Gavin Trippe
Encyclopedia
Gavin Trippe is a motorcycle racing
promoter, journalist, and publisher who was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame
in 2005. Trippe was a motorcycling journalist in the UK until he founded a motorcycling magazine, Motor Cycle Weekly, in the United States in 1969. In the early 1970s he brought European style motocross
racing to the US by founding the Carlsbad USGP. Trippe is also the creator of supermoto
racing, which attracted a large US television audience from 1979–1985, and had a resurgence, first in Europe and then beyond, since the early 2000s. Since 2007 Trippe has been working to create a new single cylinder racing class with low barriers to entry for amateur racers and young riders.
As of late 2010, he writes "The Spoken Wheel" column for the online publication Motorcycle USA.
class based on the success of European supermono
.
racing to the US in the early 1970s, creating an event at Carlsbad, California
which grew into a major international venue. The 1971 motocross race at Carlsbad Raceway attracted 21,000 spectators and 15 million television viewers. In 1973, his company, Trippe-Cox Associates, secured the sponsorship of leisure apparel maker Hang Ten International
, and the event became the Hang Ten Carlsbad United States Grand Prix (USGP), run under the auspices of the American Motorcyclist Association
(AMA), and sanctioned as a Grand Prix event by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
(FIM). It was the 7th round of the 1973 Trans-AMA, the only US event at the time to pay points in the FIM World 500 cc Championship. For the race, Trippe-Cox Associates made improvements to the Carlsbad facility, including new water sprinklers, fencing, spectator bridges and billboards. The series proved commercially successful, with a significant television audience. For second year of the event, 1974, the course was lengthened by ¼ mile, to 1+1/2 mi, with the new section having a left turning uphill corner followed by a sharp right turn into a ravine. The 1974 purse grew to US$ 30,000, and 60 riders from 13 countries competed in the race, by then the eighth stop on the race circuit earning points to the 500 cc championship.
Carlsbad was the oldest venue of the US motocross season's main events until the last USGP there in 1986. Motocross popularity declined in the 90s, and by 1995 there was no motocross Grand Prix in the US, until the FIM championship returned in 2010. In 1984 Trippe began to worry that development was encroaching on Carlsbad Raceway, and that the site would be sold when his lease expired.
, the uneven obstacles and jumps of motocross, and the high speed straights and turns of paved road racing. The original purpose was to find out who was the best overall motorcycle racer from the three disciplines. Trippe built first course at Carlsbad Raceway. The machines are motocross-style motorcycles, but with smoother, road race style tires, though in the beginning 750 cc Harley-Davidson
flat trackers competed as well.
The seed of the idea for Superbikers began was when reporter Bob Iger asked Trippe at a motocross event why Kenny Roberts
wasn't competing, and Trippe replied, puzzled, "Because he is a road racer." Trippe began thinking that, "The huge mass doesn't know the difference between dirt track, motocross and road racing." The ten best riders from each discipline, motocross, dirt track and road racing, would be race together because, "All these riders know one another and respect one another, but they never race one another. This is a way we can pitch them all in together. We've tried to lay out a course where all branches will be competitive," said Trippe. Motocross riders won five of the first six Superbikers championships, promoting Trippe to consider changing the course to have less off-road and more paved stretches to give the track and the road riders a better shot.
He trademarked it as "Superbikers" and was one of the original promoters of the Superbikers segment on ABC
's Wide World of Sports from 1979–1985. Besides combining road racing with dirt racing, Superbikers brought together top riders from different specialties, like an all-star game
. After the end of Superbikers television run, supermoto declined in the US but grew in Europe, until 2003 when AMA Pro Racing began a supermoto championship.
racing. He said, "Formula 450 is a great way to encourage young riders. It's back-to-basics racing, emphasizing riding skill over horsepower, and you don't need a six-figure sponsorship just to make the grid." One reviewer described the machines as, "a single cylinder 450 cc dirt bike that's been converted into an entry-level road racer. The frame, subframe, swing arm, motor and transmission are all stock, but the wheels, tires, suspension and bodywork have all been modified for on-track use and general skulduggery."
After a few years of development and testing, Formula 450s became motocross bikes which had been converted to road racing by installing 17-inch wheels, larger front brakes, clip on handlebar
s and aerodynamic fairings
. Replacing the forks
with parts from supersport sport bike
s was unsuccessful because the forks were too short, leading to too little trail. Instead the stock motocross front and rear suspension components were kept, but reconfigured. According to Trippe, the cost of preparing such a bike was under US$10,000 and tires last three race weekends, longer than a 600 cc class supersport.
For the 2009 season, the United States Grand Prix Racers Union (USGPRU) club-level racing organization added a Formula 450 class on a trial basis to five of their rounds, in order to test the prototype motorcycles and gauge interest in adding the class. The USGPRU also published a detailed technical account of how to build Formula 450 racer from a donor motocross bike. Formula 450 was not run in 2010 or scheduled for 2011.
