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Fred Merkel

This article is about the motorcycle road racer. For the Major League Baseball player with a similar name, see Fred Merkle.
Fred Merkel
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Superbike World Championship
Active years1988 - 1993
ManufacturersHonda
Championships2 (1988, 1989)
1993 championship position11th (91,5 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
117 8 24 4 7 848,5

Fred Merkel (born September 28, 1962, in Stockton, California) is an American former professional motorcycle road racer and two-time Superbike World Champion.

Motorcycle racing career

In 1984 he teamed with Mike Baldwin to win the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race.[1] He is a three-time AMA Superbike Champion, winning in 1984/5 on the VF750 and 1986 on the VFR750F.[2] 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.[3] He successfully defended 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 the summer of 2009 welcomed newborn son Jhett.

He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.[4]

He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2018.[5]

Career statistics

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos. Pts
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
1988 Honda GBR
4 		GBR
2 		HUN
1 		HUN
5 		GER
17 		GER
Ret 		AUT
Ret 		AUT
8 		JPN
2 		JPN
11 		FRA
6 		FRA
C 		POR
4 		POR
5 		AUS
4 		AUS
3 		NZL
1 		NZL
5 		1st 99
1989 Honda GBR
4 		GBR
6 		HUN
1 		HUN
1 		CAN
1 		CAN
3 		USA
4 		USA
3 		AUT
11 		AUT
3 		FRA
8 		FRA
4 		JPN
16 		JPN
12 		GER
8 		GER
4 		ITA
2 		ITA
2 		AUS
11 		AUS
5 		NZL
3 		NZL
3 		1st 272
1990 Honda SPA
2 		SPA
3 		GBR
1 		GBR
3 		HUN
1 		HUN
6 		GER
1 		GER
3 		CAN
5 		CAN
10 		USA
7 		USA
10 		AUT
7 		AUT
4 		JPN JPN FRA FRA ITA
Ret 		ITA
5 		MAL MAL AUS AUS NZL NZL 6th 197
1991 Honda GBR
Ret 		GBR
Ret 		SPA
Ret 		SPA
Ret 		CAN CAN USA
6 		USA
4 		AUT
8 		AUT
8 		SMR
9 		SMR
7 		SWE
8 		SWE
6 		JPN
12 		JPN
9 		MAL
12 		MAL
9 		GER
Ret 		GER
Ret 		FRA
3 		FRA
10 		ITA
8 		ITA
Ret 		AUS AUS 8th 124
1992 Yamaha SPA SPA GBR GBR GER GER BEL BEL SPA
17 		SPA
Ret 		AUT
9 		AUT
10 		ITA
Ret 		ITA
Ret 		MAL
11 		MAL
5 		JPN
26 		JPN
13 		NED
13 		NED
Ret 		ITA
Ret 		ITA
Ret 		AUS
10 		AUS
12 		NZL
6 		NZL
6 		13th 65
1993 Yamaha IRL
7 		IRL
7 		GER
Ret 		GER
12 		SPA
9 		SPA
12 		11th 91,5
Ducati SMR
10 		SMR
27 		AUT
11 		AUT
2 		CZE
Ret 		CZE
5 		SWE
12 		SWE
Ret 		MAL
9 		MAL
Ret 		JPN
Ret 		JPN
Ret 		NED
11 		NED
Ret 		ITA ITA GBR GBR POR
11 		POR
9

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos Pts
1989 500cc Honda JPN AUS USA SPA NAT
Ret 		GER AUT YUG NED BEL FRA
Ret 		GBR
11 		SWE CZE BRA 36th 5

References

  1. ^ "1984 Suzuka 8 Hours results at Moto Racing Japan". Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  2. ^ AMA Superbike Champions
  3. ^ Fred Merkel career World Superbike statistics at worldsbk.com Archived 2009-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Motorcycle Hall of Fame
  5. ^ Fred Merkel at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
Preceded by AMA Superbike Champion
1984–1986 		Succeeded by
None World Superbike Champion
1988–1989 		Succeeded by
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