Jim Pomeroy was another classic Moto X bad ass "back in the day"...
RIP Jim.
This guys deserves another nod because he was an MX ground breaker.
From his AMA HoF profile.
Jim Pomeroy is responsible for a number of firsts in motocross during the 1970s.
His record of first includes:
* The first American to win an FIM World Championship MX Event (Spain 1973)
* The first rider to win his debut World GP MX race (Spain 1973)
* The first American to lead the World MX Championship (Spain 1973)
* The first rider to win a World MX GP on a Spanish MX bike (Bultaco)
* The first winner of an indoor Supercross race (Houston, 1974)
* The first American to lead the Trans-AMA Championship (1975)
* The first American to win a moto at the U.S. 500cc GP race (Carlsbad 1977)
* The first non-world champion to win the Trophies des-Nations event (1974)
By age 13 Pomeroy was a proven winner and he kept on winning in flat track, motocross and hillclimb events. He won a Canadian Championship at 16 but would have to wait until he was 18 to join the AMA Pros.
More from the AMA HoF
“In 1971, Pomeroy competed primarily regionally, but he did run an Inter-AMA and a Trans-AMA race. While Jim’s top-20 overall finishes may not have been notable, his riding style was attracting notice. The Trans-AMA race Pomeroy competed in was held at Boise, Idaho. The track included a 450-foot downhill. The other riders would come over the top cautiously and then be careful not to pick up too much speed before the tight corner at the bottom. But not Pomeroy. He would crest the top of the hill, land partway down slope, shift up two gears and pin the throttle wide open. As Brad Lackey watched Pomeroy on a practice lap, he thought there was no way he was going to make the corner. But the brash Pomeroy made it and then he did it again the next lap, and the next.
Lackey brought
Jim Weinert over to watch. These two riders soon understood that if they were to beat Pomeroy that day, they would have to ride the downhill the same way.”
As a privateer Bultaco racer he caught the factories eye and in 1973, Pomeroy and was signed as s support rider. That included a trip to Europe to race before the U.S. season started. Pomeroy arrived at the Spanish 250cc Grand Prix in ’73 ready to show the Europeans what he could do. He got a top 10 start and put his flat track experience, to work passing the entire the field on the first lap. The victory had Bultaco quickly signing him to a contract to compete in the World Championship. (see the Bultaco congrats ad below) He quickly proved his victory was not just luck. The 20 yo yank had strong finishes all season and finished the year ranked 7th.
1973 to compete in several American races and he finished second at the Los Angeles Coliseum indoor race that brought us SX. He finished the AMA 250 Motocross championships ranked 10th even though he only hit 1/3 of the 15-race series.
In 1974, '75 and '76, Pomeroy was focused on the World Championships in Europe, but competed in U.S. races that did not conflict with the GP’s. 1974 started with Pomeroy winning the first indoor Supercross race held at the Houston Astrodome and he finished the year becoming the first non-World Champion to win the Trophies des Nations.
In 1977 Pomeroy joined Honda’s factory race team and returned to full time racing in the US and finished the year second overall in Supercross and third in the outdoor 250cc series.
In 80 he went back abroad to race for Bultaco, but the Spanish manufacturer was losing out on the Japanese competition and pulled the plug on Jim. After finishing the season with Beta he retired.
He left a mark on Europe and set a standard for other US racers to chase their World Championship dreams too.
Bad ass indeed. :thumbup