Leisner Rides a High as World Tour Beckons

Normally, Andy Leisner gets no thrill from signing his name. But last Saturday, inking a contract to race on the world championship motorcycle tour felt about as mundane to Leisner as cashing in a winning Lotto ticket.

“It was like all my 21 Christmases rolled into one,” said Leisner, 22, who will begin riding for Racing Team Katayama in March.

Leisner, who lives in La Canada, won each of the five 250cc Western regional races he entered this year. He also finished fourth in the American Motorcyclist Assn. Castrol Grand Prix at Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Still, he says the expectations of his sponsors are not overwhelming.

“They don’t expect me to set the world on fire my first year,” he said. “They want me to hit my peak at 25.”

The 15-stop world circuit is composed of races in Australia, Japan, Western and Eastern Europe and Brazil.

And though he is not feeling much pressure from his backers, Leisner says he will be going full-throttle against the stiff international competition.

“My biggest fear is not being able to do well,” he said. “There’s a lot of money behind me.”

But, Leisner admits, beating the seasoned international races will be difficult, especially because he is unfamiliar with foreign tracks. American races are usually 50 miles in length; European races about 70 miles.

“If the track is real physical with very few long straight-aways where I can rest, it will be rough,” he said.

Leisner says professional racers in Europe have celebrity status--and he wouldn’t mind getting his share of attention.

“They go bananas for this stuff,” he said. “It’s definitely the biggest thrill of my life.”