IRVINE, Calif. – Two men with strong ties to the MotoAmerica paddock have joined the MotoAmerica team with Rick Hobbs and Tige Daane set to work in race direction and technical control, respectively.
With 20 Canadian and U.S. National Championships to his credit as a crew chief, including four MotoAmerica Superbike titles with Yamaha and Cameron Beaubier, Hobbs has been hired as MotoAmerica’s Race Director, replacing Dan Argano, who will return to his role as FIM Safety Officer.
“I guess I wasn’t quite ready to leave racing as it’s basically been my entire life’s work,” Hobbs said. “I really enjoyed learning and working in race control this past season. It’s definitely different from what I was doing, and a new challenge for me. I’m looking forward to the 2021 season and joining the quality team already assembled in race control.”
Daane also comes to MotoAmerica with a solid racing and technical background from years in motorsport, including owning a race shop, Cyclemall, co-owning FTecu, and running a race team, Baby Appleseed. Daane most recently served as Michael Gilbert’s crew chief on his MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Kawasaki ZX-10RR. Daane will take over from long-time MotoAmerica Technical Director James Morse, who is leaving the company to start his own business.
“I’m excited to get started,” Daane said. “I’ve been involved in road racing for a long time on many different levels, but this is a new challenge for me and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been impressed with MotoAmerica during my time in the paddock and I’m happy to be joining the team.”
“I’d like to welcome both Rick and Tige to the MotoAmerica team,” said MotoAmerica Partner Chuck Aksland. “Both of them come to us with a solid knowledge of the inner workings of the paddock, the teams and their personnel. I have no doubts in their abilities to succeed in their new jobs and we’re proud to have them on board. I’d also like to thank James (Morse) for his hard work and dedication to MotoAmerica. James was instrumental in getting us off the ground, joining us prior to our first season of 2015. He will always be considered a good friend of MotoAmerica and we wish him the best in his next endeavor.”