# Gavin Trippe

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{{Short description|American motorcycle racing promoter}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gavin Trippe
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = 1940
| birth_place = [Norfolk](/source/Norfolk), England
| death_date = {{death date and age |2018|7|2|1940|df=yes}}
| death_place = California
| nationality = 
| other_names = 
| citizenship = 
| education = 
| alma_mater = 
| known_for = 
| occupation = [Motorcycle racing](/source/Motorcycle_racing) promoter and publisher
| organization= President of Trippe-Cox Associates, Inc.
| awards = [Motorcycle Hall of Fame](/source/Motorcycle_Hall_of_Fame) (2005)
}}

'''Gavin Trippe''' (1940 – 2 July 2018) was a [motorcycle racing](/source/motorcycle_racing) promoter, journalist, and publisher who was inducted to the [Motorcycle Hall of Fame](/source/Motorcycle_Hall_of_Fame) in 2005.<ref name=ama>{{citation|url=http://motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=373|title=Gavin Trippe|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|access-date=4 July 2018|archive-date=7 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307140530/http://motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=373|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name= Pinchin2007>{{Citation |title=Gary Pinchin's singles blog |first= Gary |last= Pinchin |magazine=[Motor Cycle News](/source/Motor_Cycle_News) |url= http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/mcn/2007/october/oct1-7/oct0107garypinchinssniglesblog/_/R-EPI-95057 |access-date= 23 December 2010 |date= 1 October 2007 }}</ref> He died following an [automobile accident](/source/automobile_accident) in California.<ref>[http://www.bikesportnews.com/news/news-detail/in-memoriam-gavin-trippe-snr-racing-pioneer In Memoriam: Gavin Trippe Snr, racing pioneer] ''Bikesport News'', 6 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018</ref>

Trippe was a motorcycling journalist in the UK until he founded a motorcycling magazine, ''Motor Cycle Weekly'', in the United States in 1969.<ref name=ama/> In the early 1970s he brought European style [motocross](/source/motocross) racing to the US by founding the Carlsbad USGP.<ref name=Trib2005/><ref name=AMA1972/><ref name=AmericanMotorcyclist1977/> Trippe was also the creator of [supermoto](/source/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.<ref name=ama/><ref name=Powersports2005/><ref>{{Citation |url= http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/522/4174/Motorcycle-Article/Supermoto-Returns-to-X-Games-15.aspx |access-date= 27 December 2010 |title= Supermoto Returns to X Games 15 Courtesy of X Games 15 (press release) |date= 28 July 2009 |magazine= MotorcycleUSA.com |archive-date= 23 March 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120323121200/http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/522/4174/Motorcycle-Article/Supermoto-Returns-to-X-Games-15.aspx |url-status= dead }}</ref> Since 2007 Trippe worked to create a single cylinder racing class with low barriers to entry for amateur racers and young riders.<ref name=Aaron2009/>

==Publications==
After working for the British publication ''[Motor Cycle News](/source/Motor_Cycle_News)'', he co-founded, with Bruce Cox, ''Motor Cycle Weekly'' in America in 1969. ''Motor Cycle Weekly'' ceased publication in 1975.<ref name=ama/> He wrote "The Spoken Wheel" column for the online publication Motorcycle USA.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/788/8262/Motorcycle-Article/The-Spoken-Wheel--An-Introduction.aspx|title=The Spoken Wheel: An Introduction|author=Gavin Trippe|publisher=Motorcycle USA|date=26 October 2010|access-date=19 December 2010}}</ref>

==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](/source/AMA_Superbike_Championship) in 1976. Other events Trippe promoted included the [Trans-AMA motocross series](/source/List_of_Trans-AMA_motocross_champions), the [Trans-Atlantic Match Races](/source/Trans-Atlantic_Match_Races), and [Ascot](/source/Ascot_Park_(speedway)) half-mile dirt track racing.<ref name=Trib2005>{{Citation |title= Deck The Hall |newspaper= [Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune) |location= Chicago, Illinois |date= 19 June 2005 |page= 5 }}</ref> In 2007 he proposed a new American [single cylinder](/source/Single_cylinder_engine) class based on the success of European [supermono](/source/supermono).<ref name= Pinchin2007/>

