Jim Pomeroy

Jim Pomeroy (November 16, 1952 – August 6, 2006) was an American professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1972 to 1973 and in the Motocross World Championships from 1973 to 1976, before returning to compete in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1977 to 1978.

Pomeroy is notable for being the first American competitor to win an overall victory in an FIM Motocross World Championship Grand Prix race. Pomeroy was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and, in 2018 he was inducted into the Central Washington Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional racing career Early roots Born in Sunnyside, Washington, Pomeroy's family relocated to Yakima, Washington shortly after he was born. Pomeroy began to race professionally in Canada to circumvent the American Motorcyclist Association's 18-year-old age restriction and ended up winning the Western Canadian Championship.

In 1972 he competed in the inaugural AMA Motocross National Championship. He won the season opening 250cc race at Saddleback Park in California before, switching to the 500cc class where he finished the 1972 season in fifth place overall. His performance earned him Bultaco factory support through a local Bultaco distributor.

First American Motocross Grand Prix winner Pomeroy (26) leading the start of the 1973 250cc Spanish Grand Prix. In the early 1970s, European riders still dominated the sport of motocross and Americans weren't considered as talented due to their relative lack of experience in the nascent motorsport.

His surprising victory in what was officially the first world championship race of his career, came at a time when European riders dominated the sport, and it was considered a significant accomplishment for an American rider to finish among the top five against the more experienced European competitors.

The news of his unexpected victory created a huge wave of excitement in the American motorcycle community where motocross was undergoing an explosive growth in popularity. His victory signaled that American motocross riders were ready to compete with the best in the world. He also competed in the 1973 Inter-AMA series where he was the highest placed American rider, finishing in third place behind Heikki Mikkola and Pierre Karsmakers. Pomeroy was once again named to the American team for the 1973 Motocross des Nations event where he helped the team improve to a fourth place result. Their performance marked the best-ever result at the time for an American team at the event.

The 1976 season would be Pomeroy's most successful season in when he posted a career-high finish of fourth place against the best riders in the world. Despite his success in the world championships, Pomeroy accepted a contract offer to race for Honda in the AMA national championships in 1977.

He began the season by finishing second to Bob Hannah in the 1977 Supercross championship and, followed that with a third-place finish in the 250cc national championship final standings behind Tony DiStefano and Marty Smith. Also in 1977, Pomeroy became the first American competitor to win a moto at the 500cc United States Motocross Grand Prix.

Following an injury plagued season in 1978, Pomeroy returned to Europe in 1979 to compete for Bultaco in the world championships.

In 2018 Pomeroy was the winner in a Readers’ Choice vote for induction with the inaugural class of the Central Washington Sports Hall of Fame.