Cycle News

VOL. 55 ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 21, 2018 P117 rider, Pomeroy was not yet considered among the true elite in American motocross. And now he was off to race in Europe without much fanfare. Looking back, Pomeroy's rise in the ranks of mo- tocross racing was rapid to say the least. The rider from Yakima, Washington, grew up in a racing fam- ily. His father, Don Pomeroy, was a very successful racer in the late 1950s and '60s. Motorcycle racing was a family affair for the Pomeroys. Jim, his young- er brother Ron, sister Debbie and mother were all involved in motorcycling. Already an accomplished motocross racer in regional events as a teenager, Pomeroy could not race in AMA competition until he was 18, