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

Fred Merkel
Motorcycle racing career statistics Superbike World Championship Active years 1988 - 1993 Manufacturers Honda Championships 2 (1988, 1989) 1993 championship position 11th (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. He is a three-time AMA Superbike Champion, winning in 1984/5 on the VF750 and 1986 on the VFR750F. 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. 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.

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

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

External links

• Bubba Shobert's (ex-Merkel) Factory Superbike
• Race winners at Brainerd