Jordan Burgess
Motorcycle Racer Magazine
September 2011
So there i was, finally in the land of opportunities, arriving at LAX ready for the big year ahead in AMA Superbike. I didnt have a car, a home or anything to my name. Just a gearbag, some clothes, my personal savings and a contract signed to ride a Suzuki GSXR 1000 for Team ADR Fly Racing ran by Australian rider ‘Aussie’ Dave Anthony.
2010, my first season as a pro in Australia was littered with injuries, a few bouts of surgery, robbed of some confidence and the pressures as a Rookie on the Australian factory Ducati Superbike team so i was given the flick by the team. Looking back, i think this was a blessing in disguise as i have always dreamt of coming to America to race in the AMA . This could be my chance.
The glamorized AMA series has always attracted me. Ever since i was a kid reading in mags about the MX and SX guys like Jeremy McGrath and the Road guys like the Bostrom brothers and Mat Mladin tearing it up, i wanted to be a part of it. All i thought was everything is bigger in the USA, and road racing is bound to bounce back from sales slumps and the GFC and i could start making some money back from my sport which my family has sacrificed so much on me for. .. I thought, ‘top 10, easy! these americans won’t know what hit them!’. I look back on that now that i have done a full season here and realize how naive i was. These guys are awesome riders, have been riding the same tracks for years, with state of the art machinery and support. I now realize It was never going to be easy for a rookie Aussie on a low budget team…
After getting my sleeping and living arrangements sorted for the time being, which was a couch in a motorhome in the backyard of Dave’s place, we Headed for our first test at Daytona where i got my first taste of the AMA. I was so excited seeing the double decker trucks, riders, teams and the banking on that bloody track for the first time i almost wet myself in excitement! The test went well and i was happy with the Suzuki. Daytona is a really cool track, its very simple and fast! you can really push the bike hard which is what i love. Riding towards the banking for the first time was a rush. One second your freaking out as you don’t know what to do when you hit the steep bank then all of a sudden your on it with your chest and helmet flattened on the bike at up to 2.2 Gs at190mph!
The first race there i finished 14th which was awesome. After the race i was pumped and ready to celebrate and found my way to the bar to have a beverage and low and behold i saw my adolescent idol – the Milf Hunter! (if you don’t know who this is, google him) We got talking over a few budweiser’s and exchanged some notes on our chosen fields of profession which was entertaining! Overall a pretty cool start to a good season ahead.
Our Bikes that Dave Anthony had built him self were running similar a horsepower to the other Superbikes (approx. 186hp@rw) as they can only run certain selected performance parts in AMA spec, however the biggest difference between us and the factory guys is the level of Electronics. There is no cap on the level of electronics allowed so for us running just a simple EM pro box and no TC, it was always going to be an uphill battle to run up front. out team consists of two main riders, three mechanics, a driver a and sometimes another hand if we were lucky! its a tough ask for a team trying to look professional and put on the set up we do when it is normally only 3 or 4 of us setting it all up but we made it happen.
Gearing up for the 15,000 miles i will be doing for the season, i bought myself a little Isuzu SUV for a measly $3000. I wasn’t sure if it was going to last but she’s still kicking on!
From California across to the East i travelled with some of our crew and we had an absolute ball, stopping through places like las vegas milwaukee and chicago on our way to tracks as i managed to convince people at every place we visited that i was a Aussie sheep farmer, as i found this alot easier to explain than being a pro Superbike racer, as the general public here has no idea what the hell a superbike is, never loan understand an Aussie accent!
Racing fans here differ in each of the states we visited to race at. Miller for WSBK there really wasn’t much going on yet at tracks like Ohio and the motoGP at Laguna Seca the crowds were loving it! Ohio was crazy, the crowds would circle bikes with female pillion passengers and peer-pressure the girl into showing her boobs or else they would get boo’d! classic!
Off the bike I was loving it, however on the bike, it was a different story for the first few rounds, as trying to get up to speed quickly at these tracks and riding around equipment flaws i found myself having a shocker with DNF’s at the next two rounds at Infinieon and Miller for WSBK,, crashing in the Qualifying session and races which meant two rounds i was scoreless.
I thought at miller my luck on track would change, however during the race i pushed too hard through a turn and lost the front end and found my ass DNF’d yet again! that was a killer blow. I was trying so hard to get noticed however i just couldn’t hold it together so it seemed! Time for me to reevaluate my strategy. I had come to the realization to make a name for myself here it was not going to happen over night and i need to just be a bit more patient and ride smart.
From Road America, WI on until the abrupt end of the season at New Jersey i had consistent qualifying runs and top 15 finishes with my best of 12th, improving at every round to finish 15th overall despite the DNF’s. Unfortunately, 2 rounds got cancelled, Virginia and, what was supposed to be the final round somewhere, never got organized for some reason? I thought it was funny that the other teams and racers just accepted it too. I didn’t get it, I was paying to race this year i was infuriated! Yes thats right, not everyone here, nay, only the top 5 or 10 guys are getting any sort of return from our so called professional sport. It’s a real shame, but thats the way racing is for now unfortunately all over the world. It makes it tough and sometimes you have to ask, for what am i sacrificing all this for? But it’s simple. As a racer, if you still have that burning desire to race and chase the dream, you must do it while you can and take any and every opportunity you can,being smart about it.
I was thankful to have this opportunity with Team ADR for 2011 and i have learnt so much as a rider and i am looking forward to next season however I have no ride as yet and need more personal sponsors to be able to compete and keep charging hard. To sum it all up, the AMA competition is a tough one and is a great feeding ground for the world championships. My goal is to continue racing here next year and build upon my knowledge and experiences i have taken from this year!
For now however i am off to Oktoberfest to sample some beers and spend a few days in Europe with some friends!
Peace
Jordy
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