Larry Lawrence | September 26, 2018
Archives: Barrick Goes Back to the Future
Ron Barrick started in pro racing over 30 years ago as a mechanic and team manager. Then came a long journey that saw him working as a factory AMA Superbike team technician and then AMA Pro Racing’s Road Race Manager and 12-year member of the FIM Road Race Commission. Barrick was part of a team that guided AMA Superbike into a period of unprecedented growth and popularity. It was also on Barrick’s watch that track safety began, for the first time, taking precedent and road racing became vastly safer. Barrick then retired from the sport, but then an old friend and associate, Dale Quarterley, called and convinced him to come back to his first love, serving as crew chief for a road racing team and even getting back to wrenching on race bikes, something that longtime mechanics seem to relish, even after they’ve been away from it for a while.
Archives: Barrick Goes Back to the Future
After 40 years in various positions in road racing, today Ron Barrick is back at his first love of running a racing team and working on race bikes. (Larry Lawrence photo)
And so it was we caught up with Barrick at a recent MotoAmerica event in New Jersey. The Quarterley Racing team had taken on an extra rider and Barrick was serving double duty, overseeing the team’s operation and pitching in to work on the team’s extra motorcycle. Riding for the team this year are Jamie Astudillo, Dallas Daniel and fill-in rider Renzo Ferreira, who the team decide to keep on board after he won at Utah in his first weekend with the squad.
“Dale Quarterly called me and of course we’d worked together over the years on a few things,” Barrick said. “He had partnered up with Randy Renfrow for the Suzuka 8 Hour in 1989. Of course, Randy and he were great competitors for a long time. I’ve known Dale for a long time. We worked well together. We’d done the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle thing back in ’93. He was the last rider that I worked for before I went to work for the AMA.
“I’ve been kind of chilling and just doing some track days and whatnot, retired basically. Dale called and said, ‘Hey, I got this kid that his dad has got a little bit of money and wants to put him on a superbike.’ He was fairly new, but Dale thought he had a little talent that he could help develop. He didn’t quite tell me exactly the whole story, because I asked, how big is he, how old is he, and stuff like that. Dale kind of fudged on the numbers on that a little bit. Anthony [Kosinski] is a nice kid and everything, but he turned out to be bigger and a little older than Dale initially told me. But anyway, by that point I was involved. It’s always fun to come back and work on bikes I think. The satisfaction that you get from actually seeing your rider go around and getting involved with something that you already love, it was a good opportunity. I wasn’t really doing it to make money or because I was desperate for something to do. I guess I was sort of getting bored. It didn’t take too much arm twisting.”
Ron Barrick sitting on the bike of his rider Randy Renfrow, who stands next to Barrick at Loudon back in 1986. The Renfrow and Barrick pairing beat the factories to win AMA road racing championships back in the ‘80s. (Larry Lawrence photo)
That was two years ago and Quarterley and Barrick are still together. “We got the band back together,” Quarterley joked. The team is not only successful on the track (Benjamin Smith won the KTM RC Cup with the squad last year), but the atmosphere seems happy and friendly in their pits. Quarterley, who was brutal and ruthless as a racer, is a gentler and more understanding version of himself as a rider coach. He has great rapport and seems to understand how to get the most from his riders and with Barrick and the legendary Eraldo Ferracci also part of the effort, it’s perhaps the most experienced team in the MotoAmerica paddock.
Perhaps it’s because none of these guys need to be here. They’re here because they love the sport and doing the best they can in trying to give back and do their part to help rebuild motorcycle road racing in America shoulder to shoulder with Wayne Rainey and MotoAmerica.
“Our team gets along well, which is a big thing,” Barrick explains. “I’ve been around teams where there’s a little bit of in fighting. People feel like they’re getting their toes stepped on if they’re not getting what they want or whatever. But this team works well together. We’ve got the parents of our riders who are a valuable asset because they know when to not mess around with the mechanical side of things, but if you need canopies or need something moved or whatever it is, they jump in and do it. It’s like, unload the truck kind of deal. It’s been good. I definitely enjoy this. Like I said, there’s a lot more satisfaction from doing the work and even if it’s a 12 or a 14-hour day and you’re all sweaty and everything, but if your rider is doing well, you feel like you’ve really accomplished something and it’s definitely worth it.”
With his extensive background Barrick, perhaps more than anyone, understands the challenges and the effort MotoAmerica faces in rebuilding the sport.
“I certainly appreciate what MotoAmerica and Wayne Rainey’s trying to do to get this series back in the prestigious spot that it belongs to in the world,” Barrick said. “I know it’s definitely a challenge for them and certainly not cheap to run a series. They’re doing a good job. I hope to see it continue to evolve.”
