MOTO RISIN'

After a decade-long absence, MotoGP is returning to the American bike-racing scene - and proceeding to tear the hell out of it.

ORGANIZED GRAND PRIX MOTORCYCLE RACING BEGAN 56 YEARS AGO, making it the oldest continuously sanctioned motorsports series in existence. But this ain’t your granddaddy’s bike competition. In fact, contemporary bike racing would probably make your Harley-straddling uncle soil himself in awe and fear. Today’s motorcycles are vastly faster and more powerful, and their riders are more skilled and sophisticated. Subsequently, the thrills are exponentially larger – as are the audiences.

Currently, there are three premier Grand Prix motorcycle racing series – American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Superbike, World Superbike and MotoGP. The AMA Superbike series events are primarily held on American circuits, the World Superbike series races mostly in Europe and the MotoGP series targets a global audience.

Although the three series have common attributes, they also are vastly different – particularly MotoGP. While AMA Superbike and World Superbike series both use consumer-based motorcycles for their competitions, MotoGP motorcycles are single-purpose, custom-built, one-off racing machines. To put it in terms that even the most genteel dandy could understand, AMA Superbike and World Superbike machines are like fine Hugo Boss suits that are altered just for your fit; riding a MotoGP bike, on the other hand, is like picking the cloth and color for a custom-tailored Ermenegildo Zegna suit – at a really, really high rate of speed.

There are even differences between the bikes among teammates on each of the MotoGP teams. “These bikes are so exacting, so precise, that my bike is practically a different bike than that of my teammate,” notes leading MotoGP racer Nicky Hayden. “Everything from engine mapping, to the suspension, gear boxes and the fit of the bike for my body is designed just for each rider.”

Hayden isn’t the only one excited by the mean machines’ super-customized specifications; MotoGP is making its highly anticipated return to the United States after a 10-year absence. On July 10, as part of the 2005 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, the MotoGP series returns to the famed Laguna Seca raceway in Monterey, Calif. Laguna Seca held GP races from 1988-1994, but the lack of American riders led the circuit to be dropped from the schedule. Today, there are four American riders in the field of 24 on the MotoGP circuit. This fact, coupled with the growing popularity of the sport in the U.S., has brought the series back stateside. American riders like Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards and John Hopkins have all refocused attention back onto the MotoGP circuit. And the possibility of an American world champion has electrified motorcycle enthusiasts across the country.

Nicky Hayden is currently considered by many to be the most promising prospect for the next American world champion. In 2003, the 24-year-old Kentucky native won the MotoGP “Rookie of the Year” title, scoring an impressive 130 points. This followed his 2002 season in AMA Superbike, when he became the youngest champion in series history. “The one aspect that I love about this sport is how important I, as a rider, am to the outcome of a race,” Hayden enthuses. “While [they’re] highly skilled, very talented athletes, race-car drivers can only do so much with a poorly performing car. On the other hand, a good motorcycle racer can do more with a poorly performing bike, because our input as riders has more of an impact than race-car drivers.”

Increasingly savvy drivers are only one aspect of MotoGP’s thrill factor; technological advances, of course, also have played a part. When the governing body of MotoGP decided to sanction the use of four-stroke engines in 2002, the series was elevated to an even higher plateau. More complex than their two-stroke counterparts, the comparatively tiny four-stroke engines produce an amazing 250 horsepower. While this might not sound immediately impressive, keep in mind that MotoGP motorcycles tend to weigh just 325 pounds or less, which gives them an almost unbelievably high power-to-weight ratio. To put this in perspective, a modern Vespa motorscooter can weigh up to 360 pounds. And the Subaru WRX, which is considered a very quick compact sports car, has only 227 horsepower.

Here are a few more facts to consider: Average 0-60 mph times on MotoGP bikes are between two and two-and-ahalf seconds. And in the time it takes you to read this sentence (even if you’re one of those speed-reading freaks), they can reach 100 mph. MotoGP riders typically race at speeds between 200 and 215 mph.

And they do it while executing a subtle-but-crucial series of bodily maneuvers. “Racing a bike takes a lot of different skills,” says Robert Barringer of Excel Motorsports in Concord, N.C. “You’re using both your feet, both hands, your knee for balance and the rest of your body for balance. Most importantly, you have to make these adjustments with your body quickly, but in a subtle way, so as not to upset the bike. There’s nothing quite like it – dragging your knee at 150 mph as you exit the turn. The bike feels like it wants to leave you behind; its almost like a spiritual experience.”

Ready to get saved? Then haul your heathen ass into the Church of MotoGP immediately. At the rate they’re traveling, they just might pass you by.