Gerald Rothman aboard a factory Yoshimura Suzuki GSXR750 Supersport machine. Rothman scored his first national win at Charlotte in the 750 Supersport class aboard this bike in 1993. (Dunlop press kit photo)

Talk about coming out of nowhere – Gerald Rothman’s quick entrance into road racing was an astounding. Barely over a year from riding in his first riding school, the 21-year-old college student from Manchester, Connecticut, found himself on the grid for the 1991 Daytona 750 Supersport race. A rider with so little experience really had no business in this race on this track, but there was Rothman on the starting line with some of the most experienced racers in the country.

Knowing how quickly Rothman shot to the pro ranks tells you a little about the rider –- one; he had major talent and two; he was interested in getting straight to the top level of competition.

“A lot of guys stuck in the club ranks too long,” Rothman said. “I wasn’t interested in going that route. I wanted to get out there and see what I could do on the national level.”

Rothman, riding his own Kawasaki with his brother helping him, proved that he belonged that day in Daytona Beach. He scored a solid eighth-place finish in the 750 Supersport race and his professional career was off and running. A couple of months later he scored a sixth at Loudon and this completely green rookie showed he had the goods in spite of his lack of experience.

Rothman progressed rapidly and in 1993 he became a factory Yoshimura Suzuki rider, coming in as a replacement for injured Donald Jacks. He went on to win three AMA nationals (two in 750 Supersport and a 600 Supersport victory) during his brief seven-year pro career.

After a unproductive run with Ferracci Ducati (as Mat Mladin’s teammate) in 1997, there were no solid offers were on the table. Fortunately Rothman had a lot of things going outside racing so he decided to move on and begin his business life in earnest. Today he owns several companies dealing in real estate and finance. He’s a father of three and still rides motocross, snowmobile and go-karts for fun and occasionally gets to a road race to hang out.

“I still pay attention to what’s going on,” Rothman said. “Some of the same players are still there and a lot of new faces of course. I look back on my racing career with a smile. Of course you can always wish you might have done some things differently, but I have no regrets.”