Marty Tripes
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Marty Tripes (born June 29, 1956) is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
former professional
motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...
racer. He competed in the
AMA Motocross Championship The AMA Motocross Championship (commercially known as Lucas Oil Pro Motocross) is an American motorcycle racing series. The motocross race series was founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1972. The series is th ...
s from 1972 to 1980. He was one of the leading American motocross and
supercross The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...
racers during the 1970s. Tripes rose to national prominence in 1972 as a teenage prodigy when, he defeated some of the best riders in the world to win the first-ever stadium
supercross The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...
race in the United States. He was described as being one of the most naturally talented riders of his era with a smooth and stylish stand-up riding technique. It's also notable that Tripes was successful despite being one of the biggest riders of his era, at 6’-1” tall and weighing over 200 pounds in his racing prime. Tripes was inducted into the
AMA Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...
Motorcycle Hall of Fame The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction Motorcycle components and systems for a motorcycle are en ...
in 2001. __TOC__


Motocross career

Tripes was born in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
and began riding bicycles during the era that spawned
BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...
racing. As a child, he watched one of the first motocross races in America which featured the top European riders of the era. The riding ability of the European riders greatly impressed Tripes and he sought to emulate their style, especially that of his idol
Joel Robert Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...
. He rode 100cc
Penton Penton was a rebadged American brand of off-road enduro motorcycles designed by John Penton and manufactured by KTM in Austria for distribution in the United States between 1968 and 1978. History Origins John Penton was an accomplished Ameri ...
Berkshire before moving on to a succession of ČZs. By 1971 he was riding a Montesa, and had won the Mammoth Mountain Motocross. Tripes made an impression as a 14-year-old prodigy in the 1971 Denver Inter-AMA race where he scored an impressive fourth-place finish against some of the best motocross racers in the world. However, when the AMA discovered his real age, he was banned from competition until his 16th birthday. He was then contracted to ride for the Yamaha factory racing team managed by Don Jones, father of future national champion and teammate Gary Jones. He rose to national prominence in July
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
just after his 16th birthday when, he scored an unexpected victory for Yamaha in the inaugural Super Bowl of Motocross in the
Los Angeles Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
. The race is considered to be the first true stadium Supercross race in America. His surprising victory in what was officially the second professional race of his career, came at a time when European riders dominated the sport of motocross. Tripes became the youngest rider to win an AMA national as he rode to three second-place finishes to earn the overall victory against some of the world's best riders including former world champions
Torsten Hallman Torsten Hallman (born 17 October 1939) is a Swedish former professional motocross racer and business entrepreneur. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1959 to 1971. A four-time world champion, Hallman led a contingent of Swedish ...
and
Dave Bickers David Geoffrey Bickers (17 January 1938 – 6 July 2014) was an English professional motocross racer from Coddenham, Suffolk. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1959 to 1969. Bickers won two European motocross championships, ...
as well as future world champion Håkan Andersson. His performances in the final two races where, he had to work his way through the field after bad starts, thrilled the spectators in attendance. His Super Bowl victory created a huge wave of excitement in the American motorcycle community. He then left the Yamaha team to ride a ČZ in the
1972 Trans-AMA motocross series The 1972 Trans-AMA motocross series was the third annual international series established by the American Motorcyclist Association as a pilot event to help establish motocross in the United States. The motocross series was an invitational based on ...
where he was the top-scoring American rider in the series-ending race, defeating top American riders such as Brad Lackey, Jim Pomeroy and Gary Jones. Tripes was then contracted to ride for the
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
factory racing team in the
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
250cc national championship. He successfully defended his Super Bowl of Motocross victory and won two races in the 250cc national championship to end the season ranked sixth in the nation. After only one year with the Honda team, Tripes joined the Husqvarna team where he struggled to compete on a motorcycle that lagged behind the performance of the Japanese motorcycles. Nevertheless, Tripes managed to win one race and finish the year ranked second in the 1974 250cc national championship. In an marketing move, Tripes was hired by the Can-Am team before the final race of the season so that the team with their riders Gary Jones, Tripes and Jimmy Ellis, would claim the top three positions in the national championship. Tripes signed a contract to race for the
Bultaco Bultaco was a Spanish manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles from 1958 to 1983. In May 2014, a new Bultaco was announced. Origins The origin of the Bultaco motorcycle company dates from May 1958. Francesc "Paco" Bultó was a director of the ...
racing team in 1975 but, was discouraged by the results and decided to take a year off to enjoy life. He had developed a reputation for his lackadaisical work ethic, as well as a reputation for not getting along with his teammates. In the first four years of his professional motocross career, Tripes had already ridden for five different factory racing teams. Despite the great physical effort involved in motocross racing, Tripes never performed any physical training to prepare for racing, relying solely on his natural riding ability. After his impressive victory at the 1972 Super Bowl of Motocross, he seldom lived up to his potential. He returned to race in 1977 for the ill-fated
Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
motocross team but, they ended their motocross racing program after only one season. Tripes decided to get serious about his physical training and nutrition in 1978. He returned to the American Honda factory racing team in 1978 where he had the most successful season of his career. During an era of American motocross that was dominated by
Bob Hannah Robert William Hannah (born September 26, 1956) is an American former professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1975 to 1989, most notably as a member of the Yamaha factory racing team. He was one of the ...
, Tripes was one of the few riders who was able to compete evenly with Hannah. Tripes also won the first FIM 250cc United States Motocross Grand Prix at Unadilla, New York in 1978, defeating some of the best riders in the world including the defending 250cc world champion, Guennady Moisseev. At the age of 23, Tripes won his final national win defeating Hannah at the 250 outdoor national held in Buchanan, Michigan, on July 1, 1979. He ended the season ranked third behind Hannah and
Kent Howerton Kent Howerton (born July 11, 1954) is an American former professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1973 to 1988. Howerton is notable for being a three-time motocross national champion. Motocross career Bo ...
. He returned to race for the Yamaha team in 1980 and ended the year ranked eighth in AMA 250 Motocross and 10th in AMA Supercross. He retired at the end of the year at the age of 24. In his six-year professional motocross career, Tripes won a total of 11 National Championship races. The AMA honored Tripes in 2001 by inducting him into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. After retirement from racing, Tripes became a pioneer in safety gear design in the
paintball Paintball is a competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact. Paintballs are usually shot using low-energy a ...
industry. He also ran a successful gourmet mushroom business that sells to grocery chains.


References


External links


Marty Tripes at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripes, Marty 1956 births Living people People from Santee, California Motorcycle racers from San Diego American motocross riders American people of Czech descent American people of Slovak descent