Defending MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion Hayden Gillim is getting an opportunity he never thought he would get this weekend as he travels to the Czech Republic to race at the Czech round of the Superbike World Championship at Autodrom Most.
Gillim, who currently leads the 2024 MotoAmerica Stock 1000 points chase, was asked on Sunday morning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca if he’d be interested in making the trek for the race to replace Tarran Mackenzie on the Petronas MIE Racing Honda. He had an hour to decide and wasted little time in saying yes.
There was one little hiccup: Gillim’s passport had long since expired.
“I never thought something like this would ever happen for me, so my passport was expired.”
Where there’s a will there’s a way, and Gillim and his wife Summer arrived in Germany on Wednesday morning with passports in hand. The Gillims will meet up with Mark Junge later today.
“I’m in Germany,” Gillim said this morning. “The best part was that my passport was expired. We flew straight to Chicago on Monday morning and got it expedited. It will be pretty cool and I’m excited about it.”
In addition to learning a new racetrack and the Pirelli tires, Gillim will find a Honda CBR1000RR-R SP unlike the one he races in MotoAmerica Stock 1000.
“The bike is going to be quite a bit different,” Gillim said of Mackenzie’s Honda. “It’s going to have all the Superbike stuff on it… swingarms, triple clamps, electronics, and I’m sure the transmission is different. We’ll see. It’s also a new track for me and all that fun stuff.”
Gillim’s first time on track at Most will be Friday at 4:20 a.m. Eastern Time for Free Practice 1. World Superbike race one will take place on Saturday at 8 a.m. Eastern and Sunday’s race two will also be at 8 a.m. Eastern.