Inspired by Trippe's development and promotion of this idea, the AMA announced in July 2009 there would be a single cylinder series to be called Formula 450, but as a spec series, with identical bikes built, owned, and maintained by single manufacturer provided to all riders, rather than bikes adapted by riders from motocross bikes. Two months later, AMA Pro Road Racing announced that the new class would be called GT3, an expansion of the SunTrust Moto-GT.
Motorcycle racing
Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all "races" or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.-Motorcycle racing:...
promoter, journalist, and publisher who was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame
Motorcycle Hall of Fame
The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association that recognizes individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction and motorcycling in general. It displays motorcycles and riding gear and memoribilia. The museum is located in...
in 2005. Trippe was a motorcycling journalist in the UK until he founded a motorcycling magazine, Motor Cycle Weekly, in the United States in 1969. In the early 1970s he brought European style motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
racing to the US by founding the Carlsbad USGP. Trippe is also the creator of supermoto
Supermoto
Supermoto is motorcycle racing on a circuit that alternates between three types of track: flat track, motocross and road racing, using motorcycles designed for that purpose...
racing, which attracted a large US television audience from 1979–1985, and had a resurgence, first in Europe and then beyond, since the early 2000s. Since 2007 Trippe has been working to create a new single cylinder racing class with low barriers to entry for amateur racers and young riders.
Publications
After working for the British publication Motor Cycle News, he co-founded, with Bruce Cox, Motor Cycle Weekly in America in 1969. Motor Cycle Weekly ceased publication in 1975.As of late 2010, he writes "The Spoken Wheel" column for the online publication Motorcycle USA.
Race classes
Trippe started the Carlsbad United States Grand Prix in 1973, and invented supermoto in 1979. Trippe also helped create the AMA Superbike Championship in 1976. Other events Trippe promoted included Trans-AMA, Trans-Atlantic Match Races, and Ascot half-mile dirt track racing. In 2007 he proposed a new American single cylinderSingle cylinder engine
A single-cylinder engine is a basic piston engine configuration of an internal combustion engine. It is often seen on motorcycles, auto rickshaws, motor scooters, mopeds, dirt bikes, go-karts, radio-controlled models and has many uses in portable tools and garden machinery...
class based on the success of European supermono
Supermono
Supermono is a class in European motorcycle road racing. Supermono class machines have a single-cylinder engine with a maximum displacement of 850 cc....
.
Carlsbad United States Grand Prix
Trippe introduced European-style 500 cc motocrossMotocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
racing to the US in the early 1970s, creating an event at Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Carlsbad had a population of 105,328. The population density was 2,693.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Carlsbad was 87,205 White, 1,379 African American, 514 Native American, 7,460 Asian, 198 Pacific Islander, 4,189 from other...
which grew into a major international venue. The 1971 motocross race at Carlsbad Raceway attracted 21,000 spectators and 15 million television viewers. In 1973, his company, Trippe-Cox Associates, secured the sponsorship of leisure apparel maker Hang Ten International
Hang Ten (brand)
Hang Ten is a sportswear brand known as "The Original Surf Brand" which first created boardshorts in San Diego, California, in 1960. Hang Ten is currently owned by American Brand Holdings of New Brunswick, New Jersey...
, and the event became the Hang Ten Carlsbad United States Grand Prix (USGP), run under the auspices of the American Motorcyclist Association
American Motorcyclist Association
The American Motorcyclist Association is an American not-for-profit organization of more than 300,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights...
(AMA), and sanctioned as a Grand Prix event by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme is the governing body of motorcycle racing. It represents 103 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regional continental unions....
(FIM). It was the 7th round of the 1973 Trans-AMA, the only US event at the time to pay points in the FIM World 500 cc Championship. For the race, Trippe-Cox Associates made improvements to the Carlsbad facility, including new water sprinklers, fencing, spectator bridges and billboards. The series proved commercially successful, with a significant television audience. For second year of the event, 1974, the course was lengthened by ¼ mile, to 1+1/2 mi, with the new section having a left turning uphill corner followed by a sharp right turn into a ravine. The 1974 purse grew to US$ 30,000, and 60 riders from 13 countries competed in the race, by then the eighth stop on the race circuit earning points to the 500 cc championship.
Carlsbad was the oldest venue of the US motocross season's main events until the last USGP there in 1986. Motocross popularity declined in the 90s, and by 1995 there was no motocross Grand Prix in the US, until the FIM championship returned in 2010. In 1984 Trippe began to worry that development was encroaching on Carlsbad Raceway, and that the site would be sold when his lease expired.
