 2 WINNER

1989 Brainerd International Raymond Roche (Duc) Raymond Roche (Duc)

Raceway

1990 Brainerd International Stephane Mertens (Hon) Doug Chandler (Kaw)

Raceway

1991 Brainerd International Doug Polen (Duc) Doug Polen (Duc)

Raceway

1995 Laguna Seca Raceway Anthony Gobert (Kaw) Troy Corser (Duc)

1996 Laguna Seca Raceway John Kocinski (Duc) Anthony Gobert (Kaw)

1997 Laguna Seca Raceway John Kocinski (Hon) John Kocinski (Hon)

1998 Laguna Seca Raceway Carl Fogarty (Duc) Noriyuki Haga (Yam)

1999 Laguna Seca Raceway Anthony Gobert (Duc) Ben Bostrom (Duc)

2000 Laguna Seca Raceway Noriyuki Haga (Yam) Troy Corser (Apr)

2001 Mazda Raceway Ben Bostrom (Duc) Ben Bostrom (Duc)

Laguna Seca

2002 Mazda Raceway Troy Bayliss (Duc) Colin Edwards (Hon)

Laguna Seca

2003 Mazda Raceway Pierfrancesco Chili (Duc) Ruben Xaus (Duc)

Laguna Seca

2004 Mazda Raceway Chris Vermeulen (Hon) Chris Vermeulen (Hon)

Laguna Seca

2008 Miller Motorsports Park Carlos Checa (Hon) Carlos Checa (Hon)

2009 Miller Motorsports Park Ben Spies (Yam) Ben Spies (Yam)

2010 Miller Motorsports Park Max Biaggi (Apr) Max Biaggi (Apr)

SBK USA

Biaggi (middle) tallied his

third sweep of the season

and took over the points lead

from Leon Haslam (right).

WH

EE

LE

R

WH

EE

LE

R


KEEP YOUR COOL

USED BY ROCKSTAR\MAKITA\SUZUKI’S TOMMY HAYDEN

STEPLESS® CLAMP KIT FOR COOLING SYSTEMSTEPLESS® CLAMPS PROVIDE SECURE 360 DEGREE CLAMPING WITH NO GAPS

s�.ARROW�BAND�PROVIDES�CONCENTRATED�SEAL�COMPRESSIONs�3PECIALLY�FORMED�EDGES�REDUCE�RISK�OF�DAMAGE�TO�HOSE�AND�HOSE�BARBs�-ORE�SECURE�THAN�SCREW TYPE�HOSE�CLAMPSs�5SED�BY�MANY�FACTORY�RACING�TEAMSs�3OLD�AS�A�COMPLETE�KIT�OR�SEPARATELY

MotionPro.com

PROFESSIONAL

TOOLS I CABLES I CONTROLSGRADE

-/4)/.�02/��).#� I ��!-%2)#!.�342%%4 I 3!.�#!2,/3��#!��4%,�� &!8�� ¥��-/4)/.�02/


46

RIL

ES

/N

EL

SO

N


47

She may be a pretty,

blonde 16-year old, but

you don’t want to get

between the fi nish line and

the fi rst female to win a

professional AMA road race

BY MARK GARDINER

O ne never knows in advance when history might

come calling. The best we can hope is that we

acquit ourselves as well as Cameron Beaubier

and Tyler O’Hara did after fi nishing second and

third, respectively, behind the fi rst woman to win a

professional AMA road race. At a moment when the

racers might have made excuses or lacked grace,

both young men smiled, warmly congratulated Elena

Myers, and talked about the signifi cance of what

had just happened in Infi neon Raceway’s Saturday

SuperSport race.

The only semi-awkward moment came early in

the post-race press conference, when third-place

O’Hara referred to his past experience with his

fellow podium fi nishers. “I’ve rode Supermoto with

these guys—” he started, before a funny expression

crossed his face, “—with both of these people over

here, Elena and Cameron.”

Given Myers’ recent progress, some updates will

have to be made to the AMA Pro Road Racing pad-

dock’s lexicon.

RIL

ES

/N

EL

SO

N


48

Before this season, no female rider had fi nished in the

top ten or even started on the front row in a profes-

sional AMA road race. It didn’t take Myers long to

change that, leading some to wonder where this girl

came from (and since we’re examining vocabulary,

girl is the accurate term in this case, as Elena is just 16).

Myers has much in common with many of her competitors

(her father, Matt, is an ex-racer who put her on a tiny dirt bike

when she was 7), but there are differences too. Some of her ri-

vals’ parents have spent well into six fi gures on equipment and

specialized coaching; Matt is a motorcycle mechanic at a small

shop in Stockton. He works at a local kart track on the side and

ran a pocket-bike racing series, which meant Elena had almost

limitless track time at an impressionable age.

“When you’re a parent,” Matt explains, “you naturally want to

fi nd things to do with your kids. At fi rst, that’s all it was. We didn’t

have the delusions that a lot of other

parents have. I’d meet them at the track

and their kids were 5 or 6, and they had

their whole lives planned out.”

As a coach for the Red Bull Rookies

Cup and for Suzuki, 1993 500cc World

Champion Kevin Schwantz has plenty

of experience with young racers and their families, and he echoes

the sentiment: “In the last few years, I’ve seen a lot of kids who

were racing because it was what was expected of them. It was

what they’d always done growing up, and it was driven by their

dads. Elena’s not like that; the motivation’s coming from her.”

Although Myers enjoyed herself and was fast enough early

on, those fi rst couple of seasons on pocket bikes and tiny Su-

permoto machines weren’t a revelation. Her initial breakthrough

came when, during an off-season, Matt fi tted her tiny RM85 with

bigger wheels and slick tires and she began to ride it in a road-

race style. “One time, we were on track with Tommy Hayden—he

was on his Supermoto bike training,” Matt recalls. “I watched El-

ena ride right around him on the outside of a turn. That’s when I

thought maybe she could really go somewhere.”

Toward the end of 2004, Elena’s parents took her and her 85 to a

Keigwins track day at Thunderhill Raceway Park, where Lance Keigwin

arranged for her to borrow a 125cc GP bike. Both the bike

and the track were bigger and faster than anything she’d

ridden, and as is generally the case with Elena, her per-

formance took a leap forward. Matt found a used Honda

RS125, and Elena became the youngest rider ever to peti-

tion the AFM for a race license. She was turned down.

In early ’05, Matt convinced OMRRA (an Oregon

club that races at Portland International Raceway) to

allow Elena to take their new-racer course. She did so,

raced, and won—twice—against local experts. After the

weekend, she was given an expert license. “We knew

we couldn’t afford to travel to Portland every race,” Matt

recalls. “We thought that her OMRRA license would be

our ticket to racing in the AFM, because the two clubs

have a reciprocity agreement.” The plan didn’t work, as

the AFM said Myers was still too young.

A LITTLE HELP?

Despite the limited opportunities, Myers continued to

improve, and soon, expert racers began talking about

getting strafed by a young girl at northern California track

days. John Ulrich, who publishes Roadracing World

magazine and runs one of AMA Pro’s longest-standing

and most successful satellite teams, was impressed.

“I’ll never forget meeting her,” says Ulrich, who was

an early supporter of Schwantz, John Hopkins, and Ben

Spies. “She walked right up to me, looked me in the eye,

(Below) Some kids hate

getting hand-me-downs,

but Elena Myers is gelling

with DiSalvo’s old ’09 GSX-

R600. (Bottom) Myers used

the “hang-off” road racing

style right from the start.

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON

MY

ER

S F

AM

ILY

AR

CH

IVE

MY

ER

S F

AM

ILY

AR

CH

IVE


50

and said, ‘Hi, I’m Elena Myers.’ She had a fi rm grip, and I thought, I

haven’t met many 12-year-olds like this. We had a conversation like

the one I had with John Hopkins when he was 14.”

Based on that fi rst impression, Ulrich was convinced Elena

was the one—the fi rst female with a viable chance of becoming

a truly top-tier road racer. “Having raised two girls myself,” Ulrich

says, “and having always told them, ‘You can be whatever you set

out to be,’ I almost felt there was a moral imperative to help her.”

Ulrich arranged a better 125 for Myers and immediately laid

out a plan that would see her arrive at Daytona as soon as she

turned 16 and was eligible for AMA Pro Racing. Kawasaki PR

manager Jan Plessner, a longtime supporter of women’s motor-

cycling, arranged a backdoor support program for Elena, with

Hypercycle’s Cary Andrew tuning a Team Green-supplied 650cc

twin and then a ZX-6R. Elena’s road racing education continued

as she raced the 125 in the USGPRU series and then the Kawa-

sakis in WERA events. Although she wasn’t utterly

dominant, she usually shared the podium with much

older and more experienced competition.

Cary Andrew attended a few events, but mostly it

was just Elena and Matt going to races. When Myers

went to the WERA Grand National Finals at Road At-

lanta, Ulrich dispatched one of his own team mechan-

ics, Michael Tijon, on a bit of a spy mission to see how well set-up

Elena’s bike had been. Tijon saw a lot of room for improvement.

Elena is pretty much in charge of her own rider-development

program. She sticks to herself at the track, though she’s benefi ted

from some of Jason Pridmore’s coaching. Matt, a mid-pack club

racer in the ’90s who never scraped together the funds to run a

whole season, says he doesn’t really know where his daughter

got her speed. He speaks of his daughter with a measure of pa-

rental pride but also a lot of respect. “She’s a straight-A student

at school and takes a very methodical approach,” he says. “She

just seems to understand how things work.”

SHOWTIME

Myers comes across as a pretty normal 16-year-old girl in conver-

sation, but although she’s more articulate and confi dent than aver-

age, she’s not completely capable of explaining her success either.

Like most young riders, she has lofty goals.

“I’d like to win an AMA championship,” she

says, “and then go to MotoGP.”

Myers acknowledges that her light

weight is an advantage, but she adds

that she’s been lifting weights to close

the strength gap on her middleweight-

bike competitors. She seems more com-

fortable talking about the physical side of

racing than the psychological, or about

her own motivation, but she’s perceptive

enough to add, “Being a girl, I get a lot of

extra media attention, and that helps.”

One of the conversations for this story

took place after Elena had spent an after-

noon doing three back-to-back live radio

and TV interviews. “It’s fun for me,” she says.

“I don’t think about what I’m doing, that it’s

live and all those people are seeing me.”

At the beginning of this season—right

on Ulrich’s schedule—Elena rolled into

Daytona with a newly minted AMA Pro li-

cense and Jason DiSalvo’s GSX-R600 from

last year. To get a little time on the banking,

she did a few CCS races fi rst. “I showed

up on the track on a Thursday and got out

onto the track the next day,” she says. “It

took the fi rst part of the day to get over the

steepness of the banking. I wasn’t scared

but … nothing could’ve prepared me for

that. Then the AMA week was amazing. I’ve

been waiting four years for this to come,

and I was a racer and part of the show.”

Mostly, the “Elena Project” has been

a grassroots effort, with help coming from

sources like a Bay Area lawyer/track-day

addict, who has picked up a few airplane

tickets. This year, though, Richie Morris

Racing has given Myers room under its

awning alongside Danny Eslick, and Ed

Sorbo has signed on as crew chief (Todd

Fenton handled those duties at Daytona).

As a girl in what has histori-

cally been a man’s sport,

Myers is bound to get extra

attention. So far, she’s

happy to be cast in the role

of female ambassador as

well as competitor.

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON


KNFILTERS.COM/RRX

Designed with 25%

fewer pleats to open

up the intake track

Look for K&N Performance Filters for your motorcycle,

car or truck at your local performance dealer!

Wrench-Off Oil FiltersTM

with high-flow synthetic media

Built with only

2 layers of high-flow

pleated cotton media

Custom seal creates a

direct fit into your

OE air box assembly

Lowers restriction,

increasing horsepower

and torque

Photo: brianjnelson.com

Designed for closed-course competition use only.

Fuel management modifications WILL be necessary.

