Drummer Chris Hesse, of the modern-rock quartet Hoobastank, is now rolling out laps at the racetrack on his Yamaha YZF-R6 with Pirelli’s latest Diablo Supercorsa race tires. And, the whole band will be performing at the Laguna Seca Moto GP. Hoobastank, formed by four Southern California natives, has had numerous hits on the charts, topped by The Reason from the album of the same name, which reached #2 on the Billboard Top 100 and #1 on the Modern Rock charts, driving the album itself to #3 on the Billboard 200. Hoobastank’s three albums have all climbed the charts with the self-titled Hoobastank going platinum, The Reason going double platinum, and Every Man for Himself reaching gold. In case you didn’t know. Hesse first rode a couple track days on his Yamaha YZF-R6, while doing street rides on his YZF-R1. At the May, 2007 WERA West round at California International Speedway, Hesse officially became a road racer, riding his YZF-R6 in three novice classes. Hesse finished 11th in B Superstock, 20th in C Superbike, and 19th in C Superstock, in the secure comfort of Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa traction. Hesse came to be on Pirelli’s after meeting Chris Wall, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Pirelli, at the Yamaha press launch for the 2007 YZF-R1 at Laguna Seca. The Chrises talked about racing over lunch and, as Wall puts it, “He is a really a down to earth guy and he complimented the Diablo Corsa’s that come OE on the new Yamaha R1. I told him if he liked our street tires that he’d love our race tires, and it seems like he is doing really well on them. I can’t wait to see his band’s show at Laguna.” About his first racing experience, Hesse said, “I was so freaked out by the starts. I think I let every single other racer pass me off the grid in each race. The biggest concern of mine is safety and the first turn scared me. I’m completely confident when there aren’t a hundred other bikes around me, but I’m concerned about other riders taking me out. If I get hurt the whole band suffers, not to mention my girl friend.” “Once each race got going I wasn’t passed by anyone,” Hesse continued, “Which is always a nice feeling. I was told that at California Speedway riders tend to go wide and brake early for turn one off the start, so I stuck to the inside and passed about five guys right there. But there was a pile up in front of me and they restarted that race. All three of my races were shortened to four laps from six due to red flags, so I think I could have done better, but every racer says that.” Hesse will be racing at the next round of the WERA West at California Speedway, in early July. Hesse said, “If any racers notice a yellow and black R6 with the number 64 on it, please be sure not to crash into me. I’m looking forward to this event because now I have some points and so I won’t be gridded in the back.” A motorcycle enthusiast through and through, Hesse is working towards creating a celebrity track day to give other musicians, actors, sports stars, and such, a day of fast riding. Hesse said, “I’m putting together a list of every musician and actor and personality I can think of. It would be a unique event that I’m sure every celebrity enthusiast would want to attend. And there are a lot of us.” Meanwhile, the whole Hoobastank crew (all of whom ride motorcycles) are busy writing their next album and getting ready for their concert at the Laguna Seca round of the world MOTO GP, thanks to sponsorship from Yamaha. To find out the latest doings of the band go to Hoobastank.com.