Motourage

Just a Little Motorcycle Story
by Marion Akkaya

Nuerburgring, Germany. It was the final race of an extremely tough season of the 250cc Grand Prix class. Four riders still had a chance to get the Champion Title if the leader didn’t reach a top-six position – one of them was Can Akkaya. The qualifying board was showing a difference of about four seconds from the 44^th position to the pole, which was held by Can.  Changing weather conditions on the race day turned the tire decision into a poker game.  Can’s warm-up times on slicks were poor, caused by the inability of the team to find a proper setup for the conditions. The race began dry, but the organizer declared it a wet race.  Can’s fight for a fifth or better position and a title seemed to be hopeless. Then the rain returned, and Can’s riding skills became apparent as he was able to maneuver his slicks better than his opponents to beat all other competitors to the finish lin.  On that day, Can became vice-champion and earned a Honda contract.  During his career as a professional racer, Akkaya earned several international wins and four lap records in the German IDM, Dutch and Spanish Open and European Championships on 250s and Superbikes. After his lap record on the Zolder Circuit in Belgium, Can’s fans renamed the track “Area 36.” Can had his Moto GP wild card in the pocket, but a bad crash in the qualifying on Hockenheimring kept him away from this dream. Months later, Can returned to the track with only one mission: to win and to retire from racing. Can won his last race.

Far away from racing and eight years later, Can rode just a cruiser “to be physically restricted,” and right after his daughter, Jill, was born he began to write his story on the Internet. 60,000 readers brought him a contract from a book publisher, and his “Racers-Story …25 Seconds…” went on to become very successful in German language countries. This book lets you feel alive and on the limit. Following the release of his book, Can received several offers to return to the world of racing.  Can came back to the track as a test rider for a Ducati racing team.  He wrote columns for several magazines and worked as the chief instructor at Germanys top racing school, where he taught around 1,400 students.

From a Wild Card to a Green Card – which Can received from the US government, allowing him to make a dream come true – he immigrated into the USA with his little family. Since November 2008, Can and his family have lived in California’s San Francisco bay area.  It was not easy for the three to launch a new life in a country on the other side of the world, but they’re home.  Not long after his move, Can took the next step in his life and started his own business – the Superbike-Coach Corp. – on his birthday in May. He developed and now offers the Road Skill course for any street/road rider, the Track Drill for the racer and track day rider, a Setup Course and the Wheelie Course for everybody, and recently the Knee Down course. Can’s first Road Skill course was booked out in only one week. He converted an idea to reality and developed and created a wheelie bar, which his students use during the Wheelie Course to prevent a backwards fall on the wheelie bike. In only six months, Can established his business, the Superbike-Coach, in California’s motorcycle scene. The websites racers-story.com, superbike-coach.com and the Coach Blog get around 180,000 hits/month on average, and Can’s Facebook has the 5,000 friends limit – and a waiting list.

For 2010 he worked out a training concept for Youth Road Racing USA and has signed on be the coach of the upcoming ‘Next Moto Champion’ TV pilot, which is in production discussions with the Speed Channel. Can’s book, “Racers-Story …25 seconds…” will be published in the USA in this year too. You can read an outline on www.racers-story.com.

Superbike-Coach 2010 Schedule: