Fred Merkel (born September 28, 1962, in Stockton, California ) is an American former professional motorcycle road racer and two-time Superbike World Champion .
10-746: In 1984 he teamed with Mike Baldwin to win the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race. He is a three-time AMA Superbike Champion, winning in 1984/5 on the VF750 and 1986 on the VFR750F . He jointly holds the record for the most wins in a season with Mat Mladin . In 1988 the Superbike World Championship began, with Merkel entered on the RC30 . He won the championship from Fabrizio Pirovano and Davide Tardozzi with two wins and three other podiums. He successfully defended
20-681: Is an American former professional motorcycle road racer . He was a top contender in AMA Superbike racing during the 1980s who also competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing . Baldwin was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001. Baldwin led the American team to an upset win over the favored British team when he was the highest points scorer at the 1979 Transatlantic Trophy match races. The Transatlantic Trophy match races pitted
30-576: The Superbike World Champion at the last race, prevailing over Tom Sykes by six points in the standings. But both Marco Melandri and Tom Sykes won more races than Sylvain Guintoli this season. With Sykes winning 8 and Melandri 6 compared to Guintoli's 5. A portion of the riders was entered into the EVO class, featuring Superbike motorcycles with Superstock engines and electronics, scoring points for
40-671: The World Championship standings and competing for the class title; David Salom was the EVO entry who amassed the most points in the overall championship standings and was awarded the title. The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme released a 14-round provisional calendar on 29 November 2013. The event scheduled at the Moscow Raceway for 21 September 2014 was cancelled due to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine , while Qatar
50-518: The best British riders against the top American road racers on 750cc motorcycles in a six-race series in England. Baldwin won five AMA Formula 1 titles as well as becoming the first rider to win three Suzuka 8 Hours races. His best finish in the 500cc world championships was a fourth place in the 1986 season while racing for the Kenny Roberts - Yamaha team. Baldwin seemed poised to become one of
60-546: The crown in 1989 , with 3 wins, 7 other podiums, and 4 poles. He took three more wins en route to sixth overall in 1990 , but was less competitive after this. Merkel retired from racing at the end of the 1995 season after being injured in an accident at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona . Merkel and his family moved to a ranch they owned in New Zealand . He lives there with his wife Carla and son Travis, and as of
70-1444: The summer of 2009 welcomed newborn son Jhett. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2018. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) 1988 – F. Merkel 1989 – F. Merkel 1990 – R. Roche 1991 – D. Polen 1992 – D. Polen 1993 – S. Russell 1994 – C. Fogarty 1995 – C. Fogarty 1996 – T. Corser 1997 – J. Kocinski 1998 – C. Fogarty 1999 – C. Fogarty 2000 – C. Edwards 2001 – T. Bayliss 2002 – C. Edwards 2003 – N. Hodgson 2004 – J. Toseland 2005 – T. Corser 2006 – T. Bayliss 2007 – J. Toseland 2008 – T. Bayliss 2009 – B. Spies 2010 – M. Biaggi 2011 – C. Checa 2012 – M. Biaggi 2013 – T. Sykes 2014 – S. Guintoli 2015 – J. Rea 2016 – J. Rea 2017 – J. Rea 2018 – J. Rea 2019 – J. Rea 2020 – J. Rea 2021 – T. Razgatlıoğlu 2022 – Á. Bautista 2023 – Á. Bautista 2024 – T. Razgatlıoğlu Mike Baldwin (motorcyclist) Mike Baldwin (born January 15, 1955, in Pasadena, California )
80-581: The top American road racers, but injuries curtailed his career. He rode a Bimota at the WSBK Championship in 1989, scoring a podium finish in France In 2001, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame . Points system from 1969 to 1987: Points system from 1988 to 1992: ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) 2014 Superbike World Championship The 2014 Superbike World Championship
90-719: Was included in the 13-round updated version of the calendar, issued by the FIM on 12 April 2014, as the venue of the last event of the season. On 31 July 2014, the Qatar round was confirmed by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, and was to be held under floodlights for its return to the calendar. On the same date, it was announced that the South African round – due to be held on 19 October at Phakisa Freeway in Welkom –
100-499: Was the twenty-seventh season of the Superbike World Championship . The season saw the revision of the Superpole format: riders placed from eleventh to twentieth position in the combined classification of the first three practice sessions were admitted to Superpole 1, then the two fastest SP1 riders progressed to Superpole 2, which finally awarded the pole position , joining the ten fastest riders of practice. Sylvain Guintoli became
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