| Gene Romero | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1947-05-22)May 22, 1947 Martinez, California , U.S. |
| Died | May 12, 2019(2019-05-12) (aged 71) Fullerton, California, U.S. |
Gene Romero (May 22, 1947 – May 12, 2019) was anAmerican professional motorcycleracer.[1][2] He competed in theA.M.A. Grand National Championship from 1966 to 1981 sponsored first by theTriumph factory racing team and then by theYamaha factory racing team. Proficient on ovaldirt tracks as well as pavedroad racing circuits, Romero won the 1970 A.M.A. Grand National Championship and was the winner of the 1975Daytona 200.[3][4][5] After retiring from competition, he became a successful racing team manager with Honda and, helped the sport of dirt track racing by becoming a race promoter.[1] Romero was inducted into theAMAMotorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.[1]
Romero was born inMartinez, California to a Mexican immigrant father and a mother of German heritage.[5][6] He grew up inSan Luis Obispo, California where, with the help of his father he began competing at an early age inkart racing andQuarter Midget racing, as well as motorcycle racing.[6][7] In 1964, he used a forged birth certificate to race professionally atAscot Park riding aTriumph Tiger Cub.[7] He adopted the nickname “Burritto”, spelling it with two Ts instead of the conventional spelling with one T.[5][6] One source states that the nickname was given to him by motorcycle frame designer Ray Hensley while, another source states that veteran racer Neal Keen first used the nickname to tease the young upstart.[6][8]
His successful results earned him an expert status for the 1966 Grand National Championship and in 1967, he was hired to race for the Triumph factory racing team.[7] Romero had a serious accident in 1967 in which he fractured his femur so badly that leg amputation was considered.[7] However, after four months in a hospital, he was able to recover from his injuries and claimed his first Grand National victory at the 1968 Lincoln, Nebraska TT and finished the season ranked seventh in the Grand National Championship.[1][2][7] Romero was meticulous in preparing his own machinery and, his efforts showed as he finished in 20 out of 25 races including, four third-place finishes and five second-place finishes during the 1969 national championship.[2][6] One of his second-place finishes came at the Daytona 200 where, he rode aTriumph Trident to take thepole position with a record setting lap time of 157.342 mph, four and a half miles per hour faster than second place qualifier, Mark Brelsford.[2] Despite not winning a single race, Romero ended the 1969 season ranked second in the nation behindHarley Davidson factory team riderMert Lawwill.[2][5]
The peak of Romero's career came in 1970 when he battledBSA teammatesJim Rice andDick Mann for the national championship.[9] He started the season finishing second at the Daytona 200 but, Rice surged to the championship lead with 6 victories.[9] Romero continued to post consistent results and, his first victory of the year at the Sedalia, Missouri Mile race catapulted him into second place behind Rice in the championship.[9] With only three races remaining on the schedule, Romero clinched the national championship with a victory at the Sacramento Mile while, Rice suffered a serious accident.[2][5][9]
His 1970 Sacramento Mile victory was filmed as part of the 1971Bruce Brown motorcycle documentary film,On Any Sunday.[5][10] The film was credited with helping to spark an explosive growth in American motorcycle sales numbers as thebaby boomer generation came of age.[11] He added his third national victory of the season the following week at the Gardena, California Half Mile race.[9] At the age of 22, Romero became the youngest AMA Grand National Championship titleholder in the history of the sport.[5]
In 1971 he raced against Dick Mann in a season-long battle for the Grand National Championship.[12] He once again finished in second place at the Daytona 200 and won the San Jose Mile, the Oklahoma City Half Mile and the Nazareth One-Eighth Mile.[12] The championship wasn't decided until the final race of the season when Mann finished ahead of Romero to secure the championship with Romero taking the runner-up position.[7][12]
With the Triumph factory struggling financially, Romero received fewer parts and assistance than before and, his performance began to suffer as a result.[7] He dropped to third in the 1972 championship with his lone victory coming at the San Jose Mile.[7] He won the San Jose Mile for a third consecutive year in 1973 but, a seventh-place finish in the national championship marked his final year as a Triumph rider.[7][13]
In 1974, Romero accepted an offer to race for the Yamaha factory racing team as a teammate toKenny Roberts andDon Castro.[7] Along with two dirt track victories, he recorded his first road race victory at the prestigiousOntario 200 against an international field of competitors including fifteen-time world championGiacomo Agostini,Barry Sheene andTeuvo Länsivuori as well as American riders such as Roberts.[14][15] The race was run in two 100 mile legs with Romero winning the first race after Agostini crashed and Roberts settled for third place after making a poor tire selection.[14] Roberts won the second leg but, Romero won the overall event by coming in second place ahead of Sheene.[14][15]
It was during his tenure with the Yamaha team that Romero won the biggest race of his career when, he rode aYamaha TZ750 to victory at the 1975 Daytona 200.[1][3][5][16] Giacomo Agostini's 1974 Daytona victory had boosted the event's reputation to become one of the most prestigious motorcycle races in the world.[16][17] Romero began the race riding conservatively as early leader Kenny Roberts retired with a mechanical failure.[3] At the midway point of the race, he passedSteve Baker and Giacomo Agostini to take second place behind Steve McLaughlin.[3] When McLaughlin crashed on the 30th lap, Romero took over the lead and held on for the victory by fifteen seconds over Baker.[3][18] Despite his Daytona performance, he was released by Yamaha after the 1975 season as, the1973 oil crisis precipitated a drop in sales of recreational vehicles, which forced motorcycle manufacturers to reduce their racing budgets. Yamaha chose to focus their support on Kenny Roberts.[7]
In 1976, Romero competed under the sponsorship of motorcycle stunt manEvel Knievel.[1] He helped to change professional motorcycle racing by being one of the first riders to seek sponsorship from outside the motorcycle industry from companies such asOcean Pacific andBusch Beer.[1][5] At the 1979Transatlantic Trophy match race series which, pitted the best British riders against the top American road racers, Romero swept both races of theOulton Park round, helping the American team secure the series victory.[7][19] These were the final major victories in Romero's career.[7] 1981 would be Romero's final season of racing competition.[7]
After retiring from motorcycle competition, he briefly raced cars inSuper Vees andUSAC midgets before becoming the manager for theHonda factory dirt track team from 1984 to 1987.[1][7][8] During that period, he guided Honda riders Ricky Graham andBubba Shobert to four consecutive Grand National Championships.[5] In the 1980s when the sport of motorcycle flat track racing was in a period of decline, Romero stepped in and became a race promoter, helping to keep the sport alive.[5][7]
In a 16-year racing career, Romero won 12 AMA Nationals including the AMA Most Popular Rider of the Year Award in 1970.[1] He competed in the Daytona 200 fourteen times, winning the event in 1975 and finishing second in 1970 and 1971. Romero was inducted into theMotorcycle Hall of Fame in1998.[1]
Romero died on May 12, 2019, in Fullerton, California of pneumonia and lung complications.[20]
| Year[21] | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | PIR1 | TRE1 | MOS | MIL1 | TEX | MIL2 | OMS1 | OMS2 | TRE2 | PIR2 14 | 57th | 5 |