AVAILABLE FOR:

Honda CBR600/1000RR

Kawasaki ZX6/ZX10R

Suzuki GSX-R600/750/1000/1300

Yamaha YZF R6/R1

269.1

K&N OE Replacement

Air Filter #YA-6008

K&N Race-Spec

Air Filter #YA-6008R

213.3

269.1

Standard K&N

Increase Over

&N

26%


Although some companies have been leery of sponsoring such

a young racer, Myers has picked up support from Lucas Oil, and

she enjoys working with a real squad. “I love having a teammate,”

she says. “I use a lot of Danny’s settings!” (Jason DiSalvo isn’t

much bigger than Elena, so the team has data for every track.)

Although the SuperSport class is no longer the lion’s den it

was when Miguel Duhamel campaigned it on a factory Honda,

it’s still extremely competitive, with racers like Cameron Beaubier

(a Grand Prix racer last season) and JD Beach (2008 Red Bull

MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion), plus former Red Bull AMA U.S.

Rookies Cup frontrunners Joey Pascarella and Tommy Puerta.

Although her pair of seventh-place Daytona fi nishes weren’t

exactly a disappointment, Myers was caught up in a fi rst-lap melee

at Auto Club Speedway and—worse still—crashed

on spilled fl uids on the warm-up lap of the fi rst race

at Road Atlanta. That crash left her with a purple

foot, but she limped to her bike the next day and

survived two more red-fl ag incidents for a top-

fi ve fi nish. She may be a high-school girl, but her

toughness is not in question. “This year, she’s re-

ally stepped up,” Schwantz observed after the race. “There’s still a

gap to those front three or four guys, but she’s closing it. She’s got

one thing that every great racer has, and that’s a huge heart.”

Though few would have agreed with her, Myers decided after

talking with her dad that she was still lacking aggression. “I need to

charge every single corner,” she said before the Infi neon Raceway

round. “I need to make the bike wiggle on every corner exit and get

more comfortable with it moving around. When I see photos of my-

self from the last couple of races, I look like I’m on a Sunday ride.”

BREAKING THE CEILING

Myers implemented the new approach in Race 1 at Sonoma. After a

fi fth-place start, she moved up a spot when Jake Gagne ran off the

track, only for the race to be red-fl agged.

This time she grabbed a second-place start

and took over the lead when Pascarella ran

wide in a turn. Myers crossed the line with the

lead, and when the red fl ag came out again

at the halfway point, the race was called and

she was awarded the win. The cards had

fallen her way, but Elena took advantage. “I

was pretty surprised that it happened,” she

said afterward. “I’ve had a lot of bad luck the

last few rounds, and I was happy to fi nally

get some good luck. Things went my way.”

Predictions for Elena’s future are var-

ied. Her professional start has certainly

been promising, but like any hot young

racer, whether she’ll achieve her lofty goals

is still unknown. There have been other

women in AMA Pro Racing, of course, but

no female racer has been anywhere near

as fast at such a young age. After seeing

her at Infi neon, that’s something race fans

agree on to a man…. Er, person. X

Myers’ fi rst win came under

a red fl ag, but it was no

fl uke. Later that weekend,

she temporarily led the fast-

est young guns in the series,

including East division points

leader Cameron Beaubier.

When Elena Myers won

the Infi neon Race-

way AMA Pro SuperSport

race, news fl ashed around the world instanta-

neously. Over a quarter-century earlier, Sherry

Friduss won a pair of AMA Battle of the Twins

Modifi ed races aboard a Moto Guzzi, and she

was lucky if people at the track knew about it.

Sherry (whose surname is now Endress)

contested BOTT when four classes raced on

the track at the same time, and while she won

her class, she might’ve been the twelfth rider

to take the checkers. As a result, there wasn’t

much said about Sherry’s accomplishment,

even in the motorcycling press. The AMA

categorized the class as amateur, although

there was a modest purse. (As a result, deter-

mining the fi rst female AMA winner is not

a black-and-white issue.)

“Battle of the Twins fought to get recogni-

tion back in those days,” Endress recalls. “We

had our fans, for sure, but they were a small

group of enthusiasts. I think the most I ever

won was maybe $500, but it was enough in

those days to get us to the next race.”

“What she did was amazing,” Endress, who

won at Daytona in ’84 and Pocono in ’85, says

of Myers’ accomplishment. “That class is so

competitive, and she’s so young and pretty. I

wish her more success. She has the talent to

really make a difference in the sport. Hopefully,

someday I’ll get to meet and congratulate her.”

Endress retired from motorcycle racing af-

ter an unsuccessful ’87 Superbike stint aboard

a Suzuki GSXR750, as she never adapted to

high-revving inline fours. After leaving racing,

she got her master’s degree, divorced and

remarried, and tried competitive cycling and

power lifting. Today she lives in the foothills

of northeast Georgia, and she still rides a twin

(only now it’s a Ducati) with her husband and

attends the occasional race. Larry Lawrence

THE FORGOTTEN LADY

52

RIL

ES

/NE

LS

ON

LA

WR

EN

CE

AR

CH

IVE

S

Sherry Friduss


��%��6RXWK��WK�6WUHHW��5LFKPRQG��&$��W��

��I��

ZZZ�OHRYLQFHXVD�FRP


54

Once the stomping ground

of dominant British riders,

Grand Prix racing’s premier

class has been inhospitable

to the UK in recent years.

One 117-pound redhead

intends to storm the castle

BY LAUREL C. ALLEN

British riders have an enviable record in world championship premier-class

racing. Since the inaugural 1949 FIM Grand Prix season, Great Britain

has taken seventeen world titles (second only to Italy) and fi nished sec-

ond or third in the points chase more than twenty times, even sweeping

the top three positions on three occasions (and once, the top fi ve slots). “And

yet we’re looked at as a nation that maybe can’t be successful in MotoGP,” says

19-year-old Bradley Smith. “I believe that’s a myth. I believe we can have a British

world champion, a MotoGP rider, without any problems.”

Though it’s likely to be at least three years before Smith gets to test that theory,

he’s one of just a few young riders who have been groomed specifi cally for that

purpose—to return British road racers to a status they haven’t enjoyed in more

than thirty years.


55

NORTHCOTT


56

FROM WHENCE IT CAME

Back in 2003, 13-year-old Bradley was looking at a promising ca-

reer in motocross. Having ridden bikes since age 4—his father and

grandfather ran a motocross track—Bradley had developed into a

talented Schoolboy racer who’d already won a couple of MX and

SX national championships. And then came that dreaded injury:

the tibia-fi bula fracture. Though he switched to road racing not long

after, Bradley says he’s “defi nitely still a motocrosser, through and

through” who thinks “being able to slide it without worrying about

bike movement so much” has helped his bike handling signifi cantly.

Bradley began road racing in the UK’s Aprilia RS 125-based

Superteens series (the same place Casey Stoner got his start),

and by 2004—his fi rst full season—he was also riding a middle-

weight sport production bike in the same championship and had

participated in a year-end tryout for the MotoGP Academy.

“I think I got on the radar with those three things,” Bradley

says. “The Dorna guys were looking into UK riders and my name

cropped up in a couple of conversations. They did so much home-

work on us—they knew exactly what we were about—and they

decided to take me and grow me into a motorcycle rider instead

of a motocross rider.”

Bradley was called up to the Alberto Puig-run program (which

would later pick up sponsorship from Red Bull and be joined by

the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup). At 14, he moved to Spain to

test, train for, and contend the seven-round Spanish CEV cham-

pionship. “It was always the most important thing to do, because

if I wanted to get to Grand Prix, I had to do that,” he says. “But it

was tough at a young age to get up and move and have to stand

on your own two feet.”

It was in Spain, according to Bradley, that the fi rst install-

ment of UK-rider-related mythbusting started. “Guys had been to

Spain before and not qualifi ed or had struggled to make points,”

he says, “so it was kind of like, ‘You British guys can’t be com-

petitive over there.’ But we went there and in the fi rst year I won

three races, and the next year [fellow Brits] Danny Webb and

Scott Redding podiumed races and were right there. We kind

of showed the younger generation

that Spain is an option and you don’t

have to move on to Supersport 600s,

which is what a lot of guys have had

to fi nd themselves doing.”

It’s also what Bradley reckons he

would have done—follow that most

traditional path for British riders, which

generally does not lead to GP success.

“We were fortunate,” he says. “We were

shown the way by Dorna. They gave us

the opportunity to ride in their academy

and to ride in their championships, and

that’s defi nitely the way to go to Grand

Prix.” Bradley proceeded to do just

that in 2006, joining the Puig-managed

125cc Repsol Honda team.

RIDE THIS WAY

Bradley spent the next two seasons

with the Repsol team. In 2006, he was

named 125cc Rookie of the Year and

turned in a best fi nish of eighth; in ’07,

he took his fi rst Grand Prix podium—

a third at Mugello, making him the

youngest British rider to stand on a

GP podium. He also turned in a long

string of top-ten fi nishes that put him

tenth overall in the championship.

Clockwise from top: Smith

blossomed after joining the

hard-charging Aspar effort;

Bradley may have gotten

the short end of the stick at

this Monster Energy func-

tion, but he’s tough on the

track; a paddock with Rossi

in it is where any young

rider wants to be.

NO

RT

HC

OT

T

HE

AT

H

HE

AT

H


In ’08, Bradley signed with Polaris World Aprilia and earned

three poles and four podium fi nishes, fi nishing sixth overall despite

midseason injuries. But it was last year that he really stepped out.

As a member of the powerful Bancaja Aspar effort, he began win-

ning races, fi nishing runner-up in the championship to his older

and more experienced teammate, Julian Simon.

He remains with Aspar’s 125 effort this season despite nearly

moving to the new Moto2 class, and he says he’s happy with that

decision, even if he’s still excited for a possible 2011 class change.

It’s been a tough season so far, however.

“It’s not been easy, to say the least,”

Bradley says. “Sometimes I’ve sat in the

truck thinking, What have I done wrong?

What have I done to deserve the bad luck?

But this is what racing brings, and I’ve been

fortunate in the past few years that I’ve had

very few problems to deal with. This year it

seems that everything that could go wrong,

has gone wrong, from a bike not wanting to

start between practices to being down on

power, seizures, electronic problems…. [But]

the bike seems to be back on form now, and

it’s just down to me to up my game and get

back to the level I was at last year.”

WHAT WILL COME

The pressure is certainly on for this season

and beyond—Bradley knows many are look-

ing to him to someday return the UK to the

premier-class title board. In the meantime,

though, he’s got 125cc competitiveness

to return to and four-stroke motorcycles to

adapt to, beginning next year. The ultimate

goal, however, is rarely far from his mind.

“Look at the UK talent in World Su-

perbike right now,” he says. “Those guys

58

Bradley Smith is fully aware of—and grateful for—the help he’s received

in his career to this point, and he understands just what it’s going to

take to return UK riders to their former Grand Prix glory. All that has led di-

rectly to Team KRP, the British-based effort supported by Bradley and run

by Mark Keen. Says Smith, “I know how lucky I was to be given a chance,

and really, all it takes is for some-

thing to be set up to give people

that chance.”

The team fi elds fi ve young rid-

ers in the British 125 and Spanish

CEV championships, and some of

their names will already be familiar

to road racing fans—Dakota Ma-

mola is the son of GP giant Randy,

and Taylor MacKenzine is the son

of three-time BSB champion and

former GP rider Niall. Teammates

Fraser Rogers, John McFee, and

Wayne Ryan are just as determined to make names for themselves.

“It’s great to see their enthusiasm and to use what I’ve learned the past

four or fi ve years to try to speed up their learning process,” Bradley says.

“Hopefully, in the next couple of years, they’ll be ready to step up to the 125

GP class and start being the next talented riders coming through.”

PAYING IT BACK

haven’t been brought up on race bikes, which means making the

change would probably be a bit diffi cult, but the talent’s right there

in the UK. Unfortunately, it just seems like the [UK] guys who’ve

stepped up to MotoGP haven’t been given the same chance as

other guys, and then their efforts get classed as failures.

