Cinta Americana, The Book

Launched last weekend at the Superprestigio Dirt Track invitational in Barcelona, Spain, "Cinta Americana" is more than a motorsports book. "One of the reasons Spanish riders are so good is thanks to 'Cinta Americana,'" said Jaime Alguersuari, president of RPM Racing, promoter of the Superprestigio.

Written by journalist, television commentator, and former Spanish national champion roadracer Dennis Noyes, "Cinta Americana" is a compilation of Spanish-language columns published over several decades in the popular and respected Spanish motorcycle magazine Solo Moto. "I have worked with Dennis since 1975," Alguersuari said. "When he decided to write his American column in Solo Moto, I was the publisher."

Alguersuari persuaded Noyes to write his column in Spanish rather than his native English. Noyes mastered the language, which gave his stories a unique identity. Beginning with the first column in 1983, Noyes’ writing inspired an entire generation. José Luis Merlos followed Noyes’ path and is now one of Spain’s most famous motorsport journalists and television presenters.

“Dennis wrote about American motorsport from a Spanish point of view,” Merlos said. “His understanding of the Spanish culture was so deep that he was able to describe what was happening in the US from a Spanish perspective. No one had done this before, and that was the key to the huge success of the American columns.”

After the former stock-car driver from Hoopeston, Illinois, watched his first motorcycle race at Montjuic Park in Barcelona in 1968, Noyes became deeply involved in the sport. From American dirt tracks to air-conditioned MotoGP garages, his incredible stories provide unique insight, bringing the reader to places where few have traveled.