T
he period of the early 2000s
was undoubtedly a once-
in-a-lifetime peak of motorcycle
racing in America. There was
no better illustration of that fact
than Bruce Transportation Group
Honda, which became a leading
team in AMA Pro Road Racing of
that era with riders such as Alex
Gobert, Roger Lee Hayden, Josh
Hayes, Marty Craggill and Jake
Zemke. Bruce Transportation
Group Honda was essentially a
satellite team of a satellite team.
That's right, in early 2000s AMA
Pro Road Racing there were up
to three levels of factory-backed
Honda teams. There was the fac-
tory team, then Honda's satellite
squad Erion Honda and then yet
another satellite squad running
out of the Erion Racing shop.
Bruce Group operated under
its own tent, complete with its
own big rig, independent team
personnel, media kits and riders.
The team was financed by Bruce
Lyskawa, a racer-turned team
owner.
And as the team's unique yel-
low livery suggested, a big part of
Lyskawa's company Bruce Trans-
portation Group was operating
a large fleet of school buses for
districts across New England.
The story of Bruce Transporta-
tion Group Honda begins with
Lyskawa who raced profession-
ally primarily in the AMA Harley-
Davidson 883 and AMA Team
Challenge Series in the 1990s.
Lyskawa met Kevin Erion just as
he was looking to step up his
involvement in the series and
become a team owner.
"I raced motorcycles for years,
and while I never finished with
great results, I really loved the
sport—it was in my blood," Lys-
kawa said.
Erion made Lyskawa's entry
into team ownership as seamless
as possible.
"I met Bruce when he pur-
chased Formula Xtreme bikes
and 600 SuperSport machines
from us," said Erion. "For a long
CN
III ARCHIVES
P114
BRUCE TRANSPORTATION
When Satellite
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
Jake Zemke
was the most
successful rider
to race for Bruce
Transportation
Group Honda.
In this photo,
Zemke is shown
ahead of Damon
Buckmaster on his
way to the Formula
Xtreme victory at
Laguna Seca in
2002.
PHOTO:
HENNY RAY ABRAMS