“It’s a bit frustrating, really, because it’s this myth that peo-

ple seem to just be accepting. But I’ve been given the chance,”

Smith adds. “It’s up to me to work my way up through the ranks

and carry the fl ag.” X

Though the 2010 season

hasn’t been as smooth as

those previous, Bradley still

feels he’s well on his way

to being the kind of Grand

Prix standard-bearer that UK

race fans have long awaited.

NO

RT

HC

OT

T

HE

AT

H

Smith with KRP rider

Dakota Mamola.


00 00

BY JESSE CECIL

After four years in the

wilderness, Alstare Suzuki

hopes Leon Haslam can

get the team back on top

in World Superbike

60

The tension is palpable in the Alstare

Suzuki garage, but no higher than

the stakes. It’s the end of the last

practice session at the U.S. World Su-

perbike round and Alstare’s lead rider,

Leon Haslam, has a 15-point advantage over title

rival Max Biaggi. This is the team’s last opportunity to

solve any problems they have before qualifying, and

there are a few. Even so, this is far better than the posi-

tion they were in during their two previous visits here.


61

WH

EE

LE

R


(Left) With Syl-

vain Guintoli and

Leon Haslam,

Alstare Suzuki

has its strongest

lineup in years.

(Above) Guintoli

is still exorcising

the ghost of a

bad leg injury in-

curred last year.

Last year was a diffi cult one for Alstare Suzuki. Pre-

sumed title contender Max Neukirchner missed

much of the season with injuries, and the squad

struggled. Perched on a pit-row concrete barrier and

backlit by the late-day Utah sun, Alstare’s chief tech-

nician, Bruno Bailly, recalls the diffi culty. “The feedback we got from

Yukio [Kagayama, Neukirchner’s then-teammate] and replacement

riders, it was horrible,” he says in French-accented English. “We

completely lost the way.” Further adding to the malaise, Alstare and

Neukirchner underwent a bizarre and ugly split at year’s end.

Alstare last won the World SBK championship in 2005 with Troy

Corser, but the Belgian operation has struggled ever since, fi nish-

ing last year as the lowest-placing factory effort (behind even some

privateer squads). That doesn’t sit well with the team, but its frustra-

tion changed to hope when Haslam signed on for this year.

RECONSTRUCTION

Held back by a largely undeveloped privateer Stiggy Honda,

Haslam hadn’t enjoyed a stellar 2009, fi nishing sixth on the year.

“By the end of the season, when funds were drying up with the

team, just to get in the top fi ve was a big result,” the Brit explains.

“Once you’d been battling for seconds and thirds and fi nishing

there, to accept fi fths and sixths … was quite tough.”

Haslam’s early release from the folded Stiggy team enabled

him to entertain offers from several squads, and he felt Alstare

offered the best package despite the trouble they’d experienced

in the last two seasons. Alstare boss Francis Batta saw enough

potential in Haslam’s extensive resume that they were anxious

to put a deal together.

What a difference half a year makes. Lounging in his rented mo-

tor home in the Miller pits, Leon is now a factory rider, and his de-

meanor resembles that of his predatory namesake: calm, in control,

and powerful. Haslam is king of his tarmac jungle.

“When you’re inside the paddock, you kind of know the

bikes, and the Suzuki always looked like a strong package,” he

explains. “It was a little bit unknown, especially coming into this

team. You never know how you’re going to go, and as it hap-

pened, it went really well.”

To partner with Haslam, Alstare hired Sylvain Guintoli. A for-

mer Grand Prix rider, the Frenchman had ridden a Worx Crescent

Suzuki well in last year’s British Superbike Series until another

racer took him out in an accident that left Guintoli’s leg badly bro-

ken below the knee. “I had twelve operations, and grafts,” Sylvain

says in Utah, grimacing at the memory. “It was not good at all. It

was a disaster. I didn’t know if I could race again.”

Though Sylvain’s confi dence had been down, his early suc-

cesses attracted the attention of Batta, who was looking for some-

one who could handle a GSX-R1000 at speed. Sylvain’s decision

was easier than Haslam’s. Given his situation, he thought it was a

joke when Alstare made contact; only a call from Batta convinced

him, and he accepted without hesitation.

Haslam meshed with the Suzuki machinery almost immediate-

ly. “Literally, at the end of the two-day test, I was less than a tenth

off the quickest time and, I think, 1.8 seconds quicker than Spies’

lap record,” Haslam says. “Straight away, I was quite happy.”

Bailly elaborates: “Now with Leon we get a very good rider.

He’s so good about the feedback. He feels very well the complete

bike—not only the chassis, but also the engine and electronics, so

it was a big help for us to improve the bike.”

Though not quite on Haslam’s pace, Guintoli also adapted

well, and during the season-opening round at Phillip Island, the

team furthered its claim as a series frontrunner. Leon landed both

his fi rst SBK pole position and fi rst victory in Race 1, while Guintoli

led much of the second outing before taking fourth.

REBIRTH

“Biaggi crashed!” Haslam yells. His normally calm voice carries

an excited edge as heads swivel to the team’s closed-circuit

television. Among those in the Alstare garage are Leon’s fi ancée,

Olivia, and his father, former Grand Prix racer Ron Haslam. Both

62

WH

EE

LE

R

ZE

EK


Available at your local motorcycle parts and accessory dealer. For more information on Autolite, visit www.RKExcelAmerica.com

© 2010 Honeywell International Inc.

MOTORCYCLES

MINI BIKES

ATVs

WATERCRAFT

SCOOTERS

SNOWMOBILES

• Autolite® Xtreme Sport® plugs are engineered with an Iridium enhanced .6mm Finewire design for better ignitability and more focused ignition*.

• .6mm Iridium Finewire reduces fouling and creates a faster combustion improving power

• Improves overall machine performance*

*Compared to standard plugs. Testing performed by independent lab.

NASCAR Performance® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. and is used under

license.


00

64

attend every race; Ron typically circles

the track on a scooter, fi lming his son

and other riders for later analysis, while

Oli tends to Leon’s personal needs like

hydration and helmets. Leon benefi ts

greatly from their tireless presence.

The fi nal practice session before

qualifying is nearing its end, and Biaggi

(who rode for Alstare in 2007) has made

the fi rst major mistake of the weekend.

Fortunately, the Roman is okay, and al-

though Haslam’s crew has sorted out a

vibration issue, they’re now fi ghting a

problem with heavy mid-corner turn-in.

On the other side of the garage, Sylvain

had struggled early with inconsistency

under hard braking, but he seems to

have progressed through that. Still, nei-

ther rider is exactly where he’d like to be going into Superpole

1, and the team works in silence that’s interrupted only by the

occasional roar of an engine bouncing off its rev-limiter as a

bike exits the pits, reminding everyone of their competition.

Since that early success in Australia, Leon has ridden like a

champion, taking the points lead with two additional wins and six

podiums, then patiently extending it. Biaggi is equipped with the

grid’s fastest bike, the Alitalia Aprilia RSV-4, but although he has

been untouchable at some races, Haslam has remained close,

making Max fi ght for every point.

Sylvain, meanwhile, has struggled to repeat his race-leading

form, and that has been frustrating. “We were very surprised dur-

ing Phillip Island, because he did very beautiful races and now he

struggles a little bit,” Bailly says. “But we have confi dence.”

The team plays it close in the three-round qualifying system,

which rewards strategy, consistency, and outright speed. After a Su-

perpole 3 red fl ag prevents him from completing his best lap, Haslam

earns the fi rst spot on the second row, whereas Guintoli is eliminated

at the end of Superpole 2 when he comes up just .02 seconds short.

His pace is strong, but the class is so competitive that a miniscule

mistake can cost four places, which is exactly what happens. Biaggi

gets his hot lap in and will start from second position.

STUMBLING BLOCKS

Race day is also Haslam’s 27th birthday, and wanting only two

podiums as a gift, he pushes hard when the lights go out. His

Race 1 efforts are hampered when Jakub Smrz’s blown engine

lays down a smoke screen on lap one, but Leon battles forward

to a runner-up fi nish behind Biaggi. Race 2 is disastrous, as

Haslam crashes out while charging up from another bad start,

leaving Biaggi to march to a Utah double. Following a 30-point

turnaround for the day, Max now leads Leon by 15. Guintoli goes

8-6 on the day, retaining eleventh in points.

Miller has dealt a big blow to Alstare Suzuki, but as the team

heads into the season’s second half, members needn’t look far

for inspiration. Every champion faces setbacks during a title

campaign, and as Alstare itself has proven over the past few

months, the team is capable of running with anyone..

A crash at the USA

round proved costly

for Haslam, who lost

the series points

lead, but he’s deter-

mined to get back on

top over the second

half of the season.

ZE

EK

ZE

EK

ZE

EK

WH

EE

LE

R


66

There’s no debating that Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has

a special place in Grand Prix history, particularly among

American racing fans. (Daytona International Speedway

and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have each hosted two

GPs, but when you think “United States Grand Prix,” you think

Laguna.) Since the world championship fi rst visited the track in

1988 (though interrupted in ’92 and by an eleven-year hiatus that

started in 1995), the circuit has seen some of the sport’s greatest

names battle it out on the most iconic motorcycles of their respec-

tive eras. From Eddie Lawson’s domination of the fi rst race aboard

Yamaha’s YZR500 through Nicky Hayden’s triumphant return to

the U.S. on the Honda RC211V and Valentino Rossi’s artful outwit-

ting of Casey Stoner on the Yamaha YZR-M1, Laguna has hosted

victories by the fi nest race bikes on the planet.

Yet even more than at most tracks, the rider plays a huge role

in success at Laguna. “It’s not so much the bike there,” Hayden

says. “Laguna is a real scrapper’s track.” That, coupled with the

backing of the local crowd, partly explains the predominance of

home winners in Monterey. “The place has a magical effect on

Americans,” suggests MotoGP technical guru Neil Spalding, refer-

ring to both the electric atmosphere and the all-important local

knowledge, which combine to create a potent brew.

Still, even scrappers need able machinery, and at Laguna

Seca, that means a motorcycle with agility and decent accelera-

tion. Here’s a guide to the machines that have won at Laguna, and

how those victories came about.

Over the eleven years that Laguna Seca

has hosted a Grand Prix, six motorcycles

have claimed the premier-class win.

Here’s how they did it

BY DAVID EMMETT

GO

LD

& G

OO

SE

GO

LD

& G

OO

SE

NO

RT

HC

OT

TC

OU

RT

ES

Y D

UC

AT

IC

OU

RT

ES

Y Y

AM

AH

AC

OU

RT

ES

Y H

ON

DA

YAMAHA YZR500

CAGIVA GP500

HONDA RC211V

DUCATI DESMOSEDICI

YAMAHA YZR-M1

HONDA RC212V


67

GOLD & GOOSE


68

One of two bikes (along with Honda’s NSR500) that heralded

the modern racing era, Yamaha’s YZR500, fi rst introduced in

’73, had attained around 165 horsepower when Eddie Lawson

topped Laguna’s fi rst Grand Prix in ’88. It touched 200 by the time

Luca Cadalora won in ’94 before the race took a long break.

The early models were inline fours, but the basis for the

Laguna-winning YZRs was a crankcase-reed-valve-induction

500cc V4 two-stroke. By ’88, the soon-to-be-iconic exhaust

routing had been introduced, with pipes from the rear cylinders

exiting underneath the tail, while those from the forward bank

went under the engine before exiting on

the right—hence the gull swingarm, with

the right side describing a graceful arc to

accommodate the expansion chambers.

The ’89 bike Wayne Rainey rode to

his first U.S. Grand Prix victory marked

the introduction of data recording. Com-

pared with today’s versions, the system was cumbersome and

delicate, with yards of requisite cables sometimes inadver-

tently acting as an antenna and scrambling data. Even retriev-

ing the information was problematic: “The team used to post

a couple of guys to keep everyone away from the truck,” vet-

eran GP journalist Dennis Noyes recalls. “Any sudden shocks

would cause the disks to crash and they’d lose all the data

There’s an argument to be made that of all the Grand Prix mo-

torcycles ever built, Cagiva’s were the most beautiful. “Like just

about anything built in Italy, they were sweet-looking,” remembers

Randy Mamola, who raced the GP500 from 1988 to ’90, giving

Cagiva its fi rst podium at Spa Francorchamps in ’88. “It just wasn’t

very fast. Like they say, ‘If it doesn’t go, chrome it!’”

