100th Loudon Classic: Shane Narbonne – The King Of The Classic

100th Loudon Classic: Shane Narbonne – The King Of The Classic

© 2023, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. By Michael Gougis:.

“I ride pretty much anything with two wheels,” Shane Narbonne says, and that simple sentence is the epitome of an understatement.

Narbonne, 33, of Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, has road raced a 125cc GP machine, a turbocharged Harley-Davidson Road Glide, and two motorcycles don’t get much more dissimilar than that.

But that range of experience, combined with local knowledge of one of the toughest tracks in North America, has earned him more wins than anyone else at the Loudon Classic. The centerpiece of the racing at Laconia Motorcycle Week, this year’s event is billed as the 100th running of the Classic. It is a uniquely challenging race that Narbonne has won 10 times, more than any other racer.

Narbonne has raced flat track since 1997, has raced on ice, raced motocross, race Supermoto. He got into road racing at an early age in 2005.

“Do you remember the Hooters racing team? I was good friends with the guy who ran it,” Narbonne says. “He used to run track days up at Loudon, and he would let me ride during the lunch break, because I was only 15 years old and insurance wouldn’t cover me.

“I started racing at Loudon. I had a (Honda) RS125. I think it was a 1990–the same year as myself. My first win–it was right off the bat. I think I won all four championships I was in that year.”

Narbonne raced several classes in AMA Pro Road Racing, including Superbike, Supersport, and Formula Xtreme. He moved into the Pro ranks in 2006 when he and father Al went to Virginia International Raceway for a club race and met up with the Safety First Racing team, who he rode for that year.

Narbonne has raced for the factory Triumph team, did his own private Superbike program, rode for the storied Celtic Racing squad, and ran a Harley-Davidson XR1200 for two seasons. Narbonne also was Champion in the Bagger Racing League, riding a turbocharged 1,753cc Road Glide. The breadth of his experience defies description.

But a lot of talented racers have ridden a lot of machines. Narbonne brings to the Classic local knowledge on a track that poses challenges unlike most circuits in North America. The circuit uses part of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway oval, traces part of the route scribed by the old Bryar Motorsports Park track, and packs 12 turns into 1.63 miles.

“It’s pretty intimidating if you’ve never been there. It’s definitely tight, but there’re so many elevation changes. The track surface is not the greatest, and the tires do act a lot different than they act at any other circuit I’ve been on. The tire wear is quite different than at other tracks that we race at,” Narbonne says. How tight is it? The Classic features middleweight machines, and Narbonne says he never gets into sixth gear on his Yamaha YZF-R6.

 

Shane Narbonne (64) started doing track days at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2005 and has raced the unique 1.63-mile circuit since, accumulating a wealth of track knowledge. Photo by San Draiss, courtesy NEMRR.
Shane Narbonne (64) started doing track days at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2005 and has raced the unique 1.63-mile circuit since, accumulating a wealth of track knowledge. Photo by San Draiss, courtesy NEMRR.

 

This year, the Classic will run over 25 laps instead of the usual 20, and those five extra laps will indeed make a difference, Narbonne says. “It’s not a sprint,” he says.

But Narbonne has been racing the Classic–and at Loudon/New Hampshire–since 2006, and he’s learned a lot from countless laps against highly skilled competitors.

“That was where I grew up road racing. And the people I look up to, Eric Wood, Scott Greenwood, Jerry Wood, I spent so much time chasing them, and they taught me so much,” Narbonne says. “I’ve been doing the Classic since 2006, so I have a lot of experience. It’s a one-of-a-kind race–there’s no other race like it.”

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