===Carlsbad United States Grand Prix===
Trippe introduced European-style 500&nbsp;cc [motocross](/source/motocross) racing to the US in the early 1970s,<ref name=Trib2005/><ref name=TrippeCoxAdvert>{{Citation |title= First U.S. Moto-Cross Grand Prix (Advertisement) |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f_YDAAAAMBAJ&q=Trippe+Cox+Associates&pg=PA73 |pages= 73 |magazine= [American Motorcyclist](/source/American_Motorcyclist) |date= September 1971 |volume= 25 |issue= 9 |issn= 0277-9358 |publisher= [American Motorcyclist Association](/source/American_Motorcyclist_Association) |author=Trippe/Cox Associates }}</ref> creating an event at [Carlsbad, California](/source/Carlsbad%2C_California) which grew into a major international venue. The 1971 motocross race at [Carlsbad Raceway](/source/Carlsbad_Raceway) attracted 21,000 spectators and 15 million television viewers.<ref name=AMA1972/> In 1973, his company, Trippe-Cox Associates, secured the sponsorship of leisure apparel maker [Hang Ten International](/source/Hang_Ten_(brand)),<ref name=AMA1972>{{Citation |title= Trippe-Cox, Hang-Ten to sponsor U.S. Grand Prix |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=iPkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA45-IA11 |pages= 45 |magazine= [American Motorcyclist](/source/American_Motorcyclist) |date= October 1972 |volume= 26 |issue=10 |issn= 0277-9358 |publisher= [American Motorcyclist Association](/source/American_Motorcyclist_Association) }}</ref> and the event became the Hang Ten Carlsbad United States Grand Prix (USGP), run under the auspices of the [American Motorcyclist Association](/source/American_Motorcyclist_Association) (AMA), and sanctioned as a Grand Prix event by the [Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme](/source/F%C3%A9d%C3%A9ration_Internationale_de_Motocyclisme) (FIM).<ref name=AmericanMotorcyclist1977>{{Citation |magazine= [American Motorcyclist](/source/American_Motorcyclist) |date= January 1977 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=z_gDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12 |pages = 12 |title= No Contest: Wolsink, Smith Add Chapters to U.S.GP Mastery |publisher= [American Motorcyclist Association](/source/American_Motorcyclist_Association) |volume= 31 |issue= 1 |issn=0277-9358 }}</ref> 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&nbsp;cc Championship.<ref name=AMA1972/> For the race, Trippe-Cox Associates made improvements to the Carlsbad facility, including new water sprinklers, fencing, spectator bridges and billboards.<ref name=AMA1972/> The series proved commercially successful, with a significant television audience.<ref name=Cox2005>{{Citation |last= Cox |first= Scott |title= Carlsbad: the last lap |magazine= Dirt Rider |date= March 2005 |pages= 124+ }}</ref> For second year of the event, 1974, the course was lengthened by ¼ mile, to {{convert|1+1/2|mi}}, with the new section having a left turning uphill corner followed by a sharp right turn into a ravine.<ref name=Wolfe1974>{{Citation |title=$30,000 Hang Ten Grand Prix of motocross: U.S. gears for 'foreign invasion' |last=Wolfe |first= Allen |newspaper= [Press-Telegram](/source/Press-Telegram) |location= [Long Beach, California](/source/Long_Beach%2C_California) |date= 12 July 1974 |page=C10 }}</ref> 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&nbsp;cc championship.<ref name=Wolfe1974/>

Carlsbad was the oldest venue of the US motocross season's main events<ref name=AmericanMotorcyclist1977/> until the last USGP there in 1986.<ref name=Hoff2010>{{Citation |title= Motorsports:History of Grand Prix in Carlsbad chronicled in new movie |first= Rick |last= Hoff |newspaper= North County Times – Californian |date= 21 June 2010 |url= http://www.nctimes.com/sports/motor-sports/article_82b557c4-59d8-57e5-a36d-683f28a20fdc.html |access-date= 24 December 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Motocross popularity declined in the 90s, and by 1995 there was no motocross Grand Prix in the US,<ref name=AMA1995>{{Citation |title= No MXGP For America in '95 |page=44 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=svcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT44 |access-date=24 December 2010 |magazine=[American Motorcyclist](/source/American_Motorcyclist) |date= 17 February 1995 |last1=Assoc |first1=American Motorcyclist }}</ref> until the FIM championship returned in 2010.<ref name=Waheed2010>{{Citation |title= 2010 USGP Motocross at Glen Helen Saturday |first= Adam |last= Waheed |date= 29 May 2010 |url= http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/513/7080/Motorcycle-Article/2010-USGP-Motocross-at-Glen-Helen-Saturday.aspx |magazine= MotorcycleUSA.com |access-date=24 December 2010 }}</ref> In 1984 Trippe began to worry that development was encroaching on Carlsbad Raceway, and that the site would be sold when his lease expired.<ref name= Center1984>{{Citation |title=Carlsbad could be hosting last Grand Prix motocross |first= Bill |last= Center |newspaper= [San Diego Union](/source/The_San_Diego_Union-Tribune) |location= San Diego, California |date= 17 June 1984 |page= H.11 }}</ref>