Still, thanks in part to Mamola’s work on the C587 version, the

following iterations were better, and the C593 may have been the best

(and best-looking) of the bunch. There were whisperings of secret

support from Yamaha, a rumor strengthened by the fact that many of

the parts were interchangeable with the YZR500. The bike benefi ted

from Cagiva’s pioneering use of on-board diagnostics, and further

improvement came once Eddie Lawson signed on with the marque

in ’91. Lawson brought the motorcycle its fi rst victory, but that was

mainly by gambling on cut slicks in the restart-

ed wet race at the Hungaroring in ’92.

“If it wasn’t a place that needed a lot of

horsepower and it was more to do with the rider, the bike could

do pretty well,” Mamola explains, perfectly describing Laguna,

where the GP500 earned its fi rst dry-weather win in ’93. John

Kocinski had been dropped by Suzuki’s 250cc team earlier in the

season, and he was snapped up by Cagiva.

“Kocinski turned that team on its head,” Dennis Noyes re-

lates. “He came in after he was fi red and turned them around.”

they’d collected from the session.”

Despite the bike’s early reign at La-

guna (it won the fi rst four GPs), it was the

riders who made the difference. “Lawson

and Rainey dominated at the track,” Noy-

es recounts. “It was a lot more dangerous

back then, and the Europeans all turned up and were horrifi ed.”

The sixth-gear Turn 1 kink was bordered by a hillside, while Turn

6 had absolutely no runoff. The Corkscrew was still completely

blind, and fi nding the fast way down required ample practice, giv-

ing the U.S. riders an advantage. Inspired by their home crowds,

and aboard the most agile bike of the time, the American legends

were not to be denied.

Cagiva’s improvement notwithstand-

ing, the victory was down to Kocinski, who

fl ogged the C593 around Laguna like a man possessed, eager

to prove his talent and to exact revenge for a perceived slight

at the track during the previous Grand Prix there two years ear-

lier (John had crashed out of the ’91 250cc race and—infuriated

afterward—was arrested for reckless driving). Kocinski exorcised

many demons in his racing career, and September 12, 1993, at

Laguna was a prime example.

YAMAHA YZR500

CAGIVA GP500

1988: Eddie Lawson – YZR500 OW98

1989: Wayne Rainey – YZR500 OWA8

1990: Wayne Rainey – YZR500 OWC1

1991: Wayne Rainey – YZR500 OWC1

1994: Luca Cadalora – YZR500 OWF9

1993: John Kocinski – GP500 C593

GO

LD

& G

OO

SE

GO

LD

& G

OO

SE

WAYNE RAINEY

JOHN KOCINSKI


the bike—it just works,” he says.

How different the following year’s race

would be. Having been criticized for leading

the standings without winning races, Hayden was under pressure, and

the bike wasn’t cooperating at the track where his only win had come.

“Whatever we did that weekend, nothing really worked,” he explains.

“I really don’t even know how I won the race. It was one of the hardest

races. I was fi ghting the bike, but I just dug deep and suffered.”

69

Honda’s RC211V dominated and defi ned the 990cc era of

MotoGP. From ’02 through ’06, the bike won forty-eight of

the eighty-two Grand Prix rounds contested, often sweeping the

podium along the way. The bike’s genius was its engine, HRC

shrewdly exploiting the regulations allowing fi ve-cylinder ma-

chines to weigh the same as fours.

The three-forward-two-aft layout gave the bike an exception-

ally narrow waist and the rider great freedom of movement. The

75.5º V angle offered excellent primary balance, a compact pack-

age allowing mass centralization and room to route a straight inlet

tract (a problem with narrower angles).

The motor was almost turbine-like. “It was good off the bottom,

good on top,” Nicky Hayden says of the bike he rode from his ’03

rookie season to his ’06 championship year. “It just worked, for any

rider, any style.” If anything, the motorcycle on which Hayden scored

his debut Grand Prix win at Mazda Race-

way Laguna Seca in ’05 was the best of

the bunch. “The bike was just perfect,”

he recalls. “If I had to list where I had the

perfect bike for a perfect track, it just worked around there.”

Because the ’05 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix was the MotoGP

platform’s debut at the track, Hayden also had the advantage of

local knowledge, as he used gearing data from his AMA days. “It

was one of them special weekends where you don’t really touch

Honda’s dominance of the 990cc era was expected to con-

tinue into ’07 with the introduction of the 800cc platform HRC

had backed. Those expectations were destroyed in the fi rst race

at Qatar, where Ducati’s fi rst 800cc version of the Desmosedici

blasted past other bikes on the straight, its 90º V4 engine pump-

ing out at least 15 more horsepower than its rivals. Whereas the

Japanese had presumed that the new platform would be about

250-style agility, Ducati engineering genius Filippo Preziosi un-

derstood that horsepower would be king.

Surprisingly, changes between the 990cc GP6 and the new GP7

were minimal, the bikes using the same front end and most of the

rear. The motorcycle featured a revised chassis to house the smaller

engine, but the biggest change was the switch from a tractable “big

bang” fi ring order to a standard “screamer” setup, which produced

more power but required signifi cant electronic

control, despite the fact that the engine was slight-

ly less over-square in order to retain some torque.

When the MotoGP circus alighted in California, Valentino Ros-

si hoped to claw back some of the points he’d lost at horsepower

tracks like Qatar, Shanghai, Istanbul, and Barcelona. Nobody be-

lieved the Ducati would work around Laguna’s tight layout, but

Casey Stoner would prove them wrong, being fastest in every

session and winning the race. “For me, the biggest thing was that

everybody was saying that the Ducati was only winning because

of its speed,” Stoner says. “It was

a nice feeling to win on that circuit,

where you can only get into fi fth gear.”

If anything, Stoner’s victory came despite the Ducati, rather

than because of it. “Our 2007 bike had no acceleration, and La-

guna’s an acceleration track,” the Australian explains. “You need

to be on the ball, because it’s just corner after corner after cor-

ner—there’s no rest, no breaks. It’s more about you being abso-

lutely focused, lap after lap.”

DUCATI DESMOSEDICI

2007: Casey Stoner – Desmosedici GP7

HONDA RC211V

2005: Nicky Hayden – RC211V “Original”

2006: Nicky Hayden – RC211V “Brno bike”N

OR

TH

CO

TT

CO

UR

TE

SY

DU

CA

TI

NICKY HAYDEN

CASEY STONER


70

“The fastest bike in a circle” is how Colin Edwards described

the 800cc YZR-M1 when it was introduced in ’07, but it

was being beaten on the straights. Yamaha’s 800 was amazingly

similar to its inline-four 990cc predecessor, both visually and

technically, as project leader Masao Furusawa’s focus was on

improving agility. After the humiliation of ’07, including Valentino

Rossi’s veiled threats of retirement, the ’08 M1 had more horse-

power, gained mainly through reduced internal friction.

Rossi had demanded Bridgestones, necessitating major

setup changes. To capitalize on the outstanding grip of the front

tire, crew chief Jerry Burgess moved the center of gravity back to

improve rear traction.

Laguna was one of the few tracks where The Doctor was still

winless, and he arrived having suffered three

straight defeats to Casey Stoner; he and Bur-

gess knew they had to stop the Australian. “It

was clearly a tactical race,” Burgess explains. “After qualifying, Wayne

Rainey and I discussed that Casey’s mindset was to be in the lead, in

control. What Casey hadn’t dealt with was the possibility of someone

being in front of him, so that was my message to Valentino.”

Burgess won’t reveal the setup changes made for the morn-

ing warm-up, saying only that they wanted enough acceleration

down the front straight that Rossi could keep ahead entering

Turn 2. Assuming he did that, the theory went, he could just

From the moment MotoGP switched to 800cc in ’07, HRC has

been a mere shadow of its former self, and Honda has argu-

ably brought it upon itself; as other manufacturers merely adapt-

ed their 990s, shrinking the engines and packaging things more

compactly, Honda introduced a brand-new machine.

Where the RC211V was a V5, its successor is a V4, housed in

a smaller chassis. When ’06 world champ Nicky Hayden saw the

motorcycle with which he was to defend his title, his reaction was

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The bike was tiny, with a fairing

so minimal that the Repsol graphics had to be extended onto the

frame spars in order to fi t.

By last season, the bike had grown closer to accepted norms.

The fairing was broader and longer and the tail section larger,

providing better aerodynamics but sacrifi cing some agility. The

machine had gained pneumatic valves in ’08,

despite Dani Pedrosa’s protests that they

made throttle response too aggressive.

One characteristic remained, however: the RC212V’s launch

control was superlative, providing an advantage on starts. That

wasn’t all down to the bike, of course. “When you check the data,

Dani’s clutch control and throttle is absolutely spot-on,” Pedrosa

crew chief Mike Leitner says. “It’s perfect.”

Pedrosa’s trademark rocket getaway saw him grab the hole-

shot at Laguna, and as is often the case when the Spaniard starts

block Stoner in the tighter sections!

Vale had fi nished third in ’05 after trail-

ing Nicky Hayden and Edwards through the Corkscrew. “He got

a fi rst-class education by following two Laguna Seca experts

around,” Dennis Noyes says. Vale used that knowledge in ’08—

and added his own fl air, passing Stoner through the dirt in the

famous turn and blocking devastatingly to notch the win.

Despite his role in creating one of recent history’s greatest

races, Burgess is no fan of Laguna, saying, “It’s a nasty little race-

track with low gearing and high rpm, and no rest at all.”

in front, he was never seriously challenged.

“Dani made a big step in his riding during that

race,” Leitner says. “He understood very well that he had to man-

age the bike in the beginning and maintain his rhythm.”

Pedrosa may have been channeling Kocinski by exorcising

a ghost from the previous year’s U.S. Grand Prix, where he’d

shown up badly hurt from a Sachsenring crash and withdrawn

after just one practice session. Says Leitner, “I think it was a very

emotional ride from Dani, to go to Laguna and to do it.” X

YAMAHA YZR-M1

HONDA RC212V

2009: Dani Pedrosa – RC212V

2008: Valentino Rossi – YZR-M1

NO

RT

HC

OT

TN

OR

TH

CO

TT

VALENTINO ROSSI

DANI PEDROSA


[email protected]!100"�1+&QI>>=�!100"�1+2&0,,,

��;SHHG�+HOPHW��$OO�ULJKWV�UHVHUYHG�


OEM PARTS ONLINEFind the right part with

our easy to use interface.

BOOTS

PANTS

MESH JACKETS

RACE SUITS

HELMETS

PROTECTION

Supervent Mesh Jacket

2010 Teknic Chicane 1-Piece Suit

Shift VertexRace Suit

Hi-Flow 2 Mesh Jacket

Retail $549.99

TCX Air Tech Gore-Tex®

BootsRetail $249.99

Shift Fuel StreetShoes

SIDI Doha Boots

Alpinestars S-MX 1

Riding Shoes

Alpinestars S-MX Plus

Racing BootsSIDI Fusion

Boots

Retail $329.99

$29999

Tirade Bluetooth • Bluetooth with FM radio.• Built-in, hidden mic with noise cancellation.• Take or make a cell phone call via your Bluetooth compatible phone.• Listen to MP3 music & GPS instructions via Bluetooth capable devices. RF-1100 Firestrike

Retail $499.99

$44999 X-12 Glory 2

Retail $769.99

$69999 EXO-400 Skull Bucket $15999

EXO-700 Hollywood $22999

Vortex Grind $16999 RSR2 Indy

Retail $599.99

$53999 CL-16 Hellion

Retail $139.99

$12999 RX-Q Spencer

Retail $679.99

$60999 Airframe Street Angel Etched Variant$39000

Etched Red(3 more colors)

Also available in 4 other colors


Contra Jacket - Sacri⇒ ce

$25000

T-Stunt Air Jacket Suzuki Replica Mesh Jacket

Retail$239.99

$21999


Also available in Red

Torque Jeans

$9999

Also available in Light Indigo

HRX Series 2 Pants

Retail $239.99

$21599

Sport 2.0 Perforated Pants

$119999 $49999

Track Protection Vest

$18999

Back

Field Armor Vest

$10000

Field Armor Stryker Back Guard

$11000

Speed Freak

$34999 $20000

Black

$33000

NEW!

