FIRED-UP FREDDIE

GP stars don’t get much bigger than Freddie Spencer, who explained to us why there’s a notable lack of US talent on the road racing scene right now…

The AMA superbike series really went downhill in 2010-11, when the economy plummeted and that hit the American talent scene massively, because it meant people weren’t coming through. The pool of talented riders who’d been grafting to be future stars shrank massively and it’s only now that things in the States are on their way back up. There’s a real resurgence in the dirt track scene, because Harley and Indian are going head-on to be the best, and that’s allowing young riders the chance to cut their teeth on the ovals.

When riders learn what it is to control a bike on the dirt, they develop skills that aid them exponentially when they inevitably try their hand at road racing. That’s what happened in the 1970s and 80s when guys of my era took what we’d learned on the dirt and applied it to the road bike scene. You can still see it today in riders like Rossi and Marquez who ride a lot on dirt to keep sharp and fit.

So, I’m optimistic that there’ll be a big return of American talent onto the world stage, but it might not be for another five to ten years, but it’s coming and that’s exciting. I think we’ve turned the corner. We don’t know who that next talented American rider’s going to be, but we know that they’re coming.