End of an Era

[NinjaMaster]

Sorry if anyone has posted about this before but I surprisingly couldn't find it.

Mat Mladin has recently announced his retirement from motorcycle racing come the seasons end where he aims to clinch his 7th AMA superbike title. He has an enviable record of most pole positions, race wins and titles in the series.

Mat started road (circuit) racing in 1991 winning the Australian 250cc Production title and followed that up by dominating the 1992 Australian Superbike Championship in his rookie season. From there he headed to 500GP with the small Cagiva team. It was a horrific year for him and saw him finish 13th in the title with a best placing of 6th. It was the only year he would contest a world championship. From there he headed back to Australia for two seasons, much of which was spent recovering from severe injuries sustained in a micro-lite crash. He finished 2nd in the 1995 Aus title and then headed to the U.S. where he's raced til this day.

Mat is renowned for his headstrong, no-nonsense, straight forward personality on and off the track. He is a hard charger of immense speed and skill. The one chink that he'll always have to his reputation amongst enthusiasts is that he never had a crack for a world title after his problematic season in GP, which is a shame. I would have loved to see him going head-to-head with Bayliss as I rate him of equal stature. But his family was settled in the U.S. and the money was much better so he did the right thing for himself and I admire that he did what he wanted, regardless of outside opinion.

Well done Matt, it's been a brilliant career. :up:

[Rod Richardson]

Have a gander at this bike built by Roarin Toyz in the US for the outstanding Mladin to promote his Australian based Bike Gear Warehouse at Narellan NSW. http://www.bikegearwarehouse.com.au/

SARASOTA, Fla. (July 29, 2009) - Roaring Toyz president Robert Fisher recently unveiled his latest creation: a custom Suzuki GSX-R1000 built for six-time AMA Pro American Superbike champion Mat Mladin to showcase his newest Australian business venture, Bike Gear Warehouse.
"Mat and I met at one of the AMA Pro Road Racing rounds earlier this season," explains Fisher, who competes in the AMA SunTrust MOTO-GT Series. "I had the custom bike I had just built for our sponsor, Czaia & Gallagher, at the track and it sparked Mat's interest. We began talking about building a custom bike to promote Bike Gear Warehouse, his new distributing company in Australia. They are going to carry Roaring Toyz products, so teaming up seemed the ideal thing to do."
Over the past few years Robert Fisher has carved an enviable reputation for himself in the world of custom sportbikes and sportbike components. Known not just for his pioneering and innovation, but also for his outstanding design ability, attention to detail and friendly personality, Fisher's love of two-wheels is more than just a passion, it is also a firm commitment to be the best.
Featured continuously on numerous television and radio shows as well as in both national and international magazines, Fisher also boasts a Who's Who list of customers including actor and rapper Ludacris, Tampa Bay Buccaneer running back Michael Pittman, Cincinnati Reds infielder Felipe Lopez and super middleweight boxer Jeff "left hook" Lacy.
"Working with Mat was great," continues Fisher. "The Bike Gear Warehouse Suzuki is a custom, but we used a number of performance parts, making it a true blend of road racing technology and custom style."
It features a long list of modifications, including a Roaring Toyz custom swingarm that gives the bike three inches of stretch, Performance Machine Mayhem black contrast cut wheels and a 240 size Dunlop rear tire.
Among the performance upgrades are a Yoshimura R77 full stainless steel exhaust, a Bazzaz Performance Z-F1 fuel control unit, an Ohlins TTX36 rear shock absorber, Vortex Racing rear sets and Galfer steel-braided brake lines.
For the remainder of the season, Mladin's new custom Suzuki will be on display at all the AMA Pro American Superbike rounds. When the Series ends, the bike will make the long trek to Australia to be used for Bike Gear Warehouse promotions.
For more information on Roaring Toyz, check out their website at www.roaringtoyz.com (http://www.roaringtoyz.com).
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Specifications
Roaring Toyz Custom Swingarm 3" Over Stock Length Trick Bridged Extruded Box Tube & 1.25" Tube All Aluminum Construction CNC Machined Custom Dropouts and Axle Coverplates
Performance Machine Mayhem Black Contrast Cut Forged Aluminum Wheels: Front 17x3.5 Rear 18x8.5
Performance Machine Mayhem Black Contrast Cut Matching 13" Custom Front Brake Rotors
Performance Machine Contour Radial Mount Black Contrast Cut Front & Rear Brake Calipers
Roaring Toyz Billet Rear Radial Mount Brake Caliper Hanger
Galfer Rear Wave Brake Rotor
Galfer Custom Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines, Green with Black Ends
Bazzaz Performance Z-FI Fuel Control Unit, Z-FI Quick Shift, Z-Fi TC Traction Control Unit, Z-AFM Air Fuel Mapping Unit, Z-BOMB Timing Retard Calibrator
Yoshimura R77 Full Stainless Steel Exhaust System with Stainless Steel Sleeve and Endcap
Yoshimura Billet Clutch and Stator Engine Case Guards
Ohlins TTX36 Rear Shock Absorber
Ohlins Steering Damper
Vortex Racing Custom Black Anodized Rearsets & Cat 5 Black Rear Sprocket
Pazzo Custom Sportbike Clutch & Brake Levers
Dunlop Tires: Front 120/70/17, Rear 240/18
Roaring Toyz Billet Black Contrast Cut Kickstand
Roaring Toyz 3 Hole Billet Lowering Links
Roaring Toyz Black Anodized 1/8 Turn Quick Release Fuel Cap
Roaring Toyz Black Anodized Yoke Stem Nut Cover
Roaring Toyz ABS Mirror Block Offs
Hot Bodies Tinted Windscreen
Custom Paint by Paul Wong of Aruba
Custom Covered White/Silver Carbon Look Seathttp://www.roaringtoyz.com/images2/Mladin_unviel1.jpg

