RCarmichael_A

The Team Behind The Team

 

 

 

Chuck Miller, Manager, Motorcycle Sports

 

A multi-time Baja champion and ISDE gold medalist in his own right, Chuck Miller’s personal motorcycle racing experience gives him a well-rounded view of the racing scene. Miller’s 20-year career with the company helps explain his success as manager of Honda motorcycle sports, a position he’s held for three years. In 2002, only his second year with the team, Miller notched five national championships between Honda’s motocross and road racing teams, and in 2003 he won three more. A good deal of credit for these championships goes to Miller’s organizational skills and experience in winning races. When he’s not leading the Red Riders, Miller can still be found competing, whether it is an occasional off-road race or the Los Angeles Marathon.

 

 

 

Erik Kehoe, Motocross Team Manager

 

It can be invaluable to a team to have a manager who was once a professional racer himself. Erik Kehoe has just such a background, as well as a unique understanding of what his team needs to win championships. Kehoe’s experience and understanding comes from what he learned throughout a 13-year professional career that came to a close in 1994. The learning didn’t stop there, as he immediately moved into a team management role. In 2002 Kehoe joined the Honda team and the rest is history—five national championships’ worth of history.

 

 

 

Andrea Mollica, Race Team Administrator

 

Although she is charged with staying behind to keep a watchful eye on Team Honda headquarters, Andrea Mollica’s presence is felt at every Supercross and motocross event. She is the person every professional organization needs to make things flow smoothly; in short, she’s the go-to person. A Honda associate for two decades, Andrea knows how to coordinate everything from accounting to hotel reservations to rider bonus checks. And she does it all with a disarmingly charming smile.

 

 

 

Cliff White, Chief Engineer

 

Wrenching for the sports’ best racers throughout more than two decades at Honda has built Cliff White a reputation unmatched by his peers. Legendary Honda champions such as David Bailey, George Holland and Jean-Michel Bayle all benefited from White’s mechanical prowess. Over the years his riders captured 11 national titles. These days, Red Riders rely on him as the team’s chief engineer and the rest of the crew can rely on him for his vast store of racing knowledge and experience.

 

 

 

Jeff Stanton, Motocross Team Consultant

 

Jeff Stanton has plenty of insight into guiding riders toward a championship effort. Just check out his resume: Three AMA 250cc National motocross titles, three AMA 250cc Supercross crowns, two World Supercross championships and three Motocross des Nations appearances on behalf of the United States. Having accomplished all this while riding for Team Honda, Stanton helped set the bar for Red Rider excellence and intensity. Since retiring after the 1994 season, he has worked as the team’s advisor, coaching riders in practice, in training and on race day.

 

 

 

Mike Gosselaar, Race Technician for Ricky Carmichael

 

Prior to winning the 2003 Supercross and AMA 250 National championship as Ricky Carmichael’s right-hand man, Mike Gosselaar had many other achievements to boast. Known to the team as “Goose,” Gosselaar wrenched his way to two consecutive AMA 125 National championships and a number of 250 National motocross and Supercross wins. Still, Gosselaar’s proudest accomplishment is raising a family of racers, including Factory Connection Honda’s Chris Gosselaar, the eldest of Goose’s three sons.

 

 

 

Kenny Germain, Race Technician for Ernesto Fonseca

 

A racer-turned-wrench spinner, Kenny Germain rode amateur motocross in New England until 1996 when he began working for the race team of reed-valve guru Eyvind Boyesen. With a knack for precise race machine setup, Germain quickly climbed the technician ladder, working for Pro Circuit before pairing up with Ernesto Fonseca in 1999 on another factory-backed team where this dmerging rider-technician relationship flourished. In 2002 the duo joined forces on Team Honda and in 2003 they showed their most impressive results to date; third in the 250 Supercross series. Look for even more from the Germain/Fonseca union this year.

 

 

 

John Mitchell, Race Technician for Nathan Ramsey

 

The technicians on Team Honda all have championships to their credit and John “Bundy” Mitchell is no exception. For the past six years Mitchell has worked exclusively with Nathan Ramsey, including the 1999 season when they won the 125 Western Regional Supercross championship. In 2002 the duo came to Team Honda and met the goal of taking the new CRF450R to a Supercross victory. This year poses a new goal for Mitchell and Ramsey; racing the CRF250R. Expect another goal to be met.

 

 

 

Jonathan Hyland, Race Technician for Kevin Windham

 

A graduate of the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Jonathan Hyland’s career at American Honda began as a service shop technician. Before long, Hyland graduated to Team Honda as the testing coordinator. When Kevin Windham announced his return to racing aboard the Honda CRF450R, Hyland once again advanced; this time he graduated to the role of Windham’s mechanic. In 2003 the duo won two AMA 250 National motocross events and gave the team of Carmichael and Gosselaar a run for their money, which they plan to do throughout 2004.

 

 

 

Ron Wood, Four-Stroke Testing Coordinator

 

Ron Wood is always up for a good challenge and this year he’ll be challenged with coordinating the testing program for not one, but two Factory Honda four-stroke models. Having worked as a Honda tuner from the mid-1980s into the early ‘90s, Wood transitioned into the world of automotive racing and gained even greater knowledge. In 2000 Wood came back to Honda and has headed the Red Rider full-time CRF testing program ever since.

