Fred Merkel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fred Merkel (born September 28, 1962 in Stockton, California) is an American motorcycle road racer.

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, and Fred riding the RC30 took the championship over Fabrizio Pirovano and Davide Tardozzi with 2 wins and 3 other podiums. He successfully defended the crown in 1989, with 3 wins, 7 other podiums, and 4 poles. He took 3 more wins en route to 6th 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 was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.

[edit] References

• Motorcycle Hall of Fame
• AMA Superbike Champions
• Bubba Shobert's (ex-Merkel) Factory Superbike
• Race winners at Brainerd

This biographical article relating to sports in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This Motorcycle racing biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.