25 Years of World Superbike: Monza Hall of Fame
As part of four unforgettable days of celebrations for the 25th anniversary of World Superbike, the Monza circuit was the ideal stage for the induction of four more riders into the SBK Hall of Fame: four champions who have written extraordinary chapters of this category, all four living legends of motorbike racing. This time it was the turn of Troy Bayliss, Carl Fogarty, Fred Merkel and Doug Polen, the stars of four different eras of the first quarter of a century of World Superbike with an incredible total of 11 world titles and 146 wins to their name, to receive their 25th anniversary medals of honour.
Fred Merkel, still looking good at 49 years of age, was one of the pioneers of the category: the first world champion in 1988, and the second winner in 1989, both on a Team Rumi Honda RC30.
Eight wins, 24 podiums and 2 titles were obtained by the American, the same number of titles as his compatriot Doug Polen, who was 1991 and 1992 champion on a Ducati 888. For some time Polen was the all-time recordman with 17 poles (10 in the 1991 season), 27 victories and 40 podiums, until the explosion of the Fogarty phenomenon in the second half of the 1990s.
With four titles to his name (1994, 1995, 1998 and 1999), together with 59 wins, "Foggy" is still today the most successful rider in World Superbike, but he was given a close run for his money in the new millennium by another icon: Troy Bayliss. Champion in 2001, 2006 and 2008 on three different generations of Ducati machine (996, 999 and 1098), the Australian was one of the stars of the ‘Superbike boom' in the first decade of the millennium, eventually retiring from racing in 2008 as world champion at the end of a sensational career with 52 wins and 94 podiums in 152 races.
While Bayliss, Fogarty, Merkel and Polen have been the finest interpreters of the Superbike spirit on the track over the years, the same can also be said for Eraldo Ferracci, this time from the pit garage: the Italo-American talent scout was the man who ‘discovered' and brought Doug Polen and Troy Corser to World Superbike, and was also 1991 world champion team manager with Polen on a Ducati 888. With his eponymous Fast by Ferracci Team, Eraldo is still today involved in American bike racing, and still with prestigious Italian bike manufacturers (Ducati, MV Agusta).
