Why is Pro Circuit so good?

Drino Miller

Testing, testing, testing...
Pratice, practice, practice...
Race, Race, RACE! (Including very deep and knowledgeable involvement in Am. racing and development).
Also, the Team Green program helps jus' a lil' bit...

One word three times: Payton, Payton, Payton

Picking the best young riders available anywhere seems to help too.

Hard work.

maybe cuz when they started PC the riders did good and now everybody on pro circuit has the pressure to do good !

I think it's as much the mystique that comes with riding for them as much as it is anything else. You know when you're on a mitch payton bike you belong in the front. You know the history attached to the team and you are always staring at a shit load of #1 plates on the rig and you know you're expected to add to the collection before you leave.

You cant leave Bones out . The guys a wizard.

Nice...

Oughta throw Damon in there, too.

Mitch doesnt put up with BS, from his riders all the way down to his receptionist. If you're going to work for him you have to give it your all.....all the time, and the results show.

They have a positive, hard working, clean enviroment. Mainly just being around Mitch Payton gives you the mindset that your on the best equiptment in the world surrounded by the best in the world, which leads to championships.

Experience, experience, experience. Mitch has had the best riders in motocross ride his bikes. Therefore he recives imput from the riders to make the best product availible. And yu can see what many years of R&D have done for PC Thats my opinion on the product. as for the riders, Mitch knows what amatuer riders he wants on his team while they are stil on 80's and he will follow them throught there amatuer career. AC for a good example, that kid will no doubt be on PC in a few years. Justin bogle and jason anderson wil most likeley be the next breed of PC riders to come through his program.

Hard to disagree with most of this, but boil it down to one simple fact:

At the heart and soul of PC is a racer who is STILL a racer at heart. Everything is driven by the spirit of the guy in that chair - who you are more likely to still find at the porting bench than on the phone.

BTW - PC doesn't have to chase the best riders - they come looking. (begging?)

Domination = 8 of the top 10 in the 250 class riding PC motors.

It is the expectation of excellence and perfection. The riders do not lead that team, Mitch does, and his people basically do what they are told. There is not one person that survives there if they are not 100% committed.
They have, and or create the best available equipment to race on through never ending R&D.
I think this is one of the issues with Factory Honda.
Millsaps does his thing at the MTF
Shorty is in Texas.
Where is the team in that scenario, it is like they are left to do it on their own. It takes a very special person to stay motivated to do the right things every day.

You could throw a bunch of different guys in there... not to mention all the riders that he has plucked over the years. My point is Payton is the man who put it all together.

Like Joe Dirt once said "how's a posi-track work, it just does"

leadership....

Actully not, some guys i guess are begging, but Metcalfe didnt want to be there more, it was a great bike but he didnt felt like home, too bad there is not so many guys that are straight up like Metty

PC equipment is top of the line and does make a huge difference. They won before the expectation of excellence and its because their equipment and team have always been top notch. Its as close to or better than factory.

It's called WORK ETHIC pure and simple, Mitch works his ass off and expects the same from everyone he employs from his riders to his shop workers. Solid leadership, and 30 years of experience building and racing in the top ranks have developed the premier program. He's got an uncanny knack for finding and developing the best staff and riders. Mitch is the backbone of Pro Circuit he is why Pro Circuit is what it is today period.

I thought it was because he had the shiniest bikes in the pits...

All of the above.

Motocross/Supercross team owner to be inducted into AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is pleased to announce the first member of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2010: accomplished race team owner Mitch Payton. Payton, whose teams have collected 26 AMA Pro Championships in Motocross and Supercross since 1991, will be among the legends of motorcycling honored at the 2010 induction ceremony at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas this Nov. 19.

"In AMA Pro Motocross and Supercross, one team is perhaps more synonymous with winning than any other, Pro Circuit, and the motive force behind that team is one of the industry's most driven individuals, Mitch Payton," said Jack Penton, incoming AMA director of operations and a Hall of Famer himself. "Payton is an architect of not only championship teams, but champions, having developed some of this sport's greatest racers."

Payton's parents, James and Norma Payton, introduced him and his brother, James Jr., to motorcycling at a young age. By the time he was 10, Payton was competing in family enduros and a few years later was racing competitively in AMA District 37. In 1977, at the age of 17, Payton was one of the district's top desert racers and won the 125 class in that discipline. Unfortunately, the next year Payton's racing career was cut short by injury.

