ALL THE BREAKS : Make No (Broken) Bones About It, Merkel Is Superbike’s Leader of the Pack

Fred Merkel of Huntington Beach has developed into one of the finest road racers in the American Motorcycle Assn., but there was a time when he could have been written up in medical journals.

Before Merkel reached the age of 15, he had broken both shoulders, an ankle, all of his fingers, fractured several ribs and his ankle. He once missed 2 1/2 months of school because he was placed in a full body cast.

“I spent months and months in plaster,” he said. “I’d tell my teachers that I was racing over the weekend and they would wonder what I was going to break next.”

The broken bones were the price Merkel paid to become an accomplished motorcycle racer. Although he was only 4-feet 5-inches, Merkel competed on Yamaha 125cc in amateur Class C and motocross races around his home in Stockton.

Merkel wasn’t tall enough to steady his bike at the starting line, so his father, Gary, held up the bike at the back fender. Once a race began, Merkel usually won unless he crashed.

“I was too small to be riding a bike that was so big,” he said. “I did a lot of flying over the handlebars going too fast. I never got hurt riding on a dirt track . . . it was always racing motocross.

“Once I grew a little, I stopped getting hurt. But I never lost my enthusiasm to become a professional racer.”

Merkel, now 22 and about 6-feet tall, owned his first bike when he was seven and rode for two years on his family’s 100-acre home before entering his first race. A year later, Merkel won the U.S. Class C championship for boys 14 and under and continued to compete in the dirt the next 10 years.

But Merkel’s life-long ambition was to become a road racer. World champion Kenny Roberts, from nearby Modesto, had been a family friend for years and he steered Merkel to road racing in 1978. The top American road racers--Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Freddie Spencer and Randy Mamola--all started their careers as dirt track riders, so the transition seemed natural.

Merkel campaigned with little success his rookie season, making the adjustment to greater speeds and steering his bike through the turns by dragging his knee rather than putting his foot down as is customary in dirt-track racing.

He competed in American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM) pro-am races throughout the state, moving up to the 250cc class in 1980. A year later, Merkel turned professional and stunned the racing world when he won the AMA’s road race at Laguna Seca.

“I nearly lapped the field, yet people were saying it was a fluke,” Merkel said. “I didn’t have the money to campaign the entire circuit that season, but I went to Pocono and made fools of the other racers. That’s when I knew I could be successful in this game.”

With his newfound confidence, Merkel, his family and some friends pooled their resources so he could compete on the AMA’s road racing circuit in 1982. A friend gave Merkel a motorhome so he could travel to each race and his father scheduled his vacations in conjunction with the race schedule.

Merkel eventually spent $37,000 racing that season and finished second in the Camel Pro 250 GP standings behind champion Sam McDonald.

“It was a learning process,” Merkel said. “It was a lot more work than I expected and cost a hell of a lot more money. Living out of a van was tough, but I considered the whole experience a trial period.

“I won three races and caught the eye of Honda. They signed me the next year as a support rider and then I became a factory rider in August of 1983.”

There’s a world of difference between a support and factory rider. A support rider travels in a van or motorhome around the country, usually with a family member and a mechanic. He receives a bike, some parts and sometimes a gasoline allowance.

A factory rider arrives at a race with a semi-tractor trailer rig equipped with its own workshop and a small army of tuners and mechanics. They roll out a tent and enough equipment to stock a small motorcycle shop. The rider doesn’t drive but has the luxury of flying to most of his races.

Merkel was getting first-class sponsorship from Honda and Arai Helmets, and it didn’t take long for the big bucks operation to pay off. He finished third in the Superbike (750cc) standings in 1983 and then followed with a championship last year.

The Superbike series consists of 13 races and Merkel won 10 on his Honda Interceptor 750. He will begin defense of his title this weekend at the AMA Camel Pro series at Willow Springs in Lancaster with a 100-kilometer race Sunday. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday.

Merkel has lived in Huntington Beach for the past year. He surfs every morning, plays golf, runs between two and six miles and plays tennis as part of his training. The youngster who once struggled to hold up a motorcycle is a solid 165 pounds and easily handles his 500-pound motorcycle.

Merkel’s operation has grown, too. He’ll bring a team manager, two mechanics, his semi-truck driver, a fabricator and a parts manager to Willow Springs. His parents continue to travel to each race and Merkel plans to take his grandparents to a road race in Japan this season.

The 22-year-old has certainly arrived. He knew that much last year when he departed from his plane in Tokyo.

“I looked up and there I was plastered on a 30 x 50 foot billboard,” he said. “It was me. I couldn’t believe it.”