We’re fans of MotoGP racing. We’re also fans of infographics. Combine the two with the fact that we’re illustrators by trade and you’ve got yerself these info-packed visual aids. The lead image is a fantastical imagination of what a circuit may look like if you combine all of the MotoGP tracks in the 2015 Championship into one Super Circuit (we can dream).
When we were little, we’d check out the Guinness Book of World Records from the library and marvel at the pics of the longest finger nails, the tiniest person or smallest bicycle. But it was the McCrary twins that probably made the biggest visual impact. Not only were they the world’s heaviest twins, they were astride little Honda motorcycles.
The award bestowed by the American Motorcyclist Association for ‘Superior Achievement by a Female Motorcyclist’ is named in Bessie Stringfield’s honor. She was sixteen when she learned to ride and she never looked back, becoming the first African-American woman to ride across the United States on her own. Later, she’d complete the cross-country journey several more times.
(Update: Mel has been named senior vice president and general manager of the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. We congratulate him on his new direction and wish him the best of luck. -GSG)
Mel Harder is a motorcyclist. He’s a listener, an observer, and a doer. He grew up in Speedway, Indiana, beginning a lifelong involvement with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2002, he took the reigns as Senior VP of Operations at IMS and later helped secure a deal that brought MotoGP racing to Indy in 2008.
Aside from being engrossed in the now dissipating Stoner-Lorenzo points battle in MotoGP, we’ve curiously tuned in to the wavering opinions on Motegi. The original date for the Japanese Gran Prix (April 24) was postponed due to the horrific tsunami that pounded the ports of Japan.
“The crowd expects to see a 300-pound tattooed lady with chains hanging down her back. They don’t expect me.” Debbie Lawler was five feet, two inches tall and just over a hundred pounds astride her 2-stroke Suzuki TM250.
