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/1441959
moved next door to Erion Honda the next season. "It was the beginning of my long association with Honda and the team worked well together from the start." In 2001, the team was made up of riders Josh Hayes and Roger Lee Hayden, both racing Formula Xtreme and Supers- port. Hayes finished fifth in both championships that season and scored four podium finishes in FX. He scored another un- expected podium in 750 Su- persport when he ran his 600 Supersport bike on the tight and technical Loudon circuit. In just two short years, the Bruce Transportation Honda firmly established itself as a force to be reckoned with, and team owner Lyskawa was thrilled with his team's fast start. "By all standards, the 2000 racing year was absolutely spec- tacular," Lyskawa said. "There we were, a brand-new team, not a factory team, and we were run- ning with the big dogs—I couldn't have been happier! In our first year we established a presence, a reputation, and an enviable record, and then in '01 we solidi- fied those gains. Going into our third season, we were already considered one of the top teams in the paddock." The Bruce Team ran out of the Erion Racing shop for the first two years, benefiting im- mensely from the knowledge, experience and data that had already been generated for the Honda CBR929RR/954RR and CBR600F4/F4i race bikes. In 2002, the Bruce Group estab- lished its own shop directly across the street from Erion Racing, but the same open working relationship existed, with access to all of Erion Racing's data. Bruce Group came within a cat's whisker of winning the 2002 For- mula Xtreme Series with Zemke, who'd returned to the squad. Zemke was a solid podium fin- isher nearly the entire season, won at Laguna Seca. At the end of the season, he was tied in points with Jason Pridmore in the final standings, but Pridmore won the title in a tiebreaker having earned more wins. In addition, Zemke also did a few Superbike rides that season, a first for the squad. That year also saw an 18-year- old racer from a famous family of racers, Alex Gobert, join Bruce. The youngest of the three racing Gobert brothers showed prom- ise finishing with six top-10 FX results and an eighth-place rank- ing at the end of the year. Despite Bruce Group's suc- cess, Honda began cutting back its support of satellite teams in 2003. That year the team field just a single rider, Austra- lian Marty Craggill, in Formula Xtreme. Craggill had a respect- able season, scoring two podi- ums en route to seventh in the championship, but that was it for Bruce Transportation Group Honda. The team disbanded after the '03 campaign. "I financed the team for four seasons, and I'd hoped that be- ing an outside-the-industry spon- sor, that we could attract more companies like ours to keep the team going, but it never material- ized" Lyskawa recalls. "We had a great run. I was very proud of what our team accomplished in a short amount of time, and we also helped young guys like Jake, Josh, Alex and Roger move their careers forward and that was rewarding as well." Those who witnessed the rapid rise of the scrappy little team with the funny bus logo, will always remember them for being a small team that unquestionably made their mark. CN CN III ARCHIVES P116 CBR600F4/F4i race bikes. In 2002, the Bruce Group estab- lished its own shop directly across the street from Erion Racing, but the same open working relationship existed, with access to all of Erion Racing's data. Bruce Group came within a cat's whisker - Seca. At the end of the season, he was tied in points with Jason Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives While closely associated with Erion Honda and getting Honda support, Bruce Transportation Group Honda was distinctly its own team. Note the press kit with nothing in red, which was very un-Honda-like in those days.