Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1119655
REMEMBERING GENE ROMERO, 1947-2019 P112 Feature "I Love Carnations" The motorcycle industry couldn't be sadder. Another Champion is gone. Gene Romero, husband, father, best friend, legend and champion. Born Gene Ronald Rome- ro, May 22, 1947, in Martinez California, Gene called San Luis Obispo home. He cut lawns and cleaned pools to get his first motorcycle. His father, Gene senior, was a tough and proud man who imparted the traits of hard work and honest living to Gene and his two younger brothers, Carlos and Terry. Their mother, Emma, was a saint. She had the intoler- able job of raising these three rough and tumble boys while keeping up with the demands from the patriarch of this respectable Romero family. Her German lineage added a meticulous, sensi- ble and loving aspect to their upbringing. But just don't get between any of the Romero brothers (or senior) because chances are you may find yourself on the losing end of the stick. Always the cool one, Gene had those Elvis Presley good looks. He had class, talent, determination, and the best sponsors you could find. He was one of America's great- est motorcycle racers. He changed the course of pro- fessional motorcycle racing when he brought non-motor- cycle-oriented sponsors into the sport from outside the industry. When local spon- sors like Bill's muffler shop or Joe's Garage seemed to be the only available course, Gene pursued and landed national sponsors like Busch Beer, Ocean Pacific and Evel Knievel…plus factory Triumph and Yamaha, of course. Romero honed his racing skills on dirt and scrambles tracks in the Central Valley of California. As an amateur, Romero used his scramble skills to become a top TT Steeplechase Rider. Not sur- prisingly Romero's first pro finish came at the age of 19 at the Castle Rock TT in July 1966. He adopted the nick- name "Burritto" with two Ts instead of the conventional spelling with one T. His first national win was two years later in Lincoln, Nebraska riding a Triumph. His greatest moments may have come in 1970 when he became National Champion, of the AMA Grand National Championship Series and in 1975 when on a completely different style of motorcycle, he became the winner of American road racing's most coveted prize, the king of them all, the Daytona 200. That would be the equivalent of winning the IndyCar Cham- pionship and the Indianapolis 500, an analogy unintended as patronizing; in fact, it is flattery. More than once you'd hear his Indy 500 racing car cronies say, "Gene, you mo- torcycle racers are crazy!" Chris Agajanian recalls Gene always having a unique way of expressing himself and not soliciting sympathy from others, like when he had a six-month stint in a full body cast. "He was a huge person- ality," Agajanian said. "An old-school spirit and akin to his pal 'The Intimidator,' the other number-3 [Dale Earnhardt]. Don't cross him or you'd wish you hadn't. He did it his way 'til the very end. He had those Elvis Presley good looks and some of the best witticisms around. "Lying there in a full body cast and asked how he was doing, he quipped, 'It's no problem, I've had worse things in my eye.'" Still, his best quote was memorialized in the greatest motorcycle movie of all time, the Academy Awards nomi- nated documentary On Any Sunday. At the time, Gene needed a third place or bet- ter finish at the Sacramento Mile to be crowned the 1970 AMA Grand National Cham- pion. He remarked when interviewed; "I don't want to hurt anybody, but I've got to