In spite of ambient temperatures in the 90s and a heat index over 100 degrees, eight members of the Birmingham, Alabama media came out to Barber Motorsports Park Friday, June 20 to get a glimpse of motorcycle road racing from the passenger seat of Pro Superbike racer Chris Ulrich’s two-seat GEICO Honda CBR1000RR Superbike.
Ulrich’s team working in conjunction with Zoom Motorsports, the exclusive event promoter at Barber Motorsports Park, hosted four TV reporters, three radio personalities and a reporter from Alabama’s largest newspaper. Ulrich’s guests included: Kyle Burger, a sports anchor/reporter for WVTM 13, the NBC affiliate in Birmingham; Dwight Crossfield and Ashley Daniel, on-air personalities for 95.7 FM “Jamz;” Scott Griffin, a sports anchor/reporter for WBRC Fox 6 and the operator of his own website, www.finditbham.com; Jason Mack, an on-air talent at 103.1 FM “The Vulcan;” Lauren Sisler, a sports anchor/reporter for WIAT 42, the CBS affiliate in Birmingham; Jeff Speegle, the weekend sports anchor for WBMA 33/40, the ABC affiliate in Birmingham; Cheryl Wray, a sport reporter for the Birmingham News newspaper and al.com, the website for the Birmingham News’ parent media company.
“It was awesome,” said Crossfield, who had never been on a motorcycle before Friday. “There’s nothing you can do to prepare yourself for the speed. Thank goodness for the handle, because I don’t know how else I would have been able to hold on. I just have so much respect for the rider, because there’s no words to explain what type of skill is needed to operate that vehicle at these speeds. It’s just amazing.
“I’ve never seen this sport before. I’ve always wanted to. This is actually my first time at Barber Motorsports Park period. I’m definitely a fan now, instant fan. This is awesome.”
Crossfield and Daniel did a live radio show from Barber Motorsports Park Friday; Mack posted video from his ride on his station’s website at http://www.1031thevulcan.com/onair/jason-mack-49534/the-fastest-4-minutes-of-my-12486864/; all four TV networks covered their rides on their news broadcasts Friday evening, including multiple segments on some stations; Griffin also immediately posted video of his ride onto his website (http://finditbham.com/a-summer-ride-around-barbers-motorsports-park/), and Wray posted her story and video at http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/06/whats_it_like_to_race_a_motorc.html#incart_more_sports .
“It’s always a pleasure to work with the people at Zoom Motorsports and Barber Motorsports Park,” said Ulrich. “They did a great job getting the media activated and out to the race to experience the GEICO Honda Superbike. We had a really good turnout. We had eight riders on a very hot day. A couple of them were repeat customers, and that goes to show how exciting riding on the back of a Superbike is. It’s great to work with people who want to promote the sport, and it’s great to have such enthusiastic people come out and ride. I really enjoyed the day and look forward to giving more rides to the media at future events.”
For over a decade, Ulrich and his team have offered rides on two-seat racebikes to reporters, celebrities and fans to help promote road racing events and motorcycling in general. Ulrich has given more than 750 two-seat race bike rides since 2003.