Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/142700
P26 IN THE WIND our 250cc and amateur teams." Tomac is ready for the move and excited to be doing it with his existing team. "As an amateur, GEICO Honda was a team you looked up to," Tomac said. "They always had a great 250 team and legendary guys like Mike LaRocco and Kevin Windham on their 450. What we're doing now is a step in a new direction. It's going to be like a whole new program. To be one of the first guys to make it happen is really cool. "It's going to be good to be on a team where the faces will be familiar," Tomac added. "We will have a separate semi – me and Wil – and I think it's going to be an awesome team. The factory Honda team has had a full year to develop the bike, so we will have a good start." Hahn is also pleased to get the opportunity. "I didn't start with them as an amateur, but I feel like I have," Hahn said. "I was around the team a lot when I was younger hanging out with my brother, Tommy. I've always felt love from this team and I'm honored they asked me to ride the 450 for them. "They stuck behind me during times when a lot of teams would have let me go. They saw something in me, they kept me on, and it paid off for both sides." They will make their 450-class debut at the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas in October. THE ROCKET GETS A SHOT AT MOTO2 W hen the MotoGP paddock rolls into the brickyard on the weekend of August 16-18 for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, it will do so with the GP Tech team and James Rispoli as the two-time AMA Supersport Champion gets the opportunity to race on the world stage as a wild-card rider in Moto2. Joining Nicky Hayden, Ben Spies, Colin Edwards and Blake Young as the Americans competing at Indy, Rispoli – the only American in Moto2 - will race on the latest-spec Tech 3 Mistral 610. "I'm really excited for sure," Rispoli said in a phone conversation last week. "It's a big opportunity to get to ride in the premier World Championship. It's a big honor to even get a wild-card entry, to ride with that caliber of James Rispoli gets his shot at Moto2 as a wild-card entry for the GP Tech team at the upcoming Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. talent… I'm really excited. A little nervous, but more excited than anything." Geoff Maloney, the GP Tech team owner and manager, con- tacted Rispoli about the opportunity and everything started coming together after the Road America AMA round. When Maloney got confirmation that they PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREA WILSON Shan Moore