Michael Jordan’s passion for basketball and NASCAR is well known, but he has long loved motorcycle racing as well. Jordan used to race kids in the neighbourhood growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and back in 2004, he rode the 230bhp Ducati Desmosedici at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste, Valencia.
Jordan once spoke about that experience to ESPN’s Hannah Storm and revealed he was driving at 179 miles per hour on the straight.
“I rode in Valencia,” Jordan said. “I did like 179 on the straightaway.”
As for what that was like, it shouldn’t surprise you to know that even the great Jordan was scared.
“Scared s***less,” Jordan stated. “Never got out of third gear.”
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Jordan completed four laps of the circuit and was joined on track by Moto GP riders Sete Gibernau, Colin Edwards, Kenny Roberts Jr., and Kurtis Roberts. He revealed back then that Gibernau had convinced him to ride the Ducati, and that he had actually gone up to fourth gear.
“It was Sete who talked me into it!” Jordan said. “That was fun, but I only got it up to fourth gear. I can’t imagine what these things are like wide open in sixth! The straightaways were no problem, but I was trying to find the markers for the corners, then I had these other guys riding alongside tapping me on the leg!
“These things have so much power,” Jordan added. “I was trying to pull a wheelie, but in the end, I was a bit too afraid, so I just started waving! I guess you could say I need a bit more time to get used to all that power.”
Riding that Ducati wouldn’t be the only notable motorbike-related activity for Jordan in 2004. His team, Michael Jordan Motorsports, competed on the AMA motorcycle circuit from 2004 to 2013. That’s right, 23XI Racing isn’t the first racing team that Jordan owned. It enjoyed some success as well, winning the AMA Superstock Championship in 2008 and the SuperSport East Championship in 2013.
Jordan initially found success hard to come by after founding 23XI Racing in 2020, but their fortunes have changed. Their first bit of glory came in 2024 when Tyler Reddick won the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship. Reddick then went winless last year, but has started this season with a bang.
Reddick won the season-opening Daytona 500, and Jordan stated afterward that it felt like he won a championship. The winning didn’t stop there, though. A week later, Redick won the Autotrader 400, and a week after that, emerged triumphant at the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix. He became the first driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the first three races of the season.
As one would imagine, Jordan was over the moon after Redick’s latest victory.
“I’m proud of the team that we put together,” Jordan said. “I mean, [co-owner] Denny [Hamlin], I’m pretty sure it is the same way. He feels the same way as I do. I think a lot of credit goes to him because I think he’s the mastermind behind finding Tyler and putting together Billy Scott and all that.
“Look, I just put up the money,” Jordan continued. “I’m just a competitor, but I think Denny’s done an unbelievable job in terms of helping build this team, and I think the team has done a good job in just taking our leadership and going out and winning. That’s what it’s about, winning.”
Jordan tasted plenty of success in the NBA, winning six titles, six Finals MVPs, and five MVPs. He three-peated twice with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s and is now enjoying this latest one on the racetrack.