Retail$129.99

$7977

Retail$159.99

$14999 $19999

$9999

$22499

$17000

$16999

Back

3 more colors

2 more colors

1 more color

1 more color

1 more color

4 more colors

2 more colors

2 more colors

FOR A FREECATALOGGO ONLINE

MOTOSPORT.COM

SM-XXL

XS-XXL SX-XXL XS-3XL XS-XXL

XS-3XLXS-XXLXS-XXLXS-3XLXS-XXL

XS-XXL

MD-3XL 42-52

SM-3XL

MD-3XL

SM-XL

add $10 for 2X or 3X

MD-XL 40-52

Sizes 28-40Sizes SM-2X

Retail $279.99

$25199

Sizes SM-2XL

40-4837-48

8-13

8-121/2

40-48

6-13


CRG Roll-A-Click Brake and Clutch

Lever Set

520 Gold X-Ring Chain & Sprocket Kits

TOOLS

DRIVE

CONTROLS

BRAKES

EXHAUST

ELECTRONICS

BODY

ENGINE

We also carry Akrapovic, KR Tuned, Leo Vince, M4, Two Brothers, and Yoshimura. Go online for full selection.

High Performance

Halogen Bulbs

Twenty20 VHoldr™ContourHDCamcorderRetail $299.99

DataTool Digital Gear Indicator

Retail $92.99

black

gold(also available in black)

COMBO PRICECLUTCH & BRAKE LEVER SET

$22499Retail $250.00

silver

gold

Vortex Adjustable Complete Rear Set

available in 5 colors

Rear StandRetail $99.99

PC Racing Flo Oil Filters

Z-FI Fuel InjectorController Kit

PowerCommander V

Retail $359.99

Sport Series Rotors

Barrier BarsDouble Bubble Windscreen

Stainless Brake Line Kits

ON ALL JARDINE EXHAUST

Speedo TunerPlug & Play

Available for most bikes.

Vortex Frame Slider KitRetail $78.97

CondorPit-Stop/

Trailer StopRetail $249.99

(Cleanable & Reuseable) Retail$399.99

Save 25%

front$15999

rear$7699

$8999

$4999

Retail $219.98 $18999

Retail $418.99

$37999$4999

$9999$7999

$24999$2899

Starting At$14999

Retail $89.99

$7999

$20999

Gas CapsRetail $106.90

$8999

$6699

$7999$21999

$30999$35999

$8999

Retail $99.99

SET

FIND IT ALL ONLINE ATMOTOSPORT.COM

CALL 1-866-677-7338M–F 7–7 • Sat 7–4 (PST)

*Orders over $99 within the lower 48 – $8 ⇑ at fee shipping on orders under $99. Prices subject to change. Ground ship-ping only on chemicals & some extremely oversized items.

(except Mississippi)• Best Loyalty Program • Large Selection In Stock • No Sales Tax • Easy Returns

Rear Brake LineRetail $54.50

Dual Front Brake LineRetail $98.00

Te⇑ on inner tube, steel braided and protective PVC coating

Bridgestone BT-016 $431.98 $23999

Bridgestone BT-023 $426.99 $24999

Continental Motion $205.98 $15599

Dunlop Q2 $448.74 $27699

Dunlop Roadsmart $430.96 $25099

Michelin Pilot Power 2CT $367.14 $22999

Michelin Pilot Road 2 $375.65 $27999

Michelin Power Pure $420.98 $26999

FRONT & REAR COMBOSSize: 120/70R17 & 180/55R17 RETAIL SALE PRICE

SAVEUP TO

46%

call or visit motosport.com for full selection

Blindsight Bar End Mirrors 2”

AD CODE: MPE201007

MODELS YEAR RETAIL OUR PRICE

HONDACBR600RR 07-10 $399.99 $35999

CBR1000RR 08-10 $299.99 $27999

KAWASAKINinja250 09-10 $299.99 $27999

ZX6R 09-10 $299.99 $27999

ZX10R 08-10 $299.99 $27999

SUZUKIGSXR600 06-07 $399.99 $35999

GSXR600/750 08-09 $299.99 $27999

GSXR750 06-07 $399.99 $35999

GSXR1000 09 $399.99 $35999

YAMAHAR6 06-10 $299.99 $27999

MGP Growler ExhaustGP-1 Slip-On Exhaust

MODELS YEAR RETAIL

BUELLXB 02-09 $407 $30499

KAWASAKINinja 650R 06-10 $282 $21099

Versys 08-10 $282 $21099

ZX6R 09-10 $131 $9799

ZX10R 08-09 $145 $10799

SUZUKIGSXR600/750 06-07 $282 $21099

GSXR600/750 08-09 $131 $9799

GSXR1000 07-09 $291 $21799

Hayabusa 08-09 $416 $31199

YAMAHAR6 06-10 $114 $8499

OUR PRICE

RT-1 Dual OutletSlip-On Exhaust

MODELS YEAR RETAIL

HONDACBR600RR 05-06 $667 $49999

CBR600RR 07-10 $678 $50799

CBR1000RR 04-07 $667 $49999

KAWASAKIZX6R/6RR* 05-06 $719 $53899

ZX6R* 07-08 $699 $52399

TRIUMPHDaytona 675* 06-10 $709 $53099

OUR PRICE

*Includes Supersport Fender KitGSXR600/750 R6Ninja 650R GSXR1000


74

BY CHRIS JONNUM

PHOTOS COURTESY ALPINESTARS

With its Electronic Airbag Technology, Alpinestars puts a

modern spin on an old concept to improve rider safety


76

When you think about it, airbag and technology almost shouldn’t be

combined into one term. After all, using what is essentially a balloon to

cushion the body from impacts isn’t exactly revolutionary. It is effective,

however—air cushions enable stuntmen to avoid injury when falling from

tall buildings, and the National Highway Traffi c Safety Board estimates

that 18,000 drivers are alive today thanks to automobile airbags.

The tricky bit comes in fi tting a defl ated airbag on a motorcycle

rider, in detecting when that rider is about to crash, and in infl ating the

bag before impact—and the equipment that enables that to happen

successfully is defi nitely high-tech. Alpinestars is one company that

has been working hard in this area (Dainese is another), and they re-

cently unveiled their version at their U.S. offi ce in Torrance, California.

Alpinestars’ project started with the new millennium, and by the

2003 German Grand Prix, then-Suzuki-mounted John Hopkins was

wearing data acquisition equipment. Other MotoGP riders who’ve

been involved since include Jeremy McWilliams and Casey Stoner,

and it’s currently worn (not always in an armed state) by Mika Kallio,

Ben Spies, and Dani Pedrosa.

In the past, some companies built relatively crude motorcycle-

airbag prototypes that were triggered via a tether attached to the

bike, but this is impractical, particularly for racing. The current sys-

tem’s bags are deployed electronically.

The new, compact system involves two relatively small bags that are

contained inside the leathers and cover the rider’s shoulders and col-

larbones (a statistically high-injury area). Evolution to more or larger bags

would be straightforward, but in its current form, a racer can continue

in the unlikely event of an accidental deployment. The leathers contain

seven sensors at various points around the body, and the back hump

houses the rest of the system, including the batteries, a GPS, the pro-

cessor, and the nitrogen canisters that are used for infl ation (two canis-

ters are provided—following an initial crash, the system can reset itself

and remain functional in a second accident). The system adds a total of

500 grams to the weight of the otherwise standard Alpinestars suit.

Notwithstanding its impressive hardware, however, the system

earns its technological merit badge with its software. Engineers in-

vested countless hours acquiring data on exactly how the body re-

acts in an impending crash, and this information was eventually used

to create highly complex algorithms so that the system’s sensors

can instantaneously predict falls and deploy the airbags. (Electronic

technology has improved dramatically since the project was started,

enabling improvements in the system; Alpinestars collaborated with

the UK’s Cosworth Electronics.)

Before the system can be armed, it must confi rm that the rider is on

the bike, the bike’s engine is running, and that the bike is moving. Sen-

sors are able to do all of this; the GPS signal is not always guaranteed,

and its role is more to help with post-race analysis of data. Next, a clas-

sifi er begins looking for indicators of a crash, making a search every two

milliseconds. Exactly what these indicators are is proprietary information,

but they amount to a mathematical defi nition of a crash. Despite what

can seem like an impossible assignment (many riders know the sensation

of being so close to a crash it seemed inevitable, only to miraculously pull

off a save), Colin Ballantyne, Alpinestars’ lead engineer on the project,

insists that the system knows an impending fall when it sees it.

Nonetheless, the fi nding must be confi rmed before action is

taken, as the system features no fewer than six effective safety bar-

riers. When all the rechecking is done and the system is satisfi ed, a

post-classifi er gives the approval to fi re, and one of the canisters in-

fl ates the bags. All the data processing happens in only about eight

milliseconds, and the trigger-to-full-infl ation steps take .05 seconds.

Defl ation happens after fi ve seconds, though the bags aren’t fully

empty until about twenty-fi ve seconds have passed.

Though it’s still in prototype form, after a decade of development,

the Alpinestars’ Electronic Airbag Technology is almost ready for the

market. The track version is expected to launch around the middle of

next year, and retail price should be approximately $2,500 higher than a

standard suit. A road version could be ready in a couple of years. X

Jeremy McWilliams is one of the riders

who helped Alpinestars acquire data early on.

Alpinestars engineer Colin Ballantyne test-

deploys the airbag system on Mika Kallio..

The data-acquisition

equipment used in the

system’s development.


78

HERITAGE

America’s fi rst Grand Prix

champion, Kenny Roberts, in

action during the 1983 season.


79

HHERITAGE

This season’s pairing of Texans Colin

Edwards and Ben Spies on the Monster

Energy Yamaha Tech 3 team is a news-

worthy turn of events, but it’s certainly

not the fi rst time the premier Grand Prix class has

seen an all-American squad. Perhaps the most ex-

treme example came just three years ago, when

Kenny Roberts fi elded sons Kenny Jr. and Kurtis

for a single race on his ill-fated KR212s, at the ’07

Mugello Grand Prix (Kurtis rode just three laps on

his brother’s backup bike). In addition, Junior and

John Hopkins rode for Suzuki from ’03 to ’05, and

Roberts Sr. fi elded a longer-lived star-spangled ef-

fort, with Californians Randy Mamola and Mike

Baldwin aboard Lucky Strike-liveried Yamaha

YZR500s, in ’86 (see “Mamola” in this issue).

The class’ original team with an all-American

roster, however, raced in 1983. Once again, Roberts

was involved—this time as a racer, matched with

fellow Californian Eddie Lawson on the factory

Marlboro Yamaha Grand Prix effort. The parallels

between that outfi t and this year’s “Tex 3” team are

many. Like Spies, Lawson came into Grand Prix

racing with mainly superbike experience. Edwards,

meanwhile, is the veteran with the opportunity

to pass on his knowledge, much like Roberts did

twenty-seven years ago.

Like Edwards and Spies, Roberts and Lawson

came from the same state and shared a strong bond.

In fact, Roberts was even willing to put his job on

the line for Lawson. “I told Yamaha if they didn’t

bring Eddie over, then I wasn’t going to race,”

Roberts explains. “They didn’t want to hire him

because they had me and didn’t feel the need to go

to the expense of bringing Eddie over, but I knew

’83 was going to be my fi nal year, and I thought

Eddie had the talent to be world champion.”

