Road Racing Profile June 27, 2008 Spotlight on "Raffa Racing"

At the heart of all motorcycle race communities are the teams of privateer riders who come out every week, pay their dues and ride hard in hopes of achieving that holy grail of racing, the fully sponsored team ride. Hours of hard work and dedication both up front and behind the scenes take place, before, during and after each race, all in the hope of being the first to see that checkered fabric raise into the air for your efforts. None of this comes easily or without hours of hard work and great sacrifice. Without a doubt, one of the best efforts in Canadian motorcycle racing belongs to Anny and Louie Raffa from Raffa Racing. They are last years winners of the Tony Marchese Award, presented each year to the Pro Privateer competitor judged to be the best appearing rider / machine combination of the season in the R.A.C.E. Superseries. While Louie is an accomplished rider, Anny displays great business sense and attention to detail. The combination put forth an unmatched effort and racing program that shows just what can be accomplished. I had a chance to sit down with the busy young teammates and get their thoughts and perspective.

1) Louie: How did you get interested in motorcycles and motorcycle racing?

When I was around 11 years old my dad got my brother and I a couple of old trail bikes, they were old Honda 70s with the metal tanks, that’s when it started. As for motorcycle racing, I happen to stumble upon a national event at the St-Eustache Autodrome, after that I was hooked.

2) Anny: tell me about the trials & tribulations of organizing a race team?

Where do I begin? There is a lot of planning needed in order to run a program this size but me & Louie work very well together, unfortunately no matter how much I plan things I still sometimes have to deal with unexpected problems but I’ve learned a lot over the years & with that knowledge, as well as our resources I make due quite well. It’s pretty much a full time job, the season won’t even be over & I’ll already be working on getting things organized for the next season, whether it be which bikes we’ll have, what we’ll need for them, the sponsors that will be onboard with us, what I’ll need from them, website updating, yearly posters, bike shows, travel planning, down to even the pit setup for the following year, etc. But when it comes right down to it, it’s worth every ounce of energy I put towards it, when that helmet goes on & Louie has a great race it’s beyond words, I love watching him race.

3) Tell me about your first bike?

It was a homemade job; bicycle frame with some sort of motor? It was actually picked out of the trash, I think. My first ride on it, I hit the only patch of snow in the entire field, went over the handlebars, got tangled in a fence and I remember my dad telling me that I was going to loose my nuts, so I checked, we were ok.

4) You seemed to have stuck with Yamaha for most of your career. Is that a conscious decision?

For sure! I’ve always had Yamaha’s, dirtbikes and race bikes. They always seem to be one step ahead of the rest.

5) Anny: You have one of the most professional pits anywhere. How important is presentation to you?

Thanks Don. Indeed I take great pride in my setup, I want to make sure that my sponsors are represented in the most professional way. I take what we do extremely seriously & my sponsors know that, thus one of the reasons we’ve had most of them for some years now.

6) What is your favourite track?

The Mont-Tremblant circuit for the high speed and elevation, then St-Eustache for the technical layout and the workout.

7) What is the achievement your most proud of?

That would be winning the ASM Amateur 600 series in 2005. I did that on a 2002 R6. I remember training during the winter & telling Anny that I was going to win it no matter what it took. I think I willed myself to do it, I was declared champion by round 6, rounds 7 & 8 were gifts.

8) What was your worst moment in racing?

It was at the last national held in St-Felicien (amateur 600), I was running in 2nd place in the rain, read the pit board wrong and crashed at the end of the front straight, it was a long ride home.

9) Tell me about your race record?

My 1st full year of racing was in 2004, in which I finished 5th overall in the ASM Amateur 600 class, getting on my 1st podium with a 2nd place at the last race.

In 2005, as previously mentioned I won the ASM amateur 600 class, with 3 wins, 1 second place, three 3rd places & one DNF. That year I also finished 2nd in the Open class.

2006, first year pro, qualified 15th at my 1st national in Shannonville. Finished 6th overall in the ASM Pro 600 class. Also finished 11th in the R.A.C.E. series Pro 600 class.

2007, qualified 28th then finished 18th at the Parts Canada Mont-Tremblant event. At the last round of the Parts Canada race in Shannonville I qualified 24th then had a strong 15th place finish. In the R.A.C.E. series finished 11th in the Pro 600 class.

10) What do you like the most/least about racing motorcycles?

Most: Definitely the challenge, beating the goals I set for myself.
Least: being away from my kids.

11) What goals do you have racing?

My main focus is the R.A.C.E. regional series, always go forward!!! National rounds are a bonus. Always enjoy what I’m doing.

12) What other sports/interests do you enjoy?

I really enjoy motocross! I have a 2007 YZ-250F and take it to the track as often as I can. It really helps keep you sharp. I also enjoy playing guitar.

13) What keeps you motivated to keep doing this?

That’s easy I do it for my kids! We’re not sure if one day they’ll be able to enjoy racing, they are both autistic. When we had them we had plans to have a race team, we we’re going to put them on bikes as soon as we could, then things kind of took a different route, so now I race for them.

14) What would you say to someone that was thinking of getting into racing?

You need to focus and set realistic goals, always make a plan of what you need to do. Make sure you have good, dedicated people helping, that’s a huge asset, you definitely can’t do it alone.

15) You also have your own business that you need to keep going? Tell me about that.

We have a family run printing business that’s been going for almost 20 years now, my father started it back when me & my brother were younger, it’s doing quite well. Having your own business helps a lot with all the time off I need for racing but it’s a lot of work.

16) Who would you like to thank for support?

Huge thanks to Yamaha Canada for their support, as well as to all our other sponsors: Picotte Performance, Litho Select, Accelerated Technologies, EBC Brakes, Pro 6 Cycle, Dunlop, NEXO, Images in Motion, Quebec Track-days, Vortex, Yoyodyne, Bickle Racing, Photo Activ & Mimic Industries.

Each & every one of our sponsors brings very important help to our program, without them none of this would be possible.