- April 25, 2024
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Joey Giannotto began competitive motorcycle racing in 2010. Two years later, he is fine-tuning his bike and his skills.
Joey Giannotto zooms around the asphalt track at speeds up to 150 mph. As he eases into each turn, his bottom knee drags on the road. And though one little mistake can send his body into a whirlwind, he wouldn’t want it any other way.
Giannotto, 27, is a driver in competitive motorcycle road racing. He said having complete control of the bike is all about being calm, cool and collected.
“It’s just really neat when you can ride the motorcycle and know that it’s totally bent out of shape,” he said. “Anytime the bike is moving and sliding around, that’s a cool feeling.”
It’s a feeling Giannotto said only riders can appreciate.
But he’s no expert on the sport. In fact, it really has all just begun for the Flagler Palm Coast High School graduate.
License to ride
Giannotto began riding a motorcycle with some friends when he was 22. At first, he thought it was crazy.
“My dad had motorcycles, and he wanted me to get one for the longest time,” Giannotto said. “I always thought I’d hurt myself, and I didn’t feel comfortable ... and I didn’t want to do anything stupid.”
But after he went to a track just to try out riding the bike, he was hooked.
In 2009, Giannotto completed the WERA Motorcycle Roadracing Riders School.
Then, in 2010, Giannotto began his first season on the WERA series.
He started off as beginner/novice, but earned enough points throughout the 2010 season to bump up to expert.
“It was a very weird year,” Giannotto said of 2010. “The first half, I was very slow and not terribly competitive. But by the end of the year, I started to pick up speed and, by the end of the year, I got on the podium.”
According to his website, Giannotto Racing.com, he won the 2010 WERA Pirelli Sportsmen Series Southeast C Superbike championship. He also won the novice 600cc superbike for the Southeast U.S. region.
This year, he said it was all about continuing to gain experience, despite his expert rating.
“This year was supposed to be more of a learning year, and I wasn’t expecting to win a championship at all,” Giannotto said.
Stepping it up
In 2012, Giannotto wants to up the ante.
“Next year, I’m really going to be looking into building a bike and go after WERA’s national series that they have,” he said.
That would include traveling all over the U.S., not just the Southeastern portion.
Giannotto drives a 2007 Honda 600RR. He said most riders nowadays ride Yamahas or Suzukis.
Next month, he will take his Honda to Road Atlanta, in Braselton, Ga., to finish the 2011 season.
Someday, Giannotto hopes to earn enough points and apply to race in AMA — the most recognized motorcycle-racing circuit in the U.S.
But until that happens, he said he’ll continue to, as he said, “have some fun.”
Contact Andrew O’Brien at [email protected].
