Reg Pridmore

Reg Pridmore
Nationality EnglandUnited KingdomEnglish
Born (1939-07-15) 15 July 1939
London, England UK
Current team Retired

Reginald Charles Pridmore III (born 15 July 1939) is an English former professional motorcycle road racing national champion. He is remembered for winning the inaugural AMA Superbike Championship in 1976, followed by 1977 and 1978. He is the father of retired AMA racer Jason Pridmore.

Early Days

Born in London, England, Pridmore began racing motorcycles in England in the early 1960s winning his first race at Silverstone. As a young man, he made the decision to sell all his possessions and move to the United States. He settled in Southern California and soon began competing in local motorcycle events, racing four-stroke production-based machines.[1] In early 1970s he raced BMW R75/5 in production class and a F750 with a frame by Englishman Rob North in A.M.A. Nationals.

US Superbikes

1979 Vetter team at Sears showing at rear of machine 163, from left, Pierre des Roches, Reg Pridmore (seated, in white leathers) and Keith Code wearing short jacket
Reg Pridmore's 1978 Superbike Championship Vetter Kawasaki

In 1976, the A.M.A. introduced a new national championship for production-based bikes. Riding a BMW R90S sponsored by BMW's American importer, Butler & Smith, Pridmore impressed the motorcycling world by winning the national championship against more advanced Japanese machinery.

In 1977 he raced a Kawasaki Z1000 for the Racecrafters team with (the late) Pierre des Roches and Keith Code, claiming the first A.M.A. superbike championship for a Japanese manufacturer. Pridmore went on to win the A.M.A. Superbike Championship in 1978 riding for the Vetter team, again on a Pierre des Roches prepared Kawasaki. He was 39 years old when he won his final championship, making him the oldest A.M.A. Superbike champion. He retired after the 1979 season.

Retirement Activity

Reg Pridmore riding a 1982 R80G/S in the Slow Race at the 1982 South Coast BMW Riders Club Fiesta Rally

After his retirement from racing Pridmore established CLASS, one of the top motorcycle track-riding schools in the United States. In 2002, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

Reg and his Ventura, California-based RPM Motorcycles shop attended several of the South Coast BMW Riders Club's Fiesta Rallies in the early 1980s. The photo shows Reg on a 1982 BMW R80G/S participating in the rally Slow Race.[2]

He now lives in Santa Paula, CA where he owns a hangar at Santa Paula Airport KSZP. He keeps his motorcycles, a Scout airplane and a small hangar museum there.[3]

References

  1. Reg Pridmore at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame
  2. personal photos of Don Williams
  3. Reg Pridmore. Official site. Retrieved 2013-05-19
Preceded by
None
AMA Superbike Champion
1976-1978
Succeeded by
Wes Cooley


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.