The Rider Files

The 37-year-year-old veteran Carlos Checa proved he still has what it takes to win on the world championship level with a victory in race two in the World Superbike opener at the picturesque Phillip Island in Australia. (Photo courtesy Infront Motor Sports)

Watching the opening round of World Superbike today leaves you wanting more. Both races at Phillip Island were thrillers. The season promises to be a wide-open affair with any of a number or riders challenging for the championship.

Leon Haslam broke through to score his first victory in World Superbike in a photo finish over Michel Fabrizio. The 2010 Suzuki GSX-R1000, with its new under the seat fuel tanks, seems to handle better than last year’s model. Haslam’s teammate Sylvain Guintoli led for much of the second race and the Suzuki’s ran one-two. It bodes well for Suzuki making a solid comeback in the championship.

The factory Ducati squad of Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga looked solid as usual, but the big surprise of the weekend was Spaniard Carlos Checa making what he called his best come-from-behind charge ever to win race two on the privateer Althea Ducati. Not a bad outing for the 37-year-old former GP winner.

Chris Vermeulen did an admirable job on the factory Kawasaki until crashing hard in the second race. I was surprised not to see air barriers lining the area where Vermeulen went down. He went into the wall at a pretty high rate of speed and hit a stack of car tires. Hopefully he’s not hurt too badly and will be ready for the next round a month away in Portugal.

The only downside for American fans was the lackluster performance turned in by Roger Lee Hayden. Hayden scored 18th and 19th in the two legs, and was the last rider running in each race. Not a great 2010 debut for the rider who scored a top-10 MotoGP finish less than three years ago.

Steve Baker (32) celebrates his victory in the 1977 Daytona International Lightweight (250GP) race over runner up Takazumi Katayama (349) and third place Rich Schlachter (118). It was a pretty good weekend for Baker. Not only did he win the 250GP race, but the next day he took the big prize, the Daytona 200. On the far right, talking to Schlachter, is Cycle World columnist Kevin Cameron, who I believe was tuning for Schlachter at the time.

Steve Baker (32) celebrates his victory in the 1977 Daytona International Lightweight (250GP) race over runner up Takazumi Katayama (349) and third place Rich Schlachter (118). (Courtesy Daytona International Speedway)

BMH Racing (41) leads a big pack of teams in a WERA National Endurance race at Road Atlanta in the early 1990s. Other top runners in the photo include We’re Human Too (60), Team Machine (89) and Team Savannah (184). The Mediumweight endurance racing classes often featured the closest racing in these WERA four, six and eight-hour events.

BMH Racing (41) leads a big pack of teams in a WERA National Endurance race at Road Atlanta in the early 1990s that includes We’re Human Too (60), Team Machine (89) and Team Savannah (184). (Larry Lawrence photo)

Gary Scott (5) and Sadao Asami (359) take a corner at the old Riverside International Raceway in October of 1977. Riverside hosted countless Southern California club races from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, but only two AMA Nationals were held there – in 1976 and 1977, both won by Kenny Roberts. I’ve been told by rider who raced there that the track was fast and dangerous. Today a shopping mall, condos and apartments occupy the site of the track. Scott was the 1975 AMA Grand National Champion.  Better known for his flat track racing skills, Scott did show considerable skill on the pavement earning podiums at Loudon and Laguna in 1973. Asami was a Japanese Grand Prix racer who is perhaps best known for winning the Macau Grand Prix three-consecutive times (1978-80) riding Yamaha TZ750s on the barrier-lined street circuit.

Gary Scott (5) and Sadao Asami (359) take a corner at the old Riverside International Raceway in October of 1977. (AMA Press Kit photo)

In 2001 American Honda teamed with Universal Studios to form an innovative motorsports sponsorship deal. The sponsorship featured Woody Woodpecker as Team Mascot for Honda’s racing teams. The selection of the feisty red-headed Woody Woodpecker as official Team Mascot was a perfect compliment to the Honda Racing Teams featuring the Red Riders.  A special Woody Woodpecker/Honda Racing Team logo was developed and was featured on the CR250R, CBR600F4i and RC51 racing bikes, the racer’s uniforms, the Racing Team trucks and promotional materials. This is a promotional photo with Woody hanging out with Nicky Hayden (left) and Miguel Duhamel (right). Gotta love Nicky’s hairdo.

