Speed Dating: April 13-19

April 13

On this date in 2008, Jorge Lorenzo scored his first MotoGP win, at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal. The victory was the only of the Spanish rookie’s injury-plagued 2008 season. Lorenzo finished the year fourth in the championship.

April 14

Ratthapark Wilairot (TH) was born on this date in 1988. The Thai rider is in his third season in the 250cc World Championship with the Thai Honda PTT SAG team. After finishing 2008 thirteenth in the standings, Wilairot began his 2009 campaign with a strong eighth-place finish at the 250cc Grand Prix of Qatar.

Richard Sainct (FR) was born on this date in 1970. The factory KTM rider won the Dakar Rally three times (1999, 2000, and 2003), and took victories in many other African-continent rallies. Sainct was killed on September 29, 2004, during the fourth stage of the Pharoah’s Rally in Egypt.

April 15

Happy birthday to Jay Springsteen (US), who was born on this date in 1957. Springsteen won three consecutive AMA Grand National Championships, beginning in 1976. Springsteen took forty-three Grand National victories in a dirt track career that spanned twenty-eight years. Springsteen continues to race, riding for the Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki team in the SunTrust Moto-GT Championship.

April 16

Jared Mees (US) was born on this date in 1986. The AMA Flat Track racer won the 2007 AMA Hot Shoe awards in both the 450cc Expert and 750cc/1000cc categories. The Blue Springs Harley-Davidson rider began 2009 with fifth-place finishes in both of the Daytona Grand National rounds.

John McGuiness (UK) was born on this date in 1974. McGuiness may be the most famous of modern “real-roads” racers, competing regularly in events such as the North West 200, Macau GP, and the Isle of Man TT.

The Irishman has scored a total of fourteen TT wins, most recently in the 2008 Senior TT. He is also the fastest man to ever lap the Isle of Man Mountain course, flying around the 37.3 mile circuit in 2007 at an average speed of 130.5 mph.

April 17

On this date in 2005, the first flag-to-flag rain-affected MotoGP race was held at the Estoril circuit in Portugal. Honda-mounted Alex Barros beat Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi for the victory. The race was the debut of a new set of regulations that did not allow for the stoppage of the race if rain began to fall after the race had begun. Teams instead prepared a second motorcycle in pit lane with appropriate tires for the rider to switch to if necessary. The top finishers did not make the switch at Estoril, and remained on dry tires in the intermittent rain.

April 18

Garry McCoy (AU) was born on this date in 1972. In 2000, McCoy scored three victories in the 500cc World Championship with WCM/Red Bull Yamaha. Known for his wild style, McCoy was hired by Carl Fogarty in 2005 to tame his Foggy Petronas WSBK machine and by Ilmor in 2007 to develop their doomed X3 MotoGP bike. He currently rides for the Caracchi Triumph team in the World Supersport Championship, and sits fourteenth in the 2009 standings.

April 19

Vincent Haskovec (CZ) was born on this date in 1974. The Czech rider began racing in the United States in 1997. His riding career culminated with a popular victory at the 2005 AMA Superstock round at Daytona. Later that season, at Infineon Raceway, Haskovec was paralyzed from the chest down in a crash during the AMA Formula Xtreme race. Haskovec continues to be a well-liked figure in American road racing and can sometimes be spotted in the AMA Pro paddock.