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Speed Dating: May 25, 2009 – May 31, 2009
May 27, 2009 by Matt Coffey
Filed under Speed Dating
May 25
Esteve Rabat (ES) was born on this date in 1989. Rabat rides for the Blusens Aprilia team in the 125cc Grand Prix series. He came up through the ultra-competitive 125cc CEV Spanish national championship, and has competed in the world championship since the end of 2005. Four races into the 2009 season, Rabat currently sits fourteenth in the standings.
Happy birthday to Alex Hofmann (DE), who was born on this date in 1980. The German spent six years in MotoGP and rode motorcycles from four different manufacturers: Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, and Ducati. His best championship finish came in his last MotoGP season in 2007, when he finished thirteenth while riding for the D’Antin Ducati team. Hofmann currently helps Aprilia with testing.
Carlos Lavado (VE) was born on this date in 1956. Lavado won the 250cc world championship in 1983 and 1986, becoming only the second Venezuelan after 1975 350cc champion Johnny Cecotto to win a Grand Prix crown. Lavado competed in the world championships from 1979 to 1992, with time spent in both the 250cc and 350cc classes.
May 26
Miguel Duhamel. Riles/Nelson photo
Miguel Duhamel (CA) was born on this date in 1968. Duhamel’s statistics in AMA Pro Road Racing are impressive: five Daytona 200 wins, five Supersport championships, two Formula Xtreme titles, and one Superbike crown. Duhamel rode for American Honda from 1995 through 2008, but wasn’t re-signed for this season. He rode the 2009 Daytona 200 aboard a Pascal Picotte-supported Suzuki GSX-R600, finishing the race 16th.
On this date in 2002, the Hayden brothers swept the podium at the Springfield TT. Nicky, Tommy, and Roger Lee finished first, second, and third respectively in the AMA National TT race. It’s the only time that three family members have swept the podium of an AMA Pro race of any kind.
Roger, Nicky, and Tommy Hayden at the 2002 Springfield TT. Dave Hoenig photo/Flat Trak Fotos
Iain MacPherson (UK) was born on this date in 1968. A long-time regular in the British Superbike and World Supersport series, MacPherson has most recently raced in the World Endurance Championship for Team Acropolis. MacPherson was the runner-up in the World Supersport Championship in 1999, a year in which he won three races.
May 27
Kevin Schwantz (US) won his first 500cc Grand Prix race on this date in 1988 at the Suzuka circuit in Japan. Schwantz would take twenty-four more wins in a Grand Prix career that ended in 1995.
May 28
Umberto Masetti (IT) died on this date in 2006 after suffering a heart attack. The 1950 and 1952 500cc world champion rode Gileras in his championship season, but he also raced for Morini and Benelli, as well as the factory MV Agusta team. He retired from racing in 1958.
Bill Berroth (US) of Motonation was born on this date in 1957. A former ISDT racer, Berroth has worked for a long time in the motorcycle industry, first as an employee of KTM and Husqvarna and later in marketing roles with Acerbis and FMF. Berroth formed Motonation to serve as the distributor of Sidi boots in the United Sates, and the company has expanded to serve as the American distributor for a variety of European accessory and apparel brands.
Happy birthday to 2007 125cc world champion Gabor Talmacsi (HU), who was born on this date in 1981. Talmacsi competed in the championship fulltime from 2001 to 2008, scoring a total of nine wins. Talmacsi moved to the 250cc championship for 2009, but he’s currently involved in a conflict with sponsors and didn’t compete in the Le Mans Grand Prix.
The first Isle of Man TT was held on this date in 1907. The race was held on St. John’s Short Course, a 15-mile loop that makes up only a portion of the current 37.5-mile lap. Charlie Collier won the event aboard a single-cylinder Matchless. The ten-lap race took just over four hours to complete.
May 29
Danny Eslick (US) was born on this date in 1986. The Daytona SportBike racer began his AMA Pro road racing career in Supersport in 2003, having emerged from the dirt track ranks. More recently, Eslick found success with Matsushima Suzuki in the Supersport and Formula Xtreme categories. This year, Eslick is riding for the Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/Richie Morris Racing Buell team. He has taken the Buell 1125R to wins this year at Auto Club Speedway and Road Atlanta, and he sits third in the overall standings.
Danny Eslick. Riles/Nelson photo
On this date in 2003, David Jefferies (UK) was killed during practice for the Isle of Man Senior TT. Jefferies was a nine-time winner of the TT, despite competing in only six meetings. In his fatal accident, Jefferies hit oil on the course and crashed with fellow competitor Jim Moodie, who survived with serious injuries. Jefferies was thirty years old.
May 30
Roger Lee Hayden (US) was born on this date in 1983. The younger brother of Tommy and Nicky Hayden, Roger found success with the Kawasaki team in the AMA Supersport class. The 2007 AMA Supersport champion, Hayden also made a one-off appearance for the Kawasaki MotoGP team in 2007 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where he finished tenth. The past two seasons have not been without drama for Hayden. After seriously injuring his hand and pelvis at Barber Motorsports Park last year and struggling to return to form, Hayden was not present at the first two rounds of this year’s revised championship (no reason was given for his absence). He returned at Road Atlanta, finishing second in his first Daytona SportBike race. He is currently 16th in the championship.
Adrien Morillas (FR) was born on this date in 1958. The Frenchman participated in the first year of the World Superbike championship in 1988 and won one race. He spent three years on the 500cc Grand Prix circuit with limited success before returning to the World Superbike and the World Endurance championships. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto twice, in 1993 and 1994.
May 31
Steve Jenkner (DE) was born on this date in 1975. Jenkner competed in the 125cc world championship from 1996 to 2005. He scored only one win, in the 2003 125cc Dutch TT at Assen. Jenkner has most recently served as Bridgestone tire technician in the MotoGP paddock.
Rich King (US) was born on this date in 1963. King has been a fixture on the dirt track circuit as a rider and representative of the Harley-Davidson factory. King has also served as a development rider for the factory’s street bikes, working closely with fellow racer Scott Parker on the development of the dirt track-inspired XR1200.
Leon Haslam (UK) was born on this date in 1983. Though he’s turning only 26, Haslam has made his mark on a wide array of world and national championships. He has raced at least a season in each of the three current Grand Prix classes. He has also ridden in the British Supersport and Superbike championships, and he now competes for the Stiggy Honda team in the World Superbike series. Haslam enters the Miller Motorsports Park round fourth in the standings, with three podium finishes.
Ayrton Badovini (IT) was born on this date in 1986. Badovini rode for the PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki team in the World Superbike series. He came up through the European Superstock 1000 series, where he finished third in 2006. This year was to be his second in WSBK, but the Italian separated from the PSG-1 team after two rounds.
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