Roberts thinks Spies has a lot in common with

Lawson, as both came into Grand Prix racing under

nearly ideal circumstances. “I brought Eddie over

and tried to make his transition to Grand Prix as

painless as possible,” he recalls. “The same thing

is happening with Spies. He’s coming in, obviously

with a lot of speed and talent, and he’ll be able to

bounce ideas off of Edwards and get the benefi t of

Colin’s experience. He’s also on a solid team, and

I think after a relatively short adjustment period,

Spies will make an impact in the series.”

The other similarity Roberts sees is Spies’ fo-

cus and commitment to training. “He’s very much

like Eddie in that regard,” Roberts says. “He seems

to be focused on what he’s doing, and as a result,

he’s not intimidated by going against the top riders

in the world.”

The addition of Lawson to the series brought

on a golden age of Grand Prix racing for American

riders, and that ’83 season was arguably the ze-

nith of U.S. domination. Freddie Spencer won the

world title by just two points over Roberts, with

Mamola and Lawson third and fourth, respectively.

It marked the fi rst sweep of the top four positions

in the premier class by a single country since 1963,

when Mike Hailwood led a fi ve-rider British con-

tingent that ruled the series.

Roberts isn’t sure that the U.S. can ever get

back to that kind of prominence in MotoGP, but

he thinks the next few years may provide the best

shot. “The Europeans saw what we were doing

with producing great riders in the 1970s and ’80s,

and they copied it and perfected it,” he claims.

“We still have the talent in America; it’s just with

the way the series is now, they really don’t get

seen. Even if Spies comes through and does well,

which I think he will, I’m not sure that will create

another mad rush to hire American riders like there

was in the 1980s. [Americans] just aren’t getting

the exposure they need to be in the minds of the

people who hire the talent.”

Roberts is rooting for the Americans in Mo-

toGP, as he’d like nothing better than to see a re-

vival of the domination the U.S. enjoyed twenty-

seven years ago. Whether or not that ever happens,

one thing’s for sure: he’s certainly done his part for

America’s success in Grand Prix racing.

Eddie Lawson (pictured

here in 1986) was teamed

with Roberts during his

rookie GP season.

With Colin Edwards and Ben Spies now teamed

together at Monster Yamaha Tech 3, we look back

at the original all-American Grand Prix squad

BY LARRY LAWRENCE

PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE


WH

EE

LE

R

BR

OW

N

WIL

LIA

MS

The Road Racer X Audiovisual Review

In any country outside of France,

fans of endurance racing occupy

a niche among motorcycle enthu-

siasts, but what they lack in size

they more than make up for in en-

thusiasm—hence our inclusion of

this book produced by David Rey-

gondeau, the FIM World Endurance

Championship’s preeminent photog-

rapher. This overview of last year’s

six-race series includes interviews

with the managers of the champion-

ship-winning teams, profi les of the

Joey Dunlop DVD (Duke)

American ears will have a hard time with the idea that “bikies” can

be as intimidating as “bikers,” but it doesn’t take many pages of

Arthur Veno’s book on Australian outlaw motorcycle culture before

the unfamiliar word starts to shed its cute connotation. Billed as

“the defi nitive account of bikie culture in Australia,” Veno’s book

covers the evolution of outlaw bike clubs and delves into specif-

ics of rules, rituals, badges, violence, hierarchy, and more. There’s

interesting reading about members’ relationships with women—

wives, girlfriends, and otherwise—and in sections that examine

(and often debunk) commonly held views about how racism and

politics manifest in bikie culture. The most interesting parts are

the interview excerpts that appear every few pages, and the book

ROGER LEE HAYDEN

Team Pedercini Kawasaki

“OMG” Usher

“Got to Get It” Topic

“Rude Boy” Rihanna

“Not Afraid” Eminem

“The Climb” Miley Cyrus

LAUREL C. ALLEN

Road Racer X

“Peking Spring” Mission of Burma

“Someday I Will Treat You Good”

Sparklehorse

“North by North” The Bats

“(I Was Born In A) Laundromat”

Camper Van Beethoven

“Plateau” Meat Puppets

ANDREW WHEELER

AutomotoPhoto

“Conscience Killer”

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

“Tha” Aphex Twin

“Vuja De” The Orb

“Vamp” Trentemøller

“Advanced Night Repair”

The Pinker Tones

80

series’ top squads, plus thorough assessments of every round. Said

reviews comprise synopses and results, as well as photos and cap-

tions, and because the images are large and author Valerie Moreno’s

text is provided in both English and French, they’re pretty lengthy—

around fi fteen pages each. Really, though, what makes the 175-page

book are Reygondeau’s photos. Because of its quirky nature, endur-

ance racing affords opportunities for unique photography, including

subjects like headlight-equipped bikes racing at night, racers battling

in the yellow light of sunset and sunrise, dramatic pit stops, examples

of the team component in action, Le Mans starts, and partying fans.

(It also must be said that because of their length, races feature many

crashes.) The book costs 45 euros (about $56) plus shipping, and can

be had by emailing [email protected]. CJ

would be better served if Veno spent

more time letting the bikies speak for

themselves. Instead, he devotes a lot of

words to an apparent effort to establish

himself as a character on par with the

men he interviews—a theme that keeps

up throughout. A strong edit that took

the focus off Veno would’ve made this

a much better book, but for anyone in-

terested in biker/bikie culture, $17.95

will still pack a punch. Available through

www.amazon.com. LCA

What the Industry is Listening To

PLAYLIST

The Isle of Man TT has a hundred-year-

plus history, but it’s doubtful that any-

one will ever eclipse the mark left by

Joey Dunlop. This DVD pays homage

to “yer maun’s” legacy, with footage

from most of his Tourist Trophy ac-

complishments. (Unfortunately, there’s

no known video of Joey’s original vic-

tory at the 1977 Jubilee TT, but just

about everything else—from his sec-

ond win, three years later at the Clas-

sic TT, through his three wins at 48 in

2000—is included.) Jewels include Dunlop-narrated point-of-view

footage from before the days of mini cameras, divers fi shing mo-

torcycles out of the Irish Sea following a trawler shipwreck, and

Joey sneaking a smoke after another win. The various narrators’

British accents add charm, but ironically, soft-spoken Dunlop’s

Irish brogue can be nearly unintelligible to American ears. Such

a project was bound to stretch on, and at 207 minutes, it’s quite

extensive. Still, it’s hard to imagine what could’ve been trimmed.

Joey’s gone now, but this fi lm reminds us that, with twenty-six

victories in twenty-fi ve years and 100 races on the island, the Ul-

sterman will always be King of the Mountain. Available for $29.95

at www.dukevideousa.com. CJ

Endurance 2009: FIM World Championship Book (Editions Reygondeau)

The Brotherhoods: Inside the Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs Book (Allen & Unwin)


Maxima Racing Oils 619.449.5000 www.MaximaUSA.com

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY RECYCLING YOUR USED MOTOR OIL.

MAXUM4 EXTRA

RACING GRADE 4-CYCLE / TRIPLE ESTER FORMULA / 100% SYNTHETIC

MAXIMA RACING OILS ARE USED AND ENDORSED BY

MAXUM4 PREMIUMPERFORMANCE 4-CYCLE

PETROLEUM BASED

MAXUM4 SYN BLENDPERFORMANCE 4-CYCLE

SYNTHETIC BLEND

MAXUM4 530RRFULL RACE GRADE 4-CYCLE

TRIPLE ESTER FORMULA100% SYNTHETIC

MAXIMA, THE LEADER IN PERFORMANCE AND PROTECTION!


There are two full-time riders on the

World Supersport grid with AMA Pro

backgrounds, and both are members

of the same team—Triumph’s ParkinGo/BE1-

sponsored squad. Both are also

nice guys with a lot of talent

and high aspirations, but that’s

about where the similarities

end, as we were reminded

while compiling this edi-

tion of 2 Tribes.

82

CHAZDAVIES

THRUXTON

JASONDiSALVO

BANTAM CLUB

BEST THING ABOUT HOME?

Chaz Davies: Three things, really:

family, Mom’s cooking, and we’ve got

the kart track there, so there’s always

something to do.

Jason DiSalvo: Probably seeing my

puppies.

YOUR COMPUTER’S DESKTOP?

CD: A computer-created, nice wooden

fl oor with lighting at the top.

JD: A picture of me ice-riding.

FAVORITE FOOD?

CD: Good Italian.

JD: Anything that my wife cooks.

FAVORITE TRACK?

CD: Laguna. It has character, and I

think part of it is whenever I fi rst started

watching Superbikes, you just get

everybody talking about the Corkscrew.

I always wanted to ride at Laguna, and

now that I do, I just get a good feeling

when I go there.

JD: Road Atlanta. I liked it better with

the old Turn 12, but it’s still so fast and

undulating, and the elevation [change] is

cool. It’s defi nitely a rider’s track.

EVER BEEN IN TROUBLE WITH THE

LAW?

CD: No, just speeding tickets.

JD: No, nothing serious outside of

speeding tickets. We’re quite good family

friends with a couple of state troopers, so

that helps.

BEST GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED?

CD: My Garmin bicycle GPS, and I got

a full data system for my minibike off my

mom and dad for my 21st—a full data log-

ger with GPS and lap timing. I love any

gadgets.

JD: My wedding ring, because my wife

bought it for me. It looks like it’s tungsten

and carbon fi ber, but it’s a $35 special.

I told her to get the cheapest thing she

could fi nd, since it’s the meaning behind

it that matters, but it really is an awesome

ring as well.

TALENT YOU WISH YOU HAD?

CD: To be better at musical instru-

ments—drums. I get on okay at Rock

Band, but that’s about as good as it gets.

JD: I kind of wish I was a little bit more

artistic.

SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR

HOMETOWN?

CD: Apparently there are seven famous

tapestries in the world, and they man-

aged to fi nd four. It just happened that

W

HE

ELE

R/B

RO

WN

W

HE

ELE

R/B

RO

WN


one was hanging in a church in Prest-

eigne [in Wales] and it’s hundreds of

years old. It’s priceless.

JD: In Stafford, there’s the best-in-the-

world prime rib steakhouse. People

come from hundreds of miles away just

to eat there. It’s called the Red Oiser.

FAVORITE DRINK?

CD: Monster.

JD: I’ve grown pretty fond of European

coffee. My dad has an espresso machine

I never used to use, but lately I’ve been

fi ring it up every time I come home.

LAST BOOK YOU READ?

CD: Probably Tour de Force, a book on

the Tour de France. That was the second

time I read it.

JD: I usually read a lot of science-

fiction/fantasy, but I started reading

Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy. I

just finished the second one, and it’s

phenomenal.

FAVORITE STORE?

CD: Apple Store.

JD: Probably GameStop.

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM?

CD: I don’t really have one. There’s a

few cycling teams I like, but I don’t follow

football or sports.

JD: Buffalo Sabres, the professional

hockey team.

LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED

TWICE?

CD: I watched Saving Private Ryan again

the other day.

JD: The Boondock Saints 2.

YOUR HERO?

CD: Lance Armstrong.

JD: Freddie Spencer. Winning both

the 250 and 500 championships in the

same year is unbelievable to this day.

FAVORITE WAY TO TRAIN?

CD: Probably relaxed riding at

home—Supermoto or motocross.

Sometimes I go out with a purpose,

but there’s also days when I go out

just to mess around and I don’t really

care what my lap times are.

JD: I would’ve said cycling if you’d

asked four months ago, but now I’m

going to have to go with running. I

didn’t have a bicycle the fi rst three

months of this season, so I had to

resort to running. The more I did it,

the more I enjoyed it.

83

YOUR BEST TROPHY?

CD: The Daytona one’s pretty special.

JD: From the 600 Supersport race at

Daytona in ’04. The trophy is nice, but there

was a nice bonus tied to that one too!

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WORLD?

CD: Home.

JD: Wherever I’m currently calling home.

CRAPPIEST CAR YOU’VE OWNED?

CD: The fi rst car. It was a Mercedes A-

Class, and it’s got the Mercedes name, but

whatever’s inside it is fairly Chinese-quality.

The electronics are terrible on it. It’s just

sitting there and the windows are down

because they won’t go back up now.

