You have to meet Ice Barn Racing’s Solly Mervis. There is no other rider in the MotoAmerica paddock who has more passion for the sport of motorcycle racing, not to mention passion for life in general, than this 20-year-old young man from Carmel, Indiana.
Mervis started racing in MotoAmerica two years ago, and he just completed his first full season with us this year. One of the fastest riders in the Junior Cup class, Mervis regularly recorded trap speeds this past season that were fastest, or among the fastest, every race weekend. In fact, his trap speed of 123.9 miles per hour at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was the second-fastest trap speed recorded by any Junior Cup rider this past season.
Solly Mervis does like to go fast, but there is a lot more to him than just twisting the throttle to the max on his Kawasaki Ninja 400. A student of Danny Walker’s American Supercamp, as well as Jason Pridmore’s JP43 Training program, Mervis is also an academic student. He earned a scholarship to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which is ranked as the top undergraduate engineering college in the U.S.
Last week, Rose-Hulman published a profile of Mervis on their website titled “Driven by Difference: Solly Mervis Races for Inclusion.” The well-written article dives into Mervis’ love of motorcycle road racing, giving us insight into why and how he ended up in the MotoAmerica paddock.
Also, as the article explains, “Mervis has ADHD and PDD-NOS, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified. PDD-NOS is a form of autism that has since been absorbed into the larger autism spectrum disorder umbrella.
“Though he has faced obstacles, Mervis is confident that his autism and ADHD have played a key role in his success. He hopes to spread autism awareness through his racing, encouraging others not to feel limited by a diagnosis. He races with an autism banner and flag on his bike and is developing ways to give back to the Summer Treatment Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, a program he credits for his growth.”
As Danny Walker says, Mervis has “Super Powers.” We at MotoAmerica heartily concur.
We look forward to Mervis continuing his racing career in the MotoAmerica series, and as a future graduate of the prestigious Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, we also look forward to his future career in the field of engineering.
