Bio:
| Born: |
September 3, 1981 - San Jose |
| Residence: |
Murrieta, CA |
| National #: |
10 |
| Began Riding: |
1987, age 5 |
| First Race: |
1987, age 5 |
| Training: |
Bicycling, running, weight lifting |
| Hobbies: |
Tennis, bicycling |
| Height: |
5'6" |
| Weight: |
145 lbs. |
| Marital Status: |
Married |
| Current Race Bike(s): |
Honda CRF450R |
Q&A:
| How do you relax?: |
Stay at home hanging out |
| Where would you retire?: |
In Costa Rica |
| Things I never do on race day: |
Wake up late |
El Presidente
Ernesto has had an amazing ride through American motocross. He first came up from Costa Rica to Florida to race the Mini Os, the Winter Olympics, and just ride with the best mini riders in the U.S. His parents didn’t speak English, so Ernesto had to do a lot of the adult things – checking into hotels, signing up at races, going through airports, and renting cars – for the family. Mind you, he was maybe 12 and leading his family through the American motocross dream.
The Buffalo brothers at BSY picked him up, and soon they were carrying his YZ80s around. He wore a really cool yellow Kodak jersey, as the Costa Rican distributor for the film giant was into motocross. He climbed up through Loretta Lynn’s, battling with the likes of Travis Pastrana, Billy Payne, Matt Walker, Donovan Mitchell and more, and was eventually tapped by Phil Alderton and Erik Kehoe to ride for Yamaha of Troy.
What he did next was amazing: Fonseca won the first five rounds of the 1999 AMA Supercross Series, a feat that’s likely to never be matched. Then he became the first rider to win a supercross on a four-stroke when Yamaha rolled out its YZ250F. He also became the first to win AMA 125 Supercross titles on both coasts.
Fonseca parlayed his success on Yamahas in the 125 class to a full factory ride for American Honda, and over the course of the last five years, he’s established himself as one of the sport’s preeminent riders.
–Davey Coombs/Racer X |