JD: The car we currently own in Europe.

It’s a Citroen Picasso.

WORST PLACE IN THE WORLD?

CD: Motegi. I got bad food poisoning there,

so all I have is bad memories of Motegi.

JD: Economy class on an airplane during

the fourteenth hour of a fi fteen-hour fl ight.

EVER BEEN IN A FIGHT?

CD: No. I came close in school but never

actually got down to it.

JD: Not since middle school.

WHICH ACTOR WOULD PLAY YOU

IN A MOVIE?

CD: I’ve been told I look like Owen Wil-

son a little bit, so I’ll say him.

JD: Tom Cruise.

EVER HAD A REAL JOB?

CD: No, but I worked on the kart track a

little bit.

JD: No, not yet!

WORDS TO LIVE BY?

CD: You get out of life what you put into it.

JD: Keep moving forward.

CHAZ DAVIES

JASON DiSALVO

NO

RTH

CO

TT

WH

EE

LE

R/B

RO

WN


PETERCLIFFORD

Paddock Pundit

By Laurel C. Allen

Peter Clifford cofounded the World Championship Motorsports (WCM)

team with Bob MacLean in 1992. That effort fi elded riders including Luca

Cadalora, Troy Corser, John Hopkins, Noriyuki Haga, and Garry McCoy

and evolved into the Grand Prix-winning Red Bull Yamaha WCM team

in ’97. Clifford’s relationship with Red Bull has continued to this day; he

currently serves as press offi cer for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.

RRX: What are your thoughts on the proposed 2012 liter-bike rule?

Peter Clifford: I think the return to 1000cc is good—or rather, the

change to 800cc made no sense. That was a knee-jerk reaction to Dai-

jiro Kato’s tragic crash, but even for that reason it never made sense.

Was Kato’s crash really caused by too much horsepower? “Cubes” are

the most cost-effective way of making horsepower. If we banned the

electronics, then tire performance and rider skill would restrict its levels

and the liter bikes would be great. Unfortunately, the manufacturers

have no intention of allowing the banning of the electronics. They have

too much invested in it.

WCM was once rapped on the knuckles for using parts derived

from an R1. Is it strange to see organizers actually implementing

those same parts now as a platform?

For the 2003 season, WCM was forced to make its own MotoGP

bike—there simply were no factory bikes available. A race team mak-

ing its own bike is madness, but it was either that or stay home. The

fact that we started the year with an engine that still included a very

few parts of an R1 engine was just a function of the time we had to do

the build…. [Not being allowed to race] had nothing to do with the

sport or the other GP teams, who gave us great support. It was just

politics and money.

The situation has not changed that much. There are even fewer fac-

tory bikes available now, and fi nally it has dawned [on organizers] that

a modifi cation of the regulations to allow the use of production engines

might be a good idea. The only thing that’s changed is that the president

of the FIM is now Vito Ippolito, whereas back when we had trouble the

president was Francesco Zerbi. It remains to be seen if the contract the

World Superbike promoters signed with Zerbi holds up in the same way

under Ippolito, who may wish to see it interpreted differently.

Do you think that platform would be a more tenable model for a

private team than leasing a factory 800?

The most important difference is not the capacity, as the factories will

abandon their gentleman’s agreement and build liter bikes themselves;

the important thing is that if you build your own bike, you own it and

can run it for a number of seasons. With the lease deal, you have nothing

at the end of the year.

A production-engine rule would allow a great many more teams to

get involved in the MotoGP class. In theory, at least, you could have

completely full grids, as there are currently in the Moto2 class—al-

though there’s a very signifi cant difference, in that with a non-factory

engine, you’re not going to be racing for a top-six fi nish. And it will

still not be cheap. MotoGP teams sell their sponsors on the idea that

they’re racing factory bikes so that if the gods favor them with rather

special circumstances—Donington 2009 [a wet race in which satellite

riders Colin Edwards and Randy de Puniet fi nished second and third,

respectively]—they can get on the podium. With a non-factory bike,

that’s going to be a harder sell.

Can satellite teams ever be competitive with the factories?

A private team is never going to be competitive with the factories. The

factories make the rules through the MSMA, and they will make sure no

one challenges their superiority. The non-factory teams are there simply

as support players: the chorus that fi lls the stage, never to take the lime-

light. Keeping them in this background position is fi rstly ensured by the

factories’ domination of the electronics, but even if that’s overcome,

they have the budgets to ensure that no one else comes close either

technically or in the rider market.

Unfortunately, the factory budgets are doubly important because

they so devalue the MotoGP sponsorship market that no one else is

able to raise real-world fi nance to mount a signifi cant effort. When the

factories give away their own team-naming rights for a few hundred

thousand dollars, why should any sponsor stump up the many millions

that it would cost to seriously challenge them with an independent ef-

fort? The factories do have limitations and vulnerabilities, but it takes a

very special, sustained effort to exploit them.

What are your plans for the future?

Hopefully, the Rookies Cup will continue for many years. Apart from

that, I’d be very interested to be involved in almost any aspect of Grand

Prix racing. Despite the fact that the regulations are unfortunately be-

coming more and more restrictive, there’s a lot of engineering to be

done. In some respects, the more restrictive the regulations, the greater

the technical challenge to circumvent those restrictions, so stepping up

to that would be a very welcome proposition. X

84

Peter Clifford with then-WCM rider Garry McCoy in 2000.

CO

UR

TE

SY

CL

IFF

OR

D


DO NOT ATTEMPT. PROFESSIONAL STUNT RIDER ON CLOSED CIRCUIT COURSE.

$W�6X]XNL��ZH�ZDQW�HYHU\�ULGH�WR�EH�VDIH�DQG�HQMR\DEOH��6R�DOZD\V�ZHDU�D�KHOPHW��H\H�SURWHFWLRQ�DQG�SURWHFWLYH�FORWKLQJ��1HYHU�ULGH�XQGHU�WKH�LQÁXHQFH�RI�DOFRKRO�RU�RWKHU�drugs. Never engage in stunt riding. Study your owner’s manual and always inspect your Suzuki before riding. Take a riding skills course. For the course nearest you call the PRWRUF\FOH�VDIHW\�IRXQGDWLRQ�DW��6X]XNL�HQJLQHHUHG�WKH�*6;�5�IRU�H[SHULHQFHG�ULGHUV��6X]XNL�ÀUPO\�EHOLHYHV�UDFLQJ�EHORQJV�LQ�RQH�SODFH�RQ�WKH�UDFHWUDFN��

BUY GENUINE SUZUKI ACCESSORIES ONLINE AT SUZUKICYLES.COM/ACCESSORIES

SEE OUR SELECTION OF HELMETS, RIDING JACKETS, ACCESSORIES AND MORE

GEL SEAT/TANK COVER CHASSIS PROTECTORCUSTOM COVERSWINDSHIELD CUSTOM TRIM

$399.95+ FREE SHIPPING

SHOEI HELMETS

PROMO CODE: RRXSHOEI


MIKEMURPHY

Murph the “Mechanager”By CJ

Building a career with motorcycles can require fl exibility, and few

people embody that truism more than Mike “Murph” Murphy. The

owner, secretary, and janitor of Syndicate Motorsport Management,

the Californian can be found in road race paddocks all over the

world, from MotoGP to World Superbike to AMA Pro. We ran into him

at Miller Motorsports Park.

RRX: You’ve got a pretty varied background.

Mike Murphy: [Laughs] It’s been a pretty circuitous route to here. I

graduated from UC Santa Cruz in ’95, went to MMI, and fi nished in

’96. I worked in a race shop in Phoenix and dabbled a little bit in CCS

Southwest and realized I had no talent when it came to motorcycles. I

moved back to California and ran a Honda/Ducati dealership in Sunny-

vale for about two and a half years. I was doing really well fi nancially,

but I came to the point where I realized I wanted to do more. Toward

the end of that tenure, Ducati sent me to Valencia for the end-of-year

race. I saw that and was pretty astounded, and on the fl ight home I told

a friend that I was going to fi gure out a way to come back to Europe and

get a job in GPs. Eighteen months later I was driving mo-

tor homes for [Jeremy] McWilliams and IRTA. Then I was

doing hospitality areas for Red Bull and Rizla Suzuki. The

reality is, that was probably the best job I ever had in the

paddock, because I was done working Thursday night—

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I watched racing. I basically

got to tour around Europe on somebody else’s dime.

How did you transition into rider management?

In ’07, I was supposed to drive McWilliams’ motor home

again and help out Ilmor with their media and PR. We got

to Jerez for the fi rst European round and the team basi-

cally folded. I fl ew back to California and Puma contacted

me and asked about fi nding some AMA road racers to in-

troduce their boot to the U.S. market. I recruited Danny

Eslick and Blake Young and some of the young guys and

kind of reestablished myself in the AMA. Then it just sort

of happened that people started asking me to help out with

this or that or to look at a contract. The guys at Hardcard,

Andy Leisner and John Farris, were starting their manage-

ment business. At the time, they were more negotiating be-

tween tracks and promoters, but they asked me to start up

a rider-management part of it. When the economy started

getting shaky, we came to the mutual agreement that I’d

start Syndicate Motorsport Management, and they focused

more on behind-the-scenes stuff, apart from doing a great

job representing Ashley Fiolek in motocross.

What are the pluses and minuses of the job?

They’re not mutually exclusive. One of the best parts is

traveling and meeting new people and seeing new cultures,

seeing things from a different view. But at the same time,

sixteen hours from San Francisco to Dubai isn’t very fun.

How badly did the economy affect you?

When a rider manager makes a percentage of what a rid-

er’s earning and so many riders really aren’t making any

money—or they’re having to bring money to the deal—10

or 15 percent of nothing is nothing. It’s affected me like

everybody else, but since I kept my overhead low, I’m not

worried about paying my mortgage or anything like that. In

the AMA paddock, three or four years ago, you saw all sorts of people

coming in as rider managers and a lot of them have fallen by the way-

side. They heard about $4 million deals and fi gured they were going to

grab some of that, but those deals are really the exception to the rule.

You’re kind of a one-man show at your company.

The biggest thing with being a rider manager is having the relation-

ship with your rider. I never want to have to call a rider and tell him,

“My secretary screwed this up” or “My partner screwed this up.”

Whatever happens—good or bad—I can look them in the eye and say,

“I did that.” But it’s taken on a whole new meaning this year. With

Anthony West riding for the MZ team in Moto2, maybe a week and a

half before the season, some of the funding that appeared to be a slam-

dunk didn’t come through. They weren’t able to hire some people, so

I volunteered to help out with whatever they needed. I showed up in

Qatar, and we were truly a skeleton crew. I hadn’t turned a wrench on

a race bike in ten or twelve years, and now I’m neck-deep in it, pull-

ing those control motors and putting them back in! Luckily, you don’t

forget how to do that. X

86

CJ


We want to thank the 500,000 British Bikers who

have been loyal EBC customers for 30 years now

and show you what we have on offer for 2009.

The old favourite top selling EBC Kevlar™ organic pads, over

32 million sets sold worldwide are a hot favourite for their

progressive brake "Feel" and our Sintered Double-H™ pads

continue to stun riders of bigger bikes for their longer life

and powerful , stable braking under all fast street conditions.

New for 2009 are the range of sintered Track and Street

pads called EPFA, or Extreme Pro. Great pads for the rider

who builds a few Trackdays into his annual fun schedule

because of their great heat cycling repeatability at high

race temperatures.

We want to thank the 500,000 British Bikers who

have been loyal EBC customers for 30 years now

and show you what we have on offer for 2009.

The old favourite top selling EBC Kevlar™ organic pads, over

32 million sets sold worldwide are a hot favourite for their

progressive brake "Feel" and our Sintered Double-H™ pads

continue to stun riders of bigger bikes for their longer life

and powerful , stable braking under all fast street conditions.

New for 2009 are the range of sintered Track and Street

pads called EPFA, or Extreme Pro. Great pads for the rider

who builds a few Trackdays into his annual fun schedule

because of their great heat cycling repeatability at high

race temperatures.

