(NOTE: I wrote this for The Racing Journal in 2008.)
Racer
wrestles with biking success
By
Tom Gillispie
TRJ
Editor
ALTON,
Va. — When Mike Himmelsbach talks about leaning his racing
motorcycle hard into a turn, he smiles broadly.
That,
he says, is when you're really racing. And living.
It's
natural for Himmelsbach, of Quakertown, Pa., who has been around bike
racing most of his 37 years. His dad, Bill, raced and is a motorcycle
engine mechanic. Mike says his parents even had him at a young age so
Bill could take his son riding with him.
"Motorcycles
are in the family," he said Friday as his race team prepared for
Sunday's motorcycle race at Virginia International Raceway. "I've
been in the sport since I was three. My parents have brought me to
races my whole life."
Himmelsbach
remembers playing with a toy motorcycle as a child. As a teenager, he
ran two races in 1987 and actually considered quitting after his
first race, at Summit Point, W.Va.
"I
didn't do very good," he said with a smile. "I started on
the front row, and, by turn three, I was 16th. I was very slow and
finished 20th or 21st."
How
close was he to quitting?
"Close,
very close, believe me," he said. "I was very discouraged
at the end of that weekend."
But
he stuck it out and in 1990 won the amateur national championship at
Road Atlanta.
Now
Himmelsbach, a 14-time Grand Prix national champion, holds more
championship titles than any 125 GP rider in America.
But
it hasn't been easy. One year, he broke his back. Another year, he
injured his ankle in a way that doctors considered amputation. One of
Himmelsbach's friends had undergone such an amputation, but Mike had
surgery instead, and his career continued.
"I
had a 50-50 shot," he said. "I was lucky."
Himmelsbach
says he joined the No. 1 Aprilia USA/Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team
this year to have a better shot at a 15th title. So far, the team has
been perfect in 2008. Himmelsbach and teammate Ty Howard gave the No.
1 team the victory in the Daytona 300 SunTrust MOTO-ST Series race in
March at Daytona International Speedway.
Himmelsbach
and Howard also won Sunday morning at VIR, although neither looked
particularly happy hoisting the trophy on the podium.
Howard,
the team's No. 1 driver, put them on the pole, but in mid race he
crashed and broke the shift lever on the bike. And they got behind a
lap as they fixed the problem.
The
teammates drove like maniacs, and they caught a break. They were
behind a half a lap, Himmelsbach said, when the caution flag came
out. That tightened the field and gave them the chance to take the
lead.
"Both
of us weren't real happy with our performance," Himmelsbach said
by phone Monday. "Neither of us raced as well as we thought we
should. Ty was upset because he crashed the bike. My performance
wasn't there. I thought, 'I don't want to be the next to put the bike
on the ground.' Fortunately, another team crashed their bike.
"It
was an up and down day. It ended up a good thing, but we were still
kinda upset."
Himmelsbach's
dad, flew in for the day, and he was there for his son.
"He
thought everything went good," Himmelsbach said. "He was
happy. He said, 'At least you didn't crash the bike; you finished on
two wheels.' Dad always looks for positives."
The
wrestler
Mike
Himmelsbach isn't your typical bike racer. He was a high school
wrestler at 125 pounds, and since 1990 he has taught wrestling at
high schools and middle schools in his home area around Quakertown,
Pa.
Do
a Google search on the Internet, and you'll probably find Himmelsbach
as a contact for the Blue Division of the East Penn Youth Wrestling
League.
Himmelsbach
says he wrestles most of the kids so he can keep in shape. he can
still beat most of the middle school wrestlers on the mat, but he's
already started losing to his 135-pound son, Colin, who turned 16 on
Tuesday.
"I
can't beat the majority of the high-school wrestlers, my son
included," Himmelsbach said resignedly.
Colin,
who has a different last name, Bynum, has already won two junior
national championships.
Himmelsbach
says that being slight of size hasn't hurt him as a racer. Howard is
much taller and may outweigh him by 50 pounds, but Himmelsbach says
they set up their bikes the same way. Although Howard favors a
stiffer suspension, the two coexist well.
"I'm
one of the smaller guys in the series," he said. "I have an
advantage from a horsepower to weight standpoint, but I have a
disadvantage in strength and throwing the bike around.
"That's
why I work so hard in wrestling.".
In
Himmelsbach's day job, he runs the motorcycle department of a company
in Redding, Pa. He was asked if he's mechanically inclined.
"Not
as much as my dad," he said. "I can take a shock apart and
work on it."
Himmelsbach's
dad keeps coming back into the conversation.
Himmelsbach
says that he and his father often bike together, and Bill has
attended nearly every race he's ever run.
Occasionally,
they race together. In May 2007, Mike won a GTU Expert class race at
Summit Point, and his father was in an accident during the GTU race.
He was knocked unconscious in the fall and transported by helicopter
to a local hospital, but he recovered nicely.
Himmelsbach
gives his dad a lot of credit for his success.
"I
think my dad's proud of me," he said. "He's why I chose
this path. He's my greatest asset, as a mechanic, as a friend and as
somebody who understood me."
And
apparently still does.