Supermoto
Trippe was the inventor and early promoter of supermoto, which combines on a single course three genres of motorcycle racing: the hard-packed, flat dirt of track racingTrack racing
Track racing is a form of motorcycle racing where teams or individuals race opponents around an oval track. There are differing variants, with each variant racing on a different surface type....
, the uneven obstacles and jumps of motocross, and the high speed straights and turns of paved road racing. The original purpose was to find out who was the best overall motorcycle racer from the three disciplines. Trippe built first course at Carlsbad Raceway. The machines are motocross-style motorcycles, but with smoother, road race style tires, though in the beginning 750 cc Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
flat trackers competed as well.
The seed of the idea for Superbikers began was when reporter Bob Iger asked Trippe at a motocross event why Kenny Roberts
Kenny Roberts
Kenneth Leroy Roberts is a former motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship...
wasn't competing, and Trippe replied, puzzled, "Because he is a road racer." Trippe began thinking that, "The huge mass doesn't know the difference between dirt track, motocross and road racing." The ten best riders from each discipline, motocross, dirt track and road racing, would be race together because, "All these riders know one another and respect one another, but they never race one another. This is a way we can pitch them all in together. We've tried to lay out a course where all branches will be competitive," said Trippe. Motocross riders won five of the first six Superbikers championships, promoting Trippe to consider changing the course to have less off-road and more paved stretches to give the track and the road riders a better shot.
He trademarked it as "Superbikers" and was one of the original promoters of the Superbikers segment on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Wide World of Sports from 1979–1985. Besides combining road racing with dirt racing, Superbikers brought together top riders from different specialties, like an all-star game
All-star game
An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league, except in the circumstances of professional sports systems in which a democratic voting system is used...
. After the end of Superbikers television run, supermoto declined in the US but grew in Europe, until 2003 when AMA Pro Racing began a supermoto championship.
Formula 450 series
Trippe proposed the creation of a new US single cylinder road racing class based on repurposed 450 cc motocross bikes. It was to be called "Super Single" but later the proposed name was changed to Formula 450, or F450. Trippe had been lobbying for the creation of a Formula 450 class because it would be more affordable to rookie and under-21 year old riders, compared to 600 cc supersport sport bikeSport bike
A sport bike, also written as sportbike, is a motorcycle optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on paved roads, typically at the expense of comfort and fuel economy in comparison to less specialized motorcycles...
racing. He said, "Formula 450 is a great way to encourage young riders. It's back-to-basics racing, emphasizing riding skill over horsepower, and you don't need a six-figure sponsorship just to make the grid." One reviewer described the machines as, "a single cylinder 450 cc dirt bike that's been converted into an entry-level road racer. The frame, subframe, swing arm, motor and transmission are all stock, but the wheels, tires, suspension and bodywork have all been modified for on-track use and general skulduggery."
After a few years of development and testing, Formula 450s became motocross bikes which had been converted to road racing by installing 17-inch wheels, larger front brakes, clip on handlebar
Motorcycle handlebar
Motorcycle handlebar refers to the steering mechanism for motorcycles. Handlebars often support part of the rider's weight, and provide a mounting place for controls such as brake, throttle, clutch, horn, light switch, and rear view mirrors....
s and aerodynamic fairings
Motorcycle fairing
A motorcycle fairing is a shell placed over the frame of some motorcycles, especially racing motorcycles and sport bikes, with the primary purpose to reduce air drag. The secondary functions are the protection of the rider from airborne hazards and wind-induced hypothermia and of the engine...
. Replacing the forks
Motorcycle fork
A motorcycle fork connects a motorcycle's front wheel and axle to its frame, typically via a pair of triple clamps. It typically incorporates the front suspension and front brake, and allows the bike to be steered via handlebars attached to the top clamp....
with parts from supersport sport bike
Sport bike
A sport bike, also written as sportbike, is a motorcycle optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on paved roads, typically at the expense of comfort and fuel economy in comparison to less specialized motorcycles...
s was unsuccessful because the forks were too short, leading to too little trail. Instead the stock motocross front and rear suspension components were kept, but reconfigured. According to Trippe, the cost of preparing such a bike was under US$10,000 and tires last three race weekends, longer than a 600 cc class supersport.
For the 2009 season, the United States Grand Prix Racers Union (USGPRU) club-level racing organization added a Formula 450 class on a trial basis to five of their rounds, in order to test the prototype motorcycles and gauge interest in adding the class. The USGPRU also published a detailed technical account of how to build Formula 450 racer from a donor motocross bike. Formula 450 was not run in 2010 or scheduled for 2011.
Inspired by Trippe's development and promotion of this idea, the AMA announced in July 2009 there would be a single cylinder series to be called Formula 450, but as a spec series, with identical bikes built, owned, and maintained by single manufacturer provided to all riders, rather than bikes adapted by riders from motocross bikes. Two months later, AMA Pro Road Racing announced that the new class would be called GT3, an expansion of the SunTrust Moto-GT.