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/127960
George R tm yer ich e Geo rge Richtmeyer (right) and his tune r and sponsor, Ed Albright. Former National number Richtmeyer is making his return to the Pro dirt track ranks after a very s uccessful AHR MA vintage career. He'll have his work cut out for him, though he's doing it on a 750cc Yamaha (above). By Mark Zimmerman t an age wh en man y dirt trackers are paying almost as m uch atten tion to their 401K p lan as they are to their gea ri ng and tire selections, or are perhaps contemplating rid ing the Senior class, George "Ricky the Rocket " Ri chtm ey er is about to (re) enter the Pro ra nks . Those of you who follow vintage d irt trac k kno w "Ricky the Rocket" as one of the hottest shoes in vin tage racing. One of the mos t di versely talent ed rid er s in AHRMA, it of ten seems as thou gh he rides (and wins) every eve nt on the program . Richtmeyer, now in his mid-40s, decided that the recent Days of Glo ry AHRMA National wo uld be his las t vintage even t be fore returning to the Pro wars. (H e w as originall y sched uled to ride his first Pro event there as we ll, but a pa perw ork sna fu held up his licen se.) Riding a rigid / brakeless TlOOTrium ph , a 250cc Montesa and a 750cc Yam aha (pre pared by tuner Ed Albrig ht) all on the same day would be enoug h for most of u s . A t th e Nati on a l, Richtm ey er added a Cham pion-fra med 350cc Yamaha (p re pa red by Bill Anderson ) to th e' m ix - an d rod e the Dash For Cash. as well. He wo n the Sportsman 600cc class on th e 350cc Yamaha , won the 750cc cla ss and fin ished third in th e 250cc race. His fourth-place finish in the threelap Das h For Cash was his onl y finish off the box. Between ev en ts, "Ricky the Rocket " slowed down long enough to tell Cycle New s about the latest developments in his 29-year career, as well as fill us in on a little person al hist ory. A A fa ~ 52ยท You've been a com pe titive d irt tracker si nce yo u w ere a kid. How did yo u ge t st arted? ' . My bro ther had a go kart , I wanted a go kart, (but) he go t rid of the go kart and bou gh t a mot orcycle the next day, so I learned how to rid e a mot orcycl e. My first bike wa s a 50cc Sears - it only lasted two wee ks. For my 14th birthday I go t a ' 90cc Ka wa sak i. Th e fo llowing week I s ta rte d racing a n d I wo n 15 s tra ig h t races in arow . I won the champio ns hip (District 3, 100ce) my first year. I'd never rid den a motorcycle before. I went to the race track eve ry day (Electric City short track, in Schen ectady, New York) and rode all d ay. My dad gave me one sho t at racing . I won , so we ke p t go ing . Tha t was in 1969. O b viousl y you were quite su ccessfu l as an amateur. Ca n you give us a li ttle bac kg ro un d o n th at a spec t of your career? I rod e am ateur for four yea rs, until I was , old enough to ride as an AMA Novice. I had to wait until I w as 18 because the A MA changed th e age re qu irem en t from 16 to 18. I was actua lly 17 ', before they got thin gs chan ged back aro u nd . In '71 I rode as an AMA Novice; the next yea r I ro de as a Junior . The followi ng year ('73) I turned Expert. I rod e an Ossa DMR as a Novice and a Bill Brads hawprepared BSA as a Junior a nd Expert. Du ri ng th e tim e I was em p loyed as a fra me builder by Yankee Mo tors . Most amateur racers can only dream of turnin g Pro. W hat wa s y ou r fi rs t im press ion of Pro racin g? I had a tou gh time my first year as a Pro Exp ert. I'd been racing a lot of the same g uy s (in co m b ined [ u n io r z Exper t even ts). When I wen t Expert, it took me like five races to calm down and start w inning . I ra ced ma inl y in th e eas t, a lt ho ug h w e d id run th e Houston Astrodom e. What were some of the hi ghlight s of your pro caree r? Making the program at the Houston TT in '74, riding th e N at ionals at Middleto wn (N e w York ) a n d H arrin gt on (Delawa re). I always did w ell a t Ha rrington. You were really in yo ur p rim e w hen you decided to reti re. 'Wh at led to that decision? Well , I had 'some familv business th at nee ded a tten tio n , a nd I'd pr omi s ed m y se lf tha t when I go t m y N ati on al number, I'd retir e - I wanted to retire on my ow n terms, which I did . I we n t to Florid a in '88, mad e all of the program s a n d the n re t ir ed . ( gave eve ry thi ng awa y, excep t on e helmet, and called it a day. We bui lt a new house, I d id so me s no w s kiing, a lit tle sa ili ng - I really d id n' t do mu ch. Wh at brough t you ou t of re tiremen t an d in to vi ntage raci ng? In 1994 a friend , Steve Boyd , as ked me to rid e hi s Hu sky o n th e ind oors a t Middl e town , Ne w York. We fin is he d second overall agains t guys like Robert Cra bbe, Ken Coolbe th and Mike Hacker . I ran Boyd 's Triumph the following su mmer in some vin tage even ts , an d that wa s it. You've had an outstanding career in v intage ra ci n g . Wha t were the h ig h points? ' Going to Daytona this yea r and winning all three classe s - 250cc, Classic 500cc and 750cc. It's been neat to ride the same places I rode as a Pro , but now it's time to go back to the pros. What led you to that decisi on ? I think I have eno ug h talent; my tuner, Ed Albright, has asked me a few times if I wan ted to try it again; my wife suppo rts m y d ecision - a nd basicall y, I' ve go t noth ing to lose. I was a Pro; I think it'd be neat go back. Hop efull y, if I can make a few program s, it'll inspire some of th e guys to re tu rn either to vintage racing or the Pros. I'm rid ing bet ter now than I ever ha ve in m y life. I' m more ma ture, I think abo u t what I'm d oing ou t th ere ins tea d of just ru nn in g on instinct, and I' ve go t a goo d motorcycle. Ho w d id you get h ooked u p with you r tuner and sponsor, Ed Albright? Right her e at Weedsport (New York). About 4 \ yea rs ago, I showed up withou t a motorcycle to ride, and Ed had a 250cc Montes a a n d no rid er . Jimm y Weinert (yes, that Jim my Weinert) introduced me to Ed and I won the race on his bike. We've bee n togeth er ever since. You' ll be ri di ng a b ike that ha sn't b een com petitiveIn G NC racing for q uite a while - a 750cc Yamaha in a Champion fra me. Do you thi nk it can be com petitiv e? .' This one's more com petitive than most. I've ridden lots of bikes and this one's pr etty special. I rod e it d own in Pennsylvania agains t so me pr etty go od Pros on . XR750s and it held its ow n. We just need to ge t it into the program or even come rea l close and we'll be happ y. Bottom line: Do you think you will be competitive? I' ll be competitive. I' m read y. Ed and I are go ing as a tea m . We'll do what we have to do. n