AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame announces Class of 2017
Fans, family, industry will celebrate inductees on Sept. 22 in Columbus
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame will welcome five new inductees on Sept. 22 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
The ceremony, which takes place in conjunction with the American International Motorcycle Expo, will officially induct FMF Racing founder Donnie Emler Sr., off-road racing champion Eddie Lojak Sr., world motocross champion and Road 2 Recovery founder Bob Moore, racer and filmmaker Peter Starr and racer, team owner and publisher John Ulrich.
“The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2017 includes giants of the motorcycle lifestyle, sport and industry,” said Ken Ford, a member of the AMA board of directors and chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation board. “Each of these individuals has made a lasting impact on motorcycling in some profound way.
“Generations of riders have benefitted from their accomplishments or can appreciate their competitive talent,” said Ford. “The Hall of Fame will shine a little brighter this Sept. 22, when these five motorcyclists are enshrined for perpetuity.”
Reservations for the induction ceremony may be made now at www.americanmotorcyclist.com/tickets. Tickets, which include a reception, dinner and the induction ceremony, are $130 per person, or $120 for AMA Life Members. Current AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famers can attend for no charge. The American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, hosts the event.
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame was established in 1998 by the AMHF to honor the legends and heroes of American motorcycling and highlight their achievements and contributions to motorcycling. Hall of Fame inductees represent eight areas: Ambassadors/Industry, Design/Engineering, Dirt Track, Leadership/Advocacy, Motocross/Supercross, Off-Road, Road Racing and Specialty Competition.
For more information about the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the 2017 induction ceremony, see www.motorcyclemuseum.org. Also, visit the Hall of Fame Facebook page at www.motorcyclemuseum.org. or search the hashtag #AMAHoF17 on social media.
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2017
Donnie Emler Sr. helped establish the roots of the motocross and off-road aftermarket performance industry, which continues to thrive today. Emler Sr. started Flying Machine Factory, known today as FMF Racing, out of his garage in Hawthorn, Calif., in 1973. Early clients included such high-caliber riders as AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Marty Smith, the first AMA Motocross 125cc National Champion. Today, FMF Racing sponsors top riders and is one of the most successful aftermarket exhaust and accessory companies in the world, making all of its performance products in its Southern California factory.
Eddie Lojak Sr. from Tarentum, Pa., won numerous off-road championships, but was a specialist in hare scrambles style racing. He was a three-time overall champion in the AMA Hare Scrambles National Championship Series and a nine-time overall bike champion in the Grand National Cross County Series. The 1982 AMA Amateur Athlete of the Year, Lojak Sr. also was the top American on the U.S. International Six Days Enduro World Trophy Team that year.
Bob Moore was a successful American racer, winning the AMA 125cc West Region Supercross Championship in 1985 before shifting his focus to the world stage. That move paid off a decade later when Moore captured the 1994 125cc World Motocross Championship. Over his career, Moore notched 28 individual moto wins in the 125cc and 250cc divisions. After his racing career, Moore co-founded Road 2 Recovery in 2000 to offer support to injured AMA motocross and Supercross racers.
Peter Starr, a racer in England in the mid-20th century, is best known for his later career as a filmmaker. Since moving to the United States in the mid-1960s, he has been dedicated to bringing motorcycles and motorcycling to worldwide audiences, producing more than 50 feature films and specials featuring some of the all-time greats in motorcycling history. Starr’s most famous film, “Take it to the Limit,” won Gold and Silver Awards at the Chicago and Houston International Film Festivals.
John Ulrich is a leading figure in American road racing with credentials as a racer, a team owner, a journalist, a charitable organization founder and an industry leader. Ulrich first competed in 1973 and has won races in five decades, including the 1983 and 1984 WERA National Endurance Championships and the 1996 WERA National Challenge Series 125cc Grand Prix Championship. In 1980, he co-founded Team Hammer Inc. In 1990, he started Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology magazine. In 2001, he started the nonprofit Roadracing World Action Fund to facilitate the use of soft barriers at race tracks. He has served on the AMA Board of Directors and is the 2017 recipient of the AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award.
About the American Motorcyclist Association
Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world’s largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders’ interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. The AMA also provides money-saving discounts on products and services for its members. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com.
Not a member? Join the AMA today: www.americanmotorcyclist.com/membership/join