Also new for 2009 are the EBC X and XC sport rotor ranges, built with stainless steel rotor blades, lightweight aluminium centrehubs and the PATENTED S DRIVE system squaredrive buttons that lets rotors "Breathe" and neversuffer rivet lock-up that causes distortion.

Also new for 2009 are the EBC X and XC sport rotor ranges, built with stainless steel rotor blades, lightweight aluminium centrehubs and the PATENTED S DRIVE system squaredrive buttons that lets rotors "Breathe" and neversuffer rivet lock-up that causes distortion.


VORTEX ZERO-DEGREE CLIP-ONS

What They Are: Even the most minor crash can result in a

bent clip-on handlebar, and while most OEM clip-ons require

the replacement of the entire assembly, Vortex’s new Zero-

Degree clip-on is an economical option that offers the ability to

simply replace the handlebar tube in the event that one gets bent.

Details: The clip-on is machined from solid billet aluminum with a black fi nish, features stainless-steel

fasteners, and is available in a variety of sizes from 43–51mm. Replacement bars are sold separately and are

priced at $15.95 each.

DAINESE SANTA MONICAPELLE B. JACKET

What it is: Inspired by America’s West Coast, the Dainese Santa Monica Pelle

B. is designed to be rugged and sophisticated while conveying the emotion of

cutting-edge Italian design and technology in true Dainese style. The jacket

features elevated levels of protection via removable elbow protectors and

titanium-shielded, co-injected shoulder armor, and the D-Skin leather con-

struction provides excellent resistance to abrasion and normal wear and tear.

The jacket also features elasticized fabric inserts for improved comfort and

fi t, a removable thermal liner, and adjustable neck and side closures.

Details: Available in four color options in even-numbered sizes 44-60.

BAZZAZ Z-BOMB

What It Is: Designed for ’09-’10 Honda CBR600RRs and most GSX-Rs, the Bazzaz Z-Bomb

timing-retard calibrator promises to maximize engine performance for up to a 6hp gain over stock,

and while the system does integrate with all Z-Fi EMS systems and other aftermarket tuning units,

an engine-management system isn’t necessary.

Details: A simple plug-in unit with a throttle-position sensor, the Z-Bomb requires just a screw-

driver, 5mm hex key, and a few minutes of your time for installation. Bazzaz claims customers

with aftermarket exhausts will realize horsepower gains greater than 6hp.

Online: www.dainese.com /// Price: $799

88

BRAND-NEW STUFF

By Jesse Cecil

Online: www.bazzazperformance.com /// Price: $149.95

Online: www.vortexracing.com /// Price: $164.95


Leaps And Bounds Over The Competition!

• Won’t stick to pavement in a slide

• Billet inserts with high grade steel bolts

• Most models require no fairing modi⇒ cation

• Matching Bar Ends and Spools available!

UHMW

• High impact gloss finish carbon

• Billet inserts with high grade steel bolts

• Color & chrome end caps & bolts available

• Matching Bar Ends and Spools available!

• Triple chrome finish

• Deep long lasting reflection

• Engineered from 6061-T6 aluminum

• High grade steel bolts insure strength

• Matching Bar Ends available!

CHROMECARBON

LP USA Pro impact sliders are available To PURCHASE at your dealer

OR bu y online at WWW.LOCKHARTPHILLIPSUSA.COM

Call for more details 800-221-7291

Racing the Laguna Seca corkscrew or carving up the canyons, Pro Impact Sliders offer the ultimate in style and protection since 1999.

TREKDESK

What It Is: A full-sized, height-adjustable workstation that

can attach to an existing treadmill, TrekDesk

allows you to walk slowly while you work,

allowing you to trade some time in the offi ce

chair for some light exercise. While the health

benefi ts of daily activities such as walking are proven by

years of research, walking while you work may seem a little

out there. TrekDesk asserts, however, that similar, higher-

priced systems are used in the corporate offi ces at some

well-known companies. While we can assure you that’s not

exactly the case at RRX HQ, we’d be willing to give it a shot.

Details: Visit TrekDesk online for additional information.

A

Online: www.trekdesk.com /// Price: $479


AXO TOURING JACKETS AND PANTS

What It Is: Already well known in Europe and the motocross industry here, AXO is currently expanding

its street presence in the United States, and its newest stateside offering is the Touring line of pants and

jackets. The TT Zero Jacket and TK Evo Pants represent the pinnacle of that lineup and are equipped

with removable, refl ective-aluminum quilted liners and a locking system that joins pants and jacket.

More affordably priced, yet still handsomely appointed, is the Mistral jacket-pant combination. Both

sets are constructed of high-tenacity polymide fabric and feature a Watertech waterproof membrane.

Details: Offered only in black; jacket sizes M-4XL and pant sizes 30-44.

YOSHIMURA RS-4 EXHAUST

What it is: Supermoto riders, this one’s for you. Made in a wide variety of applications for Suzuki and

Honda 250cc and 450cc dirt bikes, the Yoshimura RS-4 full exhaust system is a prime example

of the effort and expense Yoshimura puts into the testing and development of its products, both

on the test bench and through its extensive and diverse racing endeavors. The RS-4 exhaust

system features a polyresonant Duplex Chamber, a two-stage stepped baffl e, full titanium

construction, and your choice of an aluminum, titanium, or carbon-fi ber muffl er design. All

confi gurations come with a carbon-fi ber tip.

Online: www.yoshimura.com /// Price: $945-$995

LP USA Lightworks IS available TO PURCHASE at your dealer

OR bu y online at WWW.LOCKHARTPHILLIPSUSA.COM

Call for more details 800-221-7291

The Brightest Ideas in Sportbike Lighting!

The Sportbike Connection

Be seen on the street and make a scene at bike night. LightWorks offer over 1,000 lighting applications to customize your sportbike.

From: $39.95

AERO LENS

From: $34.95

BLOCK OFF LED

From: $25.95 From: $39.95

APEX LED

From: $39.95

RAZOR LED

From: $14.95

From: $19.95

FLUSH MOUNTS

From: $39.95

BRACKET LED

From: 21.95

SCOOP

From: $39.95

BLINKER TAIL LIGHTS

From: $79.95

AFTERBURNER TAIL LIGHTS

From: $79.95

SHORT STALK FILAMENT SPIKE LITE FASTENERS08-09 ZX10R FLUSH MOUNT

Online: www.axo.com /// Price: $149.99-$299.99

Details: Go online to view specifi c applications. For noise considerations, 94 and 99 dB inserts are available.


Valentino Rossi Nicky Hayden2009 Red Bull Indianapolis GP

Log on to: imstix.brickyard.com/promotions

and enter RRX10GP in the package promotional code box or call (866) 221-8775

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway would like to invite

all Road Racer X subscribers and their families to come

experience the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis GP. As a

subscriber of Road Racer X, the Indianapolis Motor

Speedway is offering you this special ticket package*:

> 3-day ticket in the Southwest Vista

> 1 Red Bull Indianapolis GP official event program

> 1 Indianapolis Motor Speedway cinch bag

> Free motorcycle parking pass

> Track lap on your personal motorcycle (limited time offer)**

> One-time 10% savings at participating IMS retail locations

A $142 value for only $95!

August 27-29, 2010

Attention all Road Racer X subscribers!

*Valid for new purchases only. **Date and time TBD.If you are interested in tickets in other grandstands or a race day ONLY ticket, let us know as we may be able to accommodate your request.


VENDOR ROW

AD INDEXAkrapovic 21 www.akrapovic-exhaust.com

Alpinestars 2 310-891-0222 www.alpinestars.com

AMA 37 www.ama-cycle.org

American Suzuki Accessories 85 www.suzukicycles.com

Amsoil 24 800-777-8491 www.amsoil.com

Arrow Special Parts 43 www.arrow.it

Athena 77 608-339-9795 www.athenausa.org

Autolite 63 www.rkexcelamerica.com

Bazzaz Performance 89 909-628-8616 www.bazzazperformance.com

Braking 45 937-743-9049 www.brakingusa.com

Bridgestone 18 www.bridgestonemotorcycletires.com

California Superbike 94 323-224-2734 www.superbikeschool.com

Catalyst Racing Composites 95 760-510-9799 www.catalystracingcomposites.com

Chickenhawk Racing 94 866-HOT-TIRE www.chickenhawkracing.com

Cycle Parts Nation 94 269-381-5800 www.cyclepartsnation.com

Dainese 100 www.dainese.com

Drive Systems 49 714-379-9040 www.drivesystemsusa.com

Ducati 31 www.ducati.com

Dunlop 12 800-845-8378 www.dunlopmotorcycle.com

EBC Brakes 87 www.ebcbrakes.com

FMF 11 310-631-4FMF www.fmfracing.com

Hot Bodies 32 858-486-3838 www.hotbodiesracing.com

Joe Rocket 27 800-635-6103 www.joerocket.com

K&N Engineering 51 800-858-3333 www.knfi lters.com

KTM 29 www.ktm.com

Leo Vince 53 888-610-4242 www.leovinceusa.com

Lockhart Phillips 90 949-498-9090 www.lockhartphillips.com

Maxima 81 619-449-5000 www.maximausa.com

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 97 800-327-SECA www.laguna-seca.com

Motion Pro 45 650-594-9600 www.motionpro.com

Motorex 57 805-658-0900 www.motorex.com

Motosport 72 866-677-7338 www.motosport.com

National Guard 35 www.nationalguard.com

Pilot USA 95 800-299-9651 www.pilotusa.com

Pit Bull 94 877-533-1977 www.pit-bull.com

Pro Grip 59 800-461-1226 www.progrip.com

Racer X Brand 10 304-284-0080 www.racerxbrand.com

Red Bull Indianapolis GP 92 800-822-INDY www.redbullindianapolisgp.com

RK Excel 15 www.rkexcelamerica.com

Road Racer X Subscribe 35 800-406-5420 www.roadracerx.com

Scorpion Sports 98 888-672-6774 www.scorpionusa.com

Silkolene 65 817-581-8616 www.silkoleneusa.com

Suomy 23 800-524-9938 www.suomy-usa.com

Supersprox 95 317-640-2942 www.supersproxusa.com

Troy Lee Designs 9 951-371-5219 www.troyleedesigns.com

VIR International Speedway 95 434-822-7700 www.VIRnow.com

Vortex 75 877-437-2237 www.vortexracing.com

Xpeed 71 714-256-4180 www.xpeedhelmet.com

Yamaha Motor Corp. 6 800-88-YAMAHA www.yamaha-motor.com

Zero Gravity 63 800-345-9791 www.zerogravity-racing.com


VENDOR ROW

SAVEUP TO 40% OFF


Quality You Can Afford » Bodywork for Race and Street

AMA Legal in

All Classes

09-10 Suzuki GSXR 1000

09-10 Aprilia RSV4

catalystracingcomposites.com


96

I made this photograph of Kenny Roberts at the Champion Spark Plug 200 event, and with the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix coming back

around at the same track, it’s nice to check it out again. The race ended up being between Roberts and Randy Mamola, and it was a

nonstop wheelie contest that’s currently a YouTube classic! At that time, with just a general-admission ticket, you were allowed in the pits,

where you could be standing next to your favorite racer. It was really exciting being in the pits, so close to the riders and listening to the

two-stroke engines!

My goal was to get a great image of Roberts, so I waited until he exited his pit area, and then I stepped forward to fi ll my frame. I

like using a slower shutter speed in order to capture movement. Here, that setting enabled me to show the Yamaha moving slightly and

Roberts’ hand letting the clutch out, yet his face is still sharp because I was panning my camera at the same time. I’m very happy with

this image—I call it a moving portrait of the King. I think it’s a classic, if I may say so myself!

By Eduardo Soler

When: July 14, 1985

Where: Laguna Seca Raceway; Monterey, CA

How: Nikon FM2 body, 50mm macro lens; 1/30 sec. @ f8; Kodak Ektachrome 64 fi lm


®


Road Racer X 2010-08

Documents

Transcript of Road Racer X 2010-08