Instead of allowing discouragement to turn him away from motorcycling, Payton refocused his efforts on the business side of the sport. At 18, he bought and ran a local Husqvarna shop. His skill and reputation as a tuner grew, and his parts were being used by some of the biggest motocross teams of the mid-1980s. Then, in 1991, Honda asked Payton to run its 125 team. Payton accepted, and over the next 19 years, racing other brands as well, his teams won more championships than any other.

Tom White is chairman of the Hall of Fame Motocross/Supercross committee, and the company he founded, White Brothers, was one of the first distributors of Payton's products.

"I've known Mitch from when he was racing to when he was starting his company," White said. "It is one of my proudest moments to see somebody who overcame what some might see as a major disability and not only build the best motorcycles, but to be able to pick the riders and bring them up to a level of performance that makes them better than they ever thought they could be. Mitch Payton is absolutely what the Hall of Fame is about -- recognizing the people who have made the best and most lasting contributions to motorcycling."

Payton, an AMA Life Member, said that he's honored by his induction into the Hall of Fame. But, he said, he recognizes the legends he looked up to in his youth are the true heroes of the sport.

"I look around the industry, and there are a few guys I hold in real regard," Payton said. "One is Malcolm Smith. When I was a kid, we'd go to Malcolm's shop, and I was the 10-year-old punk who would bother the guys at the counter for stickers and sit on all the bikes. Another is Roger DeCoster. Those guys are just awesome.

"So, to be in the same Hall of Fame, for that honor, I'm really proud about that," Payton continued. "It's there forever. It means that anyone looking back on history years from now will see what you've done."

Payton, and the other members of the class of 2010, will officially be inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame this Nov. 19 as part of the AMA Legends & Champions Weekend. In addition to the induction ceremony, the weekend includes the 2010 AMA Concours d'Elegance on Saturday, Nov. 20, featuring some of the country's most impressive original and restored classic motorcycles. The AMA Racing Championship Banquet closes out the weekend on Sunday, Nov. 21, where AMA Racing amateur champions of all ages will be recognized for their 2010 accomplishments

The event will be held at the Las Vegas Red Rock Resort, a world-class spa, hotel and casino, featuring a range of entertainment, dining and family-friendly attractions. The facility's expansive ballrooms will provide a stunning backdrop for the AMA Legends & Champions Weekend, which is certain to be memorable for the 2010 inductees, champions, families, friends and fans. More information is available online at RedRockLasVegas.com.

Lodging reservations can be made now at AmericanMotorcyclist.com/Accommodations. An announcement regarding ticket information will be made after June 1.

Located on the park-like campus of the AMA in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made lasting contributions to protecting and promoting the motorcycle lifestyle. Its members include those who have excelled in racing, road- and off-road riding, pushed the envelope in motorcycle design, engineering and safety, and championed the rights of riders in both the halls of government and the court of public opinion.

The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Committee includes nine members in addition to the chairman. There are eight committees, each representing a different aspect of motorcycling.

More information about the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame can be found at MotorcycleMuseum.org.

Are things about to turn around? Looks like the Geico Hondas had the PC bikes covered at Hangtown.

x2... from the early days of Anaheim Husky to Pro Circuit Products to Pro Circuit Racing - Payton is a racer at heart., and that is the soul of that empire. He demands a lot from himself and of his employee's and riders. To be the best, you must put in time and dedication. And that they do over there...

Jeff Jennings - Anaheim Husky / Pro Circuit circa 1981. CMC Golden State Nationals

This guy means so much to the sport, it almost chokes me up to read that.

Mitch is among the elite of our sport ... and like those who are still living ... he will probably still be on the radar when he's 80.

No disrespect, PC makes some good stuff......however, part of the reason I think that they are so good is that everyone hypes up Mitch/PC and only talks about the good stuff like championships, etc.....(this is called the Halo effect for you pyschology people out there)......yeah he makes some fast bikes, but PC cost Porcel the outdoor championship last year....if that would have been a privateer bike that blew up, people would say "they should have used pro circuit" but no one talks about it...... there are a few great motor builders out their with incredible motors - some better than PC in my opinion but no one is talking about them. Check out BLONIX or 11-10 Mods - both have motors on the national tour and both build motors that rip.

1. An unyielding demand for excellence in all things racing.
2. Decades of combat experience.
3. An undying passion for the sport.

I'm sure you'll be OK once the drugs wear off.

Mitches mob is so confident, they build the engines for the guys they are competing head-to-head against - and those teams trust PC to give them everything they've got.

I'm sure there's even competition in the shop between the Kawasaki guys and the Honda guys. That's the way Payton rolls.

I'm sorry but, Pourcel cost himself and PC a title last year by coasting in the second moto at Southwick.