 

 

 

Mike Battista, Suspension Technician

 

Supercross and motocross track conditions obviously change from venue to venue, but they also change from minute to minute at a given track. That’s why suspension setup has become an exacting science in the world of motocross. Mike Battista doesn’t wear a lab coat but he is the team’s suspension scientist. Acting as a liaison between Showa Japan, Honda’s OEM supplier, and the team riders, Battista coordinates suspension tuning and development and he does it with a decade of winning experience.

 

 

 

Kaipo Chung, Suspension Technician

 

Entering his second season as a Showa suspension technician, Kaipo Chung works beside Mike Battista as a liaison between the Red Riders and Showa Japan. Before coming to work with Team Honda, Chung honed his suspension tuning skills setting up forks and shocks for aftermarket suspension company, Race Tech and also spent time working for a competitor’s race team. Look for Chung to provide the Red Riders with a smooth ride this year.

 

 

 

Shane Drew, Chassis/Suspension Technician

 

Shane Drew did such a stellar job as Mike LaRocco’s race technician last year, that Team Honda swooped him up and brought him to work with the Red Rider squadron. Drew’s extensive knowledge in chassis and suspension tuning and development dates back to the days of his own pro-level motocross career. His understanding of chassis and suspension set-up is so good that Drew can often predict the changes the Red Riders will need before a rider can tell him.

 

 

 

Steve Reed, Engine Data Acquisition

 

Steve Reed knows a thing or two about building race-winning engines. He worked on Toyota Racing Development (TRD) USA’s team for a dozen years, and he’s also been a part of the racing scene from the Indianapolis 500 to the Baja 500. Reed even ventured to Europe as an ISDE competitor. Throughout his travels Reed has gained experience in data acquisition and engine development, and he uses that knowledge to build the sport’s best powerplants.

 

 

 

Dan Betley, Research and Development Technician

 

With more than 20 years of motorcycle industry experience including more than a dozen years with Honda, Dan Betley knows what it takes to win at the highest levels. Betley earned three Supercross and three AMA National championships as a race team mechanic assigned to Jeff Stanton’s efforts. This year, all of Betley’s racing experience will go toward developing the new Honda CRF250R machines; another feather for Betley’s cap.

 

 

 

Andrew Hopson, Engine Research and Development Technician

 

Hailing from Newcastle, Australia, Andrew Hopson entered the racing scene in America in 1994 and began working as a parts fabricator and engine builder. His efforts helped win five Supercross and three AMA National championships before he ventured over to Honda at the end of 2000 to add more championships to his resume. In 2004 Hopson celebrates ten years in American motocross and will continue to focus his attention on exhaust-pipe fabrication and engine development.

 

 

 

Tom Jobe, Race Team Fabricator

 

Works motocross machines may be a thing of the past, but there’s still a pressing need for one-off parts fabricated from scratch. That would be a daunting task for anybody but Tom Jobe. Throughout the last 35 years, Jobe has made parts for all kinds of projects, from land-speed-record cars to Indy cars. In 1997 Jobe was even inducted into the NHRA Drag Racing Hall of Fame for his innovative drag racing efforts in the ’60s with his team, The Surfers. Now in his 13th year with Honda, Jobe continues to fabricate beautiful pieces for the Team Red Rider machines.

 

 

 

Brad Chapman, Motocross Parts Technician

 

Imagine for a moment you’re Ricky Carmichael at the Daytona Beach, Florida, Supercross event and your Honda CR250R is missing a crucial part, but the Honda race shop is on the other side of the country. With Brad Chapman on the team, this scenario doesn’t happen. Chapman is the man charged with ensuring that mechanics and riders always have what they need as he monitors the team’s parts inventories. How does a guy get a gig like this? Chapman began his career at Honda preparing motorcycles for advertising photo shoots, but the racing that flows through his blood led him to Team Honda.

 

 

 

Lars Lindstrom, Test Technician

 

The son of motocross legend Gunnar Lindstrom, Lars is no slouch when it comes to motocross racing. Lindstrom’s own test riding abilities contribute to his role as the team’s test technician. When he’s not riding or racing on his own time, Lindstrom is far away from the cheering fans, trackside at an undisclosed practice track with a handful of tools assisting the Team Honda racers and technicians.

 

 

 

Tom Gildea, Transporter Operator

 

When Tom Gildea first came to work for Honda he specialized in three wheelers as a mechanic for the now-defunct Honda ATC™ racing team. Nowadays, Gildea specializes in 18 wheels, as a driver for one of the team’s two race transporters. Now in his eighth year with the motocross team, Gildea zigzags across the country, following the 10-month racing season from circuit to circuit. Hauling more than a million dollars worth of equipment, Gildea travels in excess of 35,000 miles per year for the Honda team.

 

 

 

Mark Hough, Transporter Operator

 

A racing effort as dedicated as Team Honda’s requires not one, but two 18-wheelers in order to help assure that championships keep coming their way. While one transporter serves as the team’s technical base, the support/hospitality rig driven by Mark Hough serves an equally important role at the races. Hough’s transporter gives the team and its sponsors, as well as VIPs and media, a place to rest and replenish. Paired with the transporter driven by Gildea, the two drivers make up a 36-wheel train known as the Red Rider convoy.

 

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