Speed Dating: May 11 – May 17, 2009

May 11

Bud Ekins (US) was born on this date in 1930. A pioneer in American off-road racing, he participated on the motocross Grand Prix circuit during the 1950s and was a gold-medal winner at the International Six Days Trial in 1964. After retiring from racing, Ekins worked as a stunt rider in Hollywood. He is best remembered as stunt double for Steve McQueen in the movie The Great Escape, in which Ekins performed the famous motorcycle jump over the German fence.

Happy birthday to Joe Kopp (US), who was born on this date in 1969. The flat track racer has competed on the AMA Grand National circuit since 1991. Kopp is a two-time winner of the Supertrapp Supertracker series. The Honda rider currently competes in the AMA Pro Grand National Singles Championship, in which he sits second in points with one win this season.

May 14

Dani Pedrosa (ES) scored his first MotoGP win on this date in 2006. The victory came during the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit. The Repsol Honda rider would score another win that year at Donington Park, and he finished the year fifth in points. Despite his undeniable talent, Pedrosa has yet to score more than two wins in a single MotoGP season, and he’s currently fourth in the 2009 standings.

Pramac Racing rider Niccolo Canepa (IT) was born on this date in 1988. The MotoGP rookie is Ducati’s lone Italian rider in the championship. Canepa has a history with the factory, having won the 2006 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup aboard Ducati machinery, and he has served as a Ducati test rider since 2007. This year, Canepa has a best finish of fourteenth (at the Japanese Grand Prix), and he sits eighteenth in points. Expectations are high for him to improve his results during this weekend’s French Grand prix at Le Mans.

Stephane Mertens (BE) was born on this date in 1959. The Belgian competed in the World Endurance Championship and won the series title in 1995 and 2002. Before his time in the WEC, Mertens competed with limited success in the 250cc Grand Prix series in the 1980s, but his results improved with a switch to the World Superbike series in 1988.

May 15

Robert Dunlop (IE) died from injuries incurred during practice for the North West 200 on this date in 2008. Brother of Joey, Robert Dunlop was a master of lightweight Grand Prix bikes at the Isle of Man TT circuit. Dunlop took “real” roads racing wins around the world, from the Isle of Man to Macau. He won the North West 200 fifteen times, a record. Dunlop was killed during practice for the 250cc event, in a crash triggered by a seized engine. He was 47.

Vincent Haskovec (CZ) was paralyzed from the chest down during the AMA Formula Xtreme race at Infineon Raceway in 2005. The popular rider had recently won his first AMA Superstock race at Daytona. Today, Haskovec continues to undergo physical therapy and makes occasional appearances in the AMA Pro paddock.

May 17

Michael Martin (US) was born on this date in 1959. Martin is a former Valvoline Suzuki rider who is also the co-founder and part-owner of M4 exhausts. During his five-year stint with Valvoline Suzuki, Martin won forty-eight WERA endurance nationals and performed well on Formula USA.

Three-time Grand Prix world champion Luca Cadalora (IT) was born on this date in 1963. Cadalora won the 1986 125cc title riding a Gilera, and the 1991 and 1992 he took 250cc championships riding an Erv Kanemoto-tuned Honda. Cadalora switched to the 500cc series in 1993, and he finished second in the class in 1994. He finished his career in 2000, with a total of thirty-four Grand Prix wins.