===Supermoto===
[[File:Supermoto riders at EICMA Milan Italy 2007.jpg|thumb|The transition from dirt to pavement at a supermoto event at [EICMA](/source/EICMA)]]
{{main|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 racing](/source/track_racing), 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.<ref name= Distel1985/> Trippe built first course at Carlsbad Raceway.<ref name= Distel1985/> The machines are motocross-style motorcycles, but with smoother, road race style tires, though in the beginning 750&nbsp;cc [Harley-Davidson](/source/Harley-Davidson) flat trackers competed as well.<ref name= Distel1985/>

The seed of the idea for Superbikers began was when reporter [Bob Iger](/source/Bob_Iger) asked Trippe<ref name=ama/> at a motocross event why [Kenny Roberts](/source/Kenny_Roberts) wasn't competing, and Trippe replied, puzzled, "Because he is a road racer."<ref name= Distel1985>{{ Citation |title= Three Faces of Motorcycle Racing |first= Dave |last=Distel |newspaper= [Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) |location= Los Angeles |date= 26 October 1985 |page= 1 }}</ref> 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.<ref name= Distel1985/> 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.<ref name= Distel1985/>

He trademarked it as "Superbikers" and was one of the original promoters of the Superbikers segment on [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company)'s ''[Wide World of Sports](/source/Wide_World_of_Sports_(U.S._TV_series))'' from 1979–1985.<ref name=Powersports2005>{{Citation |title= Hall of Fame honors nine new members." Powersports Business |volume= 8 |issue= 10 |date= 25 July 2005 |pages= 1+ }}</ref> Besides combining road racing with dirt racing, Superbikers brought together top riders from different specialties, like an [all-star game](/source/all-star_game).<ref name=ama/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.motorcycle.com/products/450-super-single-project-68605.html|title=450 Super Single Project|author=Kevin Duke|date=29 October 2007|publisher=motorcycle.com|access-date=10 February 2008}}</ref> After the end of Superbikers television run, supermoto declined in the US but grew in Europe,<ref name=ama/><ref name= Gelder1992>{{Citation |last= Gelder |first= Stephane van |title= Supermoto: the French pay, the big boys play and it might be a new training ground for GP roadracers. (Grand Prix) |magazine= [Cycle World](/source/Cycle_World) |volume= 33 |issue= 2 |date= February 1994 |page= 76(3) }}</ref> until 2003 when AMA Pro Racing began a supermoto championship.<ref name=AMA2003>{{Citation |title= Supermoto! |page=57 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3_oDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57 |access-date=24 December 2010 |magazine=[American Motorcyclist](/source/American_Motorcyclist) |date= April 2003 |last1=Assoc |first1=American Motorcyclist }}</ref>

===Formula 450 series===
Trippe proposed the creation of a new US single cylinder road racing class based on repurposed {{Convert|450|cc|abbr=on}} 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&nbsp;cc supersport [sport bike](/source/sport_bike) racing.<ref name=Aaron2009/> 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."<ref name=Aaron2009/> One reviewer described the machines as, "a single cylinder 450&nbsp;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."<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Susan Carpenter |first=Susan |last= Carpenter |url=http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-throttle6feb06,0,1622727.story|work=Los Angeles Times|date=6 February 2008|title=Who ya calling a lightweight?|access-date=10 February 2008}}</ref>

