AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Trippe passes away at age 78

The American Motorcyclist Association offers its condolences to the family and friends of AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductee Gavin Trippe, who passed away July 2 at the age of 78.

Mr. Trippe is perhaps best remembered for his involvement in 1979 with ABC Sports in creating and promoting “Superbikers” for the television network’s Wide World of Sports.

“Superbikers” was the first motorcycle competition to bring together the stars of various specialties of racing to compete head to head on such a prominent stage. The “Superbikers” concept spawned Supermoto racing, which became a popular national and world championship division by the early 2000s.

Mr. Trippe’s company, Trippe/Cox Productions, also produced the first U.S. Motocross Grand Prix in Carlsbad, Calif., in 1973. He promoted the first AMA national road races at Ontario (California) Motor Speedway, the Champion Spark Plug 200. After the demise of the Speedway, he took that event to Laguna Seca Raceway to launch the current history of motorcycle racing in Monterey.

He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2005.

Trippe will always be remembered as one of the premier promoters in the history of American motorcycle racing and an innovator who helped create an entirely new genre in the sport.

For more information about Trippe and his contributions to motorcycling, visit the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame website at www.motorcyclemuseum.org.