Woody Woodpecker hanging with Nicky Hayden (left) and Miguel Duhamel (right). Woody was Honda's Team Mascot in 2001 via a sponsorship from Universal Studios. (Courtesy American Honda)

In an optical illusion it appears that Scott Gray is racing his Yoshimura Suzuki Formula USA bike through the weeds. I found this old print with no caption on the back. If I were to guess I would go with Seattle International Raceway as the location. I recall a lot of tall grass in the back sections of that track. It also could have been Grattan Raceway, where they sometimes got behind the grass cutting. When Jackie and I used to sell prints at the races I once took advantage of tall grass, got low and did a lot of photos of this nature. The racers didn’t like them at all. They didn’t like the grass obscuring their motorcycles I suppose. The ‘artiste’ in me was deflated.

Scott Gray races his Yoshimura Formula USA Suzuki in an early 1990s WERA National Formula USA event. (Larry Lawrence photo)

Josh Hayes is the consensus favorite coming into the 2010 American Superbike season. (Photo by Larry Lawrence)

We are entering an interesting time in American Superbike racing. Let’s call it Superbike AM (After Mladin). This is a strange feeling. Love him or hate him, Mladin was an amazing force field on the American road racing landscape. This will be the first time since 1996 that the cantankerous, uncensored, ultra-fast Aussie training monster that was Mladin will be absent from the field.

Will Mladin be missed? Let’s look at history. Over the years fans have shown an amazing ability to look forward and live in the moment instead of looking into the past. Since its inception the series has lost luminaries like Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Fred Merkel, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, John Kocinski, Colin Edwards, Doug Polen, Scott Russell and Ben Spies and survived and even in most times thrived with the riders who came in to replace them.

I think it will take a few years before fans quit asking what might have been had Mladin raced. It will take longer for current day riders and champions to live down the shadow of Mladin, if for no other reason than we’ve never had a rider dominate the series for such a sustained amount of time as Mat.

If Blake Young can continue to learn from Kevin Schwantz he might be the next superstar in American road racing. (Larry Lawrence photo)

But racing moves on and in a way Superbike AM presents some intriguing possibilities.

While the factory involvement is at one of the historical lows, this doesn’t mean there’s going to be a lack of interesting competition.

First off is the favorite – Josh Hayes. A few years ago I stood amazed watching Hayes step up to an even higher level of riding skill in Formula Xtreme and Supersport. He was 32 at the time and had taken seemingly a huge step in his riding, especially for a rider of that age. Clearly he should have been in the Superbike class in 2007 (if not earlier). He was at his absolute peak. Hayes will turn 35 this season (between Fontana and Road Atlanta). If he’s going to win the American Superbike Championship he’s going to have to do it soon. He’s racing a proven championship-winning machine in the Yamaha R1, so it seems everything is in place for the Mississippi native to become the first Champion in year one of Superbike AM.

Tommy Hayden has AMA titles to his credit already. The question is - can he step up and win the big one? (Larry Lawrence photo)

I would just like to point out that this is the first time I can remember in years that a factory-supported squad in Graves Motorsport Yamaha is favored over the only direct factory team in Yoshimura Suzuki. Certainly Yoshimura Suzuki has a great mix with veteran Tommy Hayden and the still improving Blake Young. These two are the riders I think most fans will be watching to see how they perform. They’re both on the AMA Superbike dominant Suzuki GSX-R1000 with tons of residual know how left from the Mladin/Spies Era.

We tend to forget this, but there is one former AMA Superbike Champion in the field and that’s Ben Bostrom. Depending on how much support (Bostrom claims nearly factory-level) Pat Clark Motorsports truly gets from Yamaha, he could be a major factor in the championship picture. Bostrom said he likes the less regimented environment the non-factory ride provides, yet he gets the best of both worlds with claimed factory-level backing.

Another veteran to look out for is Larry Pegram on the Foremost Insurance Ducati. Many experts see the Ducati 1198R as potentially the best bike out there. The DMG recognized this possibility and reduced the allowable weight of four-cylinder machines by five pounds to make sure there’s a level playing field. Even with the weight penalty for the Ducati this may be the best chance ever for the 36-year-old Pegram to win the championship.

Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates and Jake Zemke (Zemke in National Guard livery) are both proven winners. Both are in their mid-30s (which seems more and more like the average age of today’s American Superbike riders), so like Hayes if either hope to have the title of AMA Superbike Champion next to their name when they retire now is the time. The question remains, even with the relaxed DMG Superbike rules, what level of support Jordan will get as compared to Yoshimura.

Chris Ulrich has been quietly getting himself in the best condition of his life in preparation for the 2010 campaign. (Larry Lawrence photo)

Another rider to watch for this year is Chris Ulrich on the Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki. Inspired and helped by Ben Spies (who has been giving Ulrich training advice), Ulrich has trained and is leaner and stronger than ever before. His long-nagging shoulder injury seems to be finally solved. He’s a real blue-collar rider, working hard on perfecting his craft. I expect Ulrich, at 30, is poised to reach his peak in the next two or three seasons. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the podium this year.

Other top-notch riders who could run among the leaders this year include young Canadian Brett McCormick on the Picotte Racing Suzuki, Taylor Knapp on a RidersDiscount.com Suzuki, Ben Bostrom’s young protégé Chris Clark and Barrett Long joining Pegram as the only other Ducati in the field.

John Hopkins - The Rider Files' pre-season pick to win the 2010 American Superbike Championship.

You may have noticed there is one high-profile rider I’ve left off the list so far. The reason for that is I wanted to end the feature by talking about the rider I predict will win the championship and that rider is John Hopkins on the Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki.

From my perspective Hopkins is the most talented rider in the field. He’s just 26 and looking to prove he is still worthy of a second chance in world championship competition be it Grand Prix or World Superbike. After a tough outing in World Superbike Hopkins’ confidence might be shaken, but if he can get in there and be competitive in the early rounds I would bet he’ll get his mojo back. If that happens Hopkins has the capability and talent level to go on major run.

To me Hopkins’ entry in the series is the most intriguing and newsworthy thing that has happened in a period that many consider rock bottom for the championship. A winning Hopkins would be good for the series. People across the world who are seriously into motorcycle road racing know who Hopkins is and will be paying attention to his potential comeback.

I’m an optimist at heart. If Hopkins manages to win the championship this year it will be great for him, great for the series, great for the M4 Monster Suzuki squad that years ago clawed its way up from the club ranks to become one of the top national teams and just a plain feel-good story. I just have a sneaking suspicion that people have written Hopper off a little too early.

Bring on the Daytona Superbike Doubleheader. I’m ready for Superbike AM to begin.

Projected Top-10 American Superbike Rankings for 2010
1.  John Hopkins
2.  Josh Hayes
3.  Tommy Hayden
4.  Blake Young
5.  Aaron Yates
6.  Chris Ulrich
7.  Jake Zemke
8.  Larry Pegram
9.  Ben Bostrom
10. Taylor Knapp

With World Superbike kicking off this weekend in Australia, it’s nice to look back at some of the original stars who laid the foundation for the popularity the series enjoys today. One of those early stars was Italian racer Fabrizio Pirovano. Pirovano was twice runner up in the World Superbike Championship (1988 & ’90) and had an amazing 47-career World Superbike podiums, including 10 wins, during his eight seasons in the series. After leaving World Superbike he went on to win the World Supersport title in 1998. He was 38 years old at the time. Fabrizio retired from full-time competition after the 2001 season. He made a surprise comeback to a Suzuki GSXR Cup final in Italy in 2006 and won the race. He was 46 at the time. Here’s to one of the true originals – Fabrizio Pirovano.

Fabrizio Pirovano corners his factory-backed Yamaha during the Mosport World Superbike race in 1989. Pirovano was one of the original stars of the World Superbike Championship. He compiled 47 podiums and 10 wins in the series. (Larry Lawrence photo)

Martin Morrison, riding his No. 95 Suzuki RG500, leads Steve Arnold (143) on a Yamaha TZ500 and William Hougaboom on a Suzuki GSXR in a WERA sprint race at Grattan Raceway in 1986. Morrison and Arnold were among a handful of WERA racers in the mid-1980s running 500cc GP bikes. Morrison, from Elida, Ohio, also raced AMA Formula One Nationals throughout most of the 1980s. He was one of the few that campaigned the RG500 against the dominant Yamahas. He bought this bike from Gina Bovaird. Gina was the first woman to qualify for the Daytona 200 and the first woman to race in a 500cc Grand Prix. Morrison scored some top-10 national finishes on this Suzuki. His best was a seventh at Brainerd in 1986.

Martin Morrison, riding his No. 95 Suzuki RG500, leads Steve Arnold (143) on a Yamaha TZ500 and an unidentified rider on a Suzuki GSXR in a WERA sprint race at Grattan Raceway in 1986. (Larry Lawrence photo)