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](/source/Motorcycle_handlebar)s and aerodynamic [fairings](/source/Motorcycle_fairing).<ref name=Aaron2009>{{Citation |last= Frank |first= Aaron |title= Kawasaki KX450F roadracer: learn to roost the roadrace track in one easy lesson |magazine= [Motorcyclist](/source/Motorcyclist_(magazine)) |date= June 2009 |pages= 78+ |url= http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/features/122_0906_450s_four_ways/kawasaki_kx450f.html |access-date= 22 December 2010 }}</ref> Replacing the [forks](/source/Motorcycle_fork) with parts from supersport [sport bike](/source/sport_bike)s was unsuccessful because the forks were too short, leading to too little [trail](/source/Bicycle_and_motorcycle_geometry).<ref name=Aaron2009/> Instead the stock motocross front and rear suspension components were kept, but reconfigured.<ref name=Aaron2009/> 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&nbsp;cc class supersport.<ref name=Aaron2009/>

For the 2009 season, the [United States Grand Prix Racers Union](/source/United_States_Grand_Prix_Racers_Union) (USGPRU) club-level racing organisation added a Formula 450 class on a trial basis to five of their rounds, to test the prototype motorcycles and gauge interest in adding the class.<ref name=USGPRU2009>{{Citation |url= http://www.usgpru.net/downloads/articles/jun%20layout%2009.pdf |format= [Adobe PDF](/source/Adobe_PDF) |access-date= 23 December 2010 | author= United States Grand Prix Racers Union |magazine= [Roadracing World](/source/Roadracing_World) |date= June 2009 |title= USGPRU (column) |author-link= United States Grand Prix Racers Union }}</ref><ref name=450motoPR>{{Citation |url= http://450moto.net/2009-pressrelease01.php |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110723000332/http://450moto.net/2009-pressrelease01.php |url-status= usurped |archive-date= 23 July 2011 |access-date= 23 December 2010 |author=450Moto.com |title= 2009 Press Release |year= 2009 }}</ref><ref name=USGPRU2009b>{{Citation |url= http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=37230 |title= New Sponsor, New Rules For USGPRU's F450 Class |author= United States Grand Prix Racers Union |publisher= [Roadracing World](/source/Roadracing_World) |date=6 July 2009 |author-link= United States Grand Prix Racers Union }}</ref> The USGPRU also published a detailed technical account of how to build Formula 450 racer from a donor motocross bike.<ref name=Maloney2009>{{Citation |title= F-450 bike build |first= Geoff |last=Maloney |publisher= [United States Grand Prix Racers Union](/source/United_States_Grand_Prix_Racers_Union) |access-date= 23 December 2010 |url= http://www.usgpru.net/2009_450_bike_build.php }}</ref> Formula 450 was not run in 2010 or scheduled for 2011.<ref name=USGPRU-news>{{Citation |url= http://www.usgpru.net/latestnews.php |access-date= 23 December 2010 |title= USGPRU News |publisher= [United States Grand Prix Racers Union](/source/United_States_Grand_Prix_Racers_Union) }}</ref>

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](/source/Spec_racing), with identical bikes built, owned, and maintained by single manufacturer provided to all riders, rather than bikes adapted by riders from motocross bikes.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2009/07/05/ama-road-racing-to-get-450cc-singles-class|date=5 July 2009|title=AMA Road Racing To Get Spec 450cc Singles Class|author=Paul Carruthers|publisher=[Cycle News](/source/Cycle_News)|access-date=22 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708215634/http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2009/07/05/ama-road-racing-to-get-450cc-singles-class|archive-date=8 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Two months later, AMA Pro Road Racing announced that the new class would be called GT3, an expansion of the SunTrust Moto-GT.<ref name=Atlas2009>{{Citation |title= AMA Pro Road Racing Changes For 2010 |first= Steve |last= Atlas |url= http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/557/4520/Motorcycle-Article/AMA-Pro-Road-Racing-Changes-For-2010.aspx |access-date= 23 December 2010 |date= 5 September 2009 }}</ref><ref name=MotoGT>{{Citation |url= http://www.amaproracing.com/rr/about/index.cfm?class=gt |title= AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT |publisher= [AMA Pro Racing](/source/American_Motorcyclist_Association) |year= 2010 |access-date= 23 December 2010 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{YouTube|id=EoX4OIqapsc|title=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Gavin Trippe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trippe, Gavin}}
Category:1940 births
Category:2018 deaths
Category:Motorcycling writers
Category:Motorcycling mass media people
Category:English male journalists
Category:People from Norfolk

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gavin Trippe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Trippe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Trippe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.