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Photo by Davey Coombs
5
THE ULTIMATE LOBBY BIKE
Monster Energy has long planted its flag in motorsports racing, and especially in the motorsports world. The Corona, California-based energy-drink giant sponsors two-wheeled racing programs, events, series, and riders all over the world. So when Dave Gowland, Monster Energy’s senior director of motorsports, went searching for something very cool and very rare to present to Monster Energy CEO Rodney Sacks to show how much the company’s interests are appreciated in the motorcycle racing world, he went to the very top: with the help of Yamaha Motor Corporation general manager Hank Ito, Gowland was able to secure one of MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi’s actual YZR-M1 race bikes. On the day before the 2020 Anaheim Supercross opener, he rolled the #46 into its new home—Sacks’ personal office at Monster Energy.