Fred Merkel

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

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

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

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

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
  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
Wayne Rainey		 AMA Superbike Champion
1984–1986		 Succeeded by
Wayne Rainey
None World Superbike Champion
1988–1989		 Succeeded by
Raymond Roche
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