Speed Dating: November 2 - 8

November 2

Hector Barbera (ES) turns 23 on this date. The Spanish rider has claimed nine wins between the 125 and 250cc classes since entering Grand Prix racing in 2002 as a 15-year-old. Riding for Pepe World Team Aprilia this year, Barbera sits third in the quarter-liter standings entering this weekend’s final round at Valencia. Barbera will move up to the MotoGP category next year, where he will ride for the newly formed Aspar Ducati MotoGP effort.

Happy birthday to James Haydon (UK), who turns 34. Haydon rode for WCM in the 500cc world championship in 1995 and 1996, with a best finish of 9th at the ’96 French Grand Prix. The seasoned British Superbike racer later competed in three rounds of the 2004 MotoGP for the Proton KR team, with a top finish of 12th, in the inaugural Grand Prix of Qatar.

November 4

Makoto Tamada (JP) was born on this date in 1976. Tamada first gained international attention when he won both Japanese rounds of the World Superbike Championship as a wildcard entry in 2001. Beginning in 2003, Tamada spent four years on Hondas in MotoGP, taking wins at Portugal and Motegi in 2004. After an uninspiring 2007 MotoGP season with Kawasaki, Tamada moved to the Kawasaki World Racing Team in World Superbike. But Tamada finished the 2009 season only 27th in the standings, and has been let go by the team for next year in favor of MotoGP ex-pat Chris Vermeulen.

World Supersport rider Lorenzo Alfonsi (IT) turns 29 on this date. After a difficult 2008 season with the CRS Grand Prix team in World Supersport, the 2004 European Superstock 1000 champion returned to his native Italy to compete in the CIV Supersport 600 championship, where he finished the season 21st in the standings.

November 6

Happy birthday to Chuck Graves, (US) who was born on this date in 1965. Graves founded Graves Motorsports in 1990 with brothers Mike and Tom. Along with being a successful performance-accessory-manufacturing business, Graves Motorsports operates teams in AMA Pro Road Racing. This past season, team rider Josh Herrin rode a Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6 to second place in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike series.  Next season, the team is expected to expand into the American Superbike class, as they will be responsible for the operation of the entire Yamaha USA factory road racing effort.

November 7

On this date in 1980, Steve McQueen (US) died of complications related to Mesothelioma. The actor frequently competed in car and motorcycle racing, and was a member of the U.S. team for the 1964 International Six Days Trials in East Germany.

November 8

Grand Prix racer Mika Kallio (FN) turns 27 on this date. The Finn amassed twelve victories between the 125 and 250cc World Championship classes aboard KTM machines and moved up to the premier division this year for the Pramac Ducati team. Kallio had a respectable season, even turning in a handful of replacement rides for the factory Ducati team during Casey Stoner’s absence. Kallio sits fifteenth in the standings entering this weekend’s finale at Valencia, and he has already clinched Rookie of the Year honors.

On this date in 2008, Fritz Kling (US) died of cancer. Kling was a staple of the AMA road racing scene during the 1990s. In ’94, Kling rode for the factory Harley-Davidson team in AMA Superbike, and later had success with the Dutchman’s Yamaha team in AMA Formula USA. Kling had a tumor removed from his brain in 1995 but continued racing after the operation. However, the brain cancer returned, and Kling succumbed to the disease on November 7, 2008, at the age of 41.