Cycle News

IN THE WIND P30 PEG ROBINSON PASSES O n November 2, 2014, the motocross community lost an important pillar with the pass- ing of Peg Robinson, co-found- er of the legendary Unadilla Val- ley Sports Center in New Berlin, New York. Although Peg was not in the public eye, she and her husband Ward were the driving force behind Unadilla's storied history and continued success. Those who worked closely with Peg at the races often re- ferred to her as the "woman behind the scenes" who kept events running smoothly and ef- ficiently, paying close attention to detail and keeping everyone on task, from riders and teams, to event staff, media and everyone in between. Since Ward and Peg Robinson began hosting major motocross events in 1970 on their family farm in upstate New York, Unadilla has been synony- mous with motocross. "The whole Robinson fam- ily was always involved, but Peg was the one that really got things done. Ward was the one every- one knew as the promoter, but if you wanted something done right away, you went to her," said five-time 500cc World Champion and renowned Red Bull KTM/ USA Motocross of Nations Team Manager, Roger DeCoster, who has been visiting Unadilla since the early 1970s. "Peg was the foundation of the family, and it's very sad that she will not be there when we return next year. She was a great lady, always very polite, and she just did a lot of great things for motocross over the years. We will miss her very much." "The second generation of the Robinson family, as we know them, got their know-how from their father, Ward, but they got their strength and stamina from mom, Peg," said Rita Coombs of MX Sports Pro Racing. MCGRATH'S BE THE MATCH GALA N ot long ago, the future didn't look too bright for Kim McGrath—wife of seven-time Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath. She was in desper- ate need of a bone marrow transplant after being diagnosed with MDS—a type of leukemia—but un- fortunately no one in her family was a match. That's when the McGrath family made the decision to turn to the motorcycle industry to generate awareness for the need for marrow donors. While Kim underwent treatment, Jeremy hosted more than 40 marrow drives across the country for "Team Kim" through the help of the Be The Match foundation. While they didn't come across a match for Kim in the process, the story does have a hap- py ending: the McGrath family's efforts helped add more than 4000 potential donors to the Be The Match registry. Out of those, nine matches have been made for other patients. The organization lo- cated a match for Kim McGrath who has made it through her battle and is now healthy. Watch her touching speech at the recent Be The Match Gala, where she and Jeremy got to meet Kim's donor for the first time.

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