Superbike Return
Jake Holden is returning to the American Superbike field this weekend in Fontana, after riding for the Ducshop Ducati team in Daytona. Holden’s Daytona weekend ended prematurely when a slow speed crash in the chicane broke his right thumb.
Since Daytona, Holden has been trying to rehabilitate the thumb as quickly as possible without inflicting further damage so that he could be ready for Fontana.
With Ducshop Ducati sitting out the Fontana round, Holden will be back on his personal Honda CBR1000RR. Running on a personal bike without a crew would be cause for concern for most riders of Holden’s caliber but the Seattle area native is confident in his equipment and he likes the Fontana track.
Last year at Fontana, while filling in for the injured Neil Hodgson, Holden was running fifth and closing in on the leaders when an electrical gremlin forced him into the pits.
Last year, Holden was a victim of paddock downsizing and was left without a full time ride. He substituted for the injured Neil Hodgson at American Honda for a few rounds, but for the most part he rode on his personal bike buying all his tires and paying all the bills.
Although he had some impressive rides last year, including a fourth place at Topeka, the overall economic fitness of the AMA paddock hadn’t returned to previous levels and he was again without a full time ride in 2010.
In 2009, Holden depleted his personal savings and liquidated his assets to continue racing. The Fontana round will be the first of three planned appearances for Holden in the American Superbike class, the other two being Infineon and Laguna Seca.
Currently, Holden is trying to find the funding necessary to get his bike to as many additional AMA Superbike rounds as possible.
Jake Holden
"I’m ready to go. My thumb is still not perfect but I think it will be ok for Fontana. I’ve been training hard and want to show the people in charge of hiring riders that I deserve a ride. My chassis is pretty close to stock-same as last year-but I have a freshly built Wu motor in there and I like Fontana. I’m just going to put my head down, ride hard, and get the best results possible and hope that some people take notice. Anybody need a rider?"
Holden is also actively seeking other riding opportunities in the other AMA classes including a return to Daytona Sportbike or even the new Harley XR1200 class.Â