[Mach24]

Mat started road (circuit) racing in 1991 winning the Australian 250cc Production title and followed that up by dominating the 1992 Australian Superbike Championship in his rookie season.

In 1992 I bought my first 'big' bike, a Kawasaki ZXR750 J1. When I bought that bike there was a young kid dominating the OZ Supers on the same bike.

There was never any doubt Mat was going to be a champion on the world scene and the Australian market was riding on the international success of Gardner, Doohan, Magee, Beattie, just to name a few.

The Cagiva year was a difficult learning curve, that probably established the man Mat was to become.

Mat's dedication to success was second to none, its just that he did it in the US rather than on the world scene.

Its one of those things over time that will be debated, 'how would Mat have gone in WSBK or MotoGP'?

However leaving the sport the most successful racer in history (in the US) says something about the guy.

Whilst he has said no more racing, there is a rumour floating around the ASBK that he may do a couple of rounds next year to promote his business (and have a bit of fun).

Well done Champ!

[TheFamousEccles]

Niice bike. Love the swing-arm, very trick looking.

Well done to Matt, enjoyed watching your career (even if I couldn't often see any of it from the US, video/internet has only really just caught up with the racing scene there), good luck with the rest of everything.

TFE

I read of Mladin's plans to retire and also saw him on TV predicting that Spies would win the 2009 WSBK championship with 2 rounds to go. I directed some bad words at the TV 'cos that's not how this year is supposed to go from where I stand.

[leopard]

So.. Mat is now set for retirement?...
He has been managing great amount of stats in the bag. Whatever the decision it would bring him some happiness. The sport thanks to him for all valuable participation and shared experience in the championships.

[NinjaMaster]

Mat is indeed set for retirement, Leopard, and has gone out on top, winning his 7th AMA Superbike title on the weekend.

[leopard]

farewell Mat M.

[The Phantom]

I was riding at Oakdale Motocross club when Mladin, Gobert and McCoy were on their way to the top on the dirt scene. It was ridiculous how fast they were and clear to everyone that all three of them were destined to achieve great things.

Around about the time that he was signing with Cagiva for 500s he used to get around Camden in his white Holden Commodore SS ute, with a Vanilla Ice hairdo :) Wonder if I have any photos of him, I'll have a look.

What a way to go out, and very apt that he did what Bayliss did and retired at the very top of his game. Best of luck to him!