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PROFILE: SCOTT SUMMERS

 

Scott Summers is a rarity among motorcycle racers. He's been at the top of his game for more than a decade and shows no sign of letting up. The owner of nine AMA championships--five in the brutally competitive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series and four in the far-reaching National Hare Scrambles Series--Summers has earned the respect of all those who have tried to beat him over the years, and the admiration of fans all over the country.

 

Actually, he has fans all over the world. He's been a key member of America's International Six Days Enduro team four times, racing against the world's best enduro specialists in what's considered the Olympics of off-road motorcycle racing. He earned a coveted gold medal on three of those trips abroad. He's also jumped completely out of his element and into the fast, desolate world of desert racing a few times, finishing as high as third overall at the Baja 1000.

 

The GNCC series remains the focus of his considerable talent, though, often to the chagrin of his many competitors. Since winning his first GNCC title in 1990, no one has approached his consistency. Despite being a veritable one-man team against multi-rider squads armed with the latest factory equipment from other manufacturers, Summers and his XR600R--a machine that went fundimentally unchanged for nearly a decade--have been the combination to beat more often than not.

 

Fast, strong, approachable, intelligent and articulate in the subtleties of his sport, Summers is generally acknowledged as the rider who helped elevate cross-country-style racing to a higher professional level, attracting major media attention, outside sponsors and greater involvement from the factories. Over the years he has helped bring younger competitors along with advice and technical assistance, riders who-ironically-he later would come to face on the track. Off the track, Summers participates in several charity causes, and he actively fights to keep land open for OHV recreation. He is, in the simplest sense, one of the good guys.

 

The past two seasons haven't been good to Summers, however, with injuries and bad luck keeping him from winning more GNCC titles. Last year he won the third race of the series, putting himself in the hunt for a record extending 10th championship. Unfortunately he suffered a broken femur and other injuries in a training crash that kept him out of racing the remainder of the year and the beginning of the 2000 season.

 

This might be a comeback season for Summers, but few would bet against him-especially this year. For the 2000 season he'll be riding Honda's all-new aluminum-frame, liquid-cooled XR650R, the most innovative machine he has raced. "The bike is real strong," says Summers. "It's everything we always hoped the XR would become." Widely acknowledged as one of the strongest, fittest racers on the circuit, he credits much of his long-running success to extensive physical training. "I push myself really hard," he says. "I don't have all the natural talent in the world, so I have to try to make up for that by spending more time in the gym.

 

"I like the physical aspect of this sport. Not only is it about mechanical preparation, it's a very physical game. I spend about three or four days a week training, isolating different muscle groups." Of course, riding is also a key part of his physical preparation, though he insists, "Riding is a great way to train, but you have to do it at a racing level of intensity to get sustained benefits." With a variety of practice tracks laid out around his 100-acre ranch in Petersburg, Kentucky, Summers can ride virtually any time he wishes. Normally, he'll ride at least three days a week, matching the effort of a GNCC event.

 

Another characteristic Summers exhibits is the result of 16 years of racing experience, and that's his savvy approach to any given race. Asked what part of his experience is most beneficial, he replies, "Predicting what elements are going to be the most important at a given event. One day it might be vision; that might be the limiting factor. Another day, it might require a special suspension setup. So the guy who can predict what factors are keeping him from going faster will be the one who's toughest to beat."

 

When he's not prepping for a race or honing his 6-foot-1 physique to cope with those grueling three-hour events, Summers participates in several worthy causes. He has helped develop plans to reopen trails in the nearby Daniel Boone National Forest to motorcycles, and has become a sponsor of the Honda-supported National Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM). This unique program employs minibikes to help motivate at-risk inner-city kids. Summers puts on an annual NYPUM riding camp at his ranch. "The kids have to be genuinely motivated to participate, but we show them a good time and really open their eyes to some new possibilities," he says. "It's amazing to see the transformation in these kids-some of them have never even been to the country-when they get on a motorcycle for the first time."

 

Political activist, youth worker, physical-training demon and feared competitor-Scott Summers will bring all of these facets together for a 2000 racing campaign that promises to go down in the record books.

 

 

STATISTICS: SCOTT SUMMERS

 

¥ AMA Grand National Cross Country Series Champion: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997

 

¥ AMA National Hare Scrambles Series Champion: 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995

 

¥ AMA GNCC Series Rider of the Year: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996

 

¥ AMA Sportsman of the Year: 1990

 

¥ Second overall, AMA GNCC Series: 1995

 

¥ Third overall, AMA National Hare Scrambles Series: 1994

 

¥ Fourth overall, AMA GNCC Series: 1998

 

¥ Fifth overall, AMA GNCC Series: 1994

 

¥ Four-time U.S. ISDE team member, Gold medalist in 1989, 1996, 1998

 

¥ Third overall, Baja 1000: 1988

 

BornMarch 21, 1967

Bowling Green, Kentucky

ResidencePetersburg, Kentucky

National # 19

Began riding1972, age 5

First race1974, age 7

TrainingRunning, weight lifting, bicycling, motorcycle riding

HobbiesRiding personal watercraft, water skiing, board sailing, inline skating

Height6' 1"

Weight185 lb.

Marital statusSingle

Current race bikeHonda XR650R

MechanicCorey Parlin

 

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