- Fred Merkel
Fred Merkel (born
September 28 ,1962 inStockton, California ) is an American formermotorcycle road racer and two-time Superbike world champion.In 1984 he teamed with Mike Baldwin to win the
Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race. He is a three-timeAMA Superbike Champion, winning in 1984/5 on theVF750 and 1986 on theVFR750F , he jointly holds the record for the most wins in a season withMat Mladin .In SBK|1988 the
Superbike World Championship began, and Fred riding the RC30 took the championship overFabrizio Pirovano andDavide Tardozzi with 2 wins and 3 other podiums. He successfully defended the crown in SBK|1989, with 3 wins, 7 other podiums, and 4 poles. He took 3 more wins en route to 6th overall in SBK|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 inNew Zealand . He was inducted into the AMAMotorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.References
* [http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=228 Motorcycle Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.motorsportsetc.com/champs/ama_sbk.htm AMA Superbike Champions]
* [http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/classics/bike.asp?id=22 Bubba Shobert's (ex-Merkel) Factory Superbike]
* [http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2002-Jun/theywonbrainerd.htm Race winners at Brainerd]
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