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Written by:
Chris Martin
07/16/2008 - 01:50 PM
Iowa City, IA
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jamie Hacking (Photo: Brian J Nelson) ยป More Photos
Talk about the mother of all birthday surprises.
A couple short weeks back AMA Superbike superstar Jamie Hacking was out enjoying dinner to celebrate his 37th birthday when he got the call. He was due to fly to Japan to get in a quick two-day test aboard Kawasaki's 800cc ZX-RR Grand Prix racer in preparation for his MotoGP debut at Laguna Seca.
The truth is, Hacking had briefly entertained the prospects of getting a wild card entry for the weekend earlier this season when Roger Hayden, who impressed thoroughly when given a similar opportunity last season, was placed on the shelf due to his crash at Barber Motorsports Park and looking at a lengthy rehab.
Disappointingly, those chances seemed to evaporate when Kawasaki announced they wouldn't be fielding a wild card rider in America this season as they choose to instead focus their efforts on full-time riders John Hopkins and Anthony West in a season that's proven to be more of a struggle than anticipated for the green team.
However, Hopkins' misfortune at Assen ruled him out of competition until after the summer break as he healed, reopening the door for Hacking. The British-born Carolinina was all too happy to storm through in order to get what could prove to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform at the pinnacle of his chosen profession.
"I was ecstatic," said of the moment he got the word. "I was blown away to find out I was getting a chance to actually race a MotoGP bike."
Prior to throwing a leg over the machine, Hacking tried to glean whatever information he could from his friend Ben Spies, the two-time defending AMA Superbike champ who recently made his own MotoGP debut at Donington Park.
"I talked with Ben while he was at Donington and we were going back and forth about what were the hardest things for him so I already had a pretty good idea what I was in store for. And we traded some phone calls while I was in Japan and had some pretty good laughs about the bikes -- how incredible they are to ride."
It seems as if Spies' advice might have done some good as Hacking quickly got up to speed, making his way around the Autopolis circuit in Japan under the lap record. That said, it did take a bit of getting used to.
"I got on the bike and it was a lot to take in with the electronics -- not being able to blip the throttle and downshift and not pulling in the clutch. It's just something I'm not used to after riding motorcycles for so long. I've been trained to do this and that and all of the sudden someone is telling you not to. Plus there were the new brakes to learn and the different tires and the whole new motorcycle.
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