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What started as a mere excuse for V-Twin hooligans to thrash street-legal motorcycles on a dirt flat track in Southern California has turned into a national spectacle. Last year marked the successful conclusion to the inaugural season of the Roland Sands/Indian Motorcycles Superhooligan series.
“We’re excited to kick off another full season of SuperHooligan championship racing at Salem. It’s all the different backgrounds of racers, fans and all the great sponsors that make it so fun,” said Cameron Brewer, a Superhooligan team rider who works at Roland Sands Designs. “It’s been cool having a loose rule book and watching it grow organically and turn into its own crazy piece of motorcycling. It really is a melting pot of everyday pros and Joes, all on a learning curve, trying to figure out how to wrangle and tune these different bikes. Heavy Bike Hooligan racing is no joke and it still blows me away how many sendy guys and girls have gotten involved.”
This year, the biggest news is the addition of a two new venues, the first being during the X-Games and the second in the San Francisco Bay…. we mean in the Bay at Pier 23. A motorcycle race inside San Francisco! “We’ve been trying to do something up there forever, because the motorcycle scene is so diverse,” said Cameron. “Racing on a pier under the Bay Bridge should be pretty wild.”
An important bit of drama last year that influenced this year’s rulebook is the fact that the top two finishes, former AMA Champion Joe Kopp and last year’s Superhooligan champion Andy DiBrino missed at least one round of racing each, influencing the final results. So, this year the best 9 out of 11 points finishes will be average to name the champion, as opposed to a total from all 11 rounds. This makes it a little easier for those who can’t afford to make 11 rounds around the country.
Meet the Racers and Their Bikes
Andy DiBrino
Andy is only 23 years old and worked with See See Motorcycles (Portland, Oregon) to race its Street 750 last season. “I thought it was kind of cool to race a bike like that, that hard. The bike wasn’t set up to race, it was a street bike, and built for a motorcycle show,” said last year’s champion Andy DiBrino about the first time he rode Superhooligan.
At the end of last season DiBrino walked into the final round in third place, “I also had two guys in front of me that weren’t going to mess up. They had more experience than me, and they’re professional riders. I didn’t think both would have issues, so I just rode smart,” said Andy.
He walked away with the win, a $50,000 Indian Motorcycles FTR750 and a cash prize from Bell Helmets. This year, he’s even more serious than last. In 2017, he simultaneously ran a sportbike series in Portland. “I’m planning on defending my No. 1 plate in Superhooligan, that’s my main focus. It was No. 2 last year.”
He’s local to Portland, so he’s expected to do well in the season opener. Plus, it’s a small, indoor track where the lack of engine size is less of a disadvantage. This year he’s fielded to work with Latus Motors Racing, building a new Street 750 to finish out the season.
Noise Cycles
Scott “T-bone” Jones is back at it, with another complete track build. A beautifully-executed modern version of the original Harley-Davidson XR flat tracker street version. This bike, like his racebike last year, is a Harley-Davidson XG750 with some engine work. The wheels are two special features on the bike. There’s a heavily altered Harley 19-inch cast front wheel and the rear is a special custom built unit that immolates a stocker Rally car wheel.
Suicide Machine Company
Another Street 750 build is coming from the brothers at Suicide Machine Company, who recently built the Street 750 snowmobiles. This Street, however, features a carbon-fiber tank, left-side exhaust, aftermarket swing-arm and inverted forks. They’ll likely bring out their other Harley-Davidson Sportsters, as the brothers don’t just share one bike.
Frankie Garcia
Frankie Garcia showed up at the final round last year and took home the win. This year he’s racing the same Ducati at the season opener on his #214 Ducati.
Roland and Crew
Of course, Roland and his crew will be back at it with a team full of Indian Scouts. They’re fresh and ready. The season opener will include a team: Jordan Graham with a new fresh gold-leaf paint job on his Indian Scout and stunt rider Troy Hoff as well as Tyler Bereman and Beau Manley.
Chris Wiggins
So-Cal local Hooligan racer, Chris Wiggins will be back with his trusty Sportster.
Event Calendar
Feb. 10: The One Show – Salem, Oregon
April 14: Hippy Killer Hoedown – Perris, California
May 18: Sacramento Short Track – Sacramento, California (night before AFT race)
June 15-17: China Peak Fire Road TT – Lakeshore, California
TBD: Costa Mesa Speedway – Costa Mesa, California
July 19-22: Summer X Games – Minneapolis, Minnesota
July 27: Dirt Quake – Castle Rock, Washington
Aug. 8: Buffalo Chip TT – Sturgis, South Dakota
Aug 17-19: Battle on the Bay (Pier 32) – San Francisco, California
Sept. 7: Hurley Surf & Turf – Lemoore, California
Oct. 13-14: Moto Beach Classic – Bolsa Chica, California
No word if any events will be live broadcasted like the Moto Beach Classic was last year, but Roland Sands Designs does a good job of reporting recaps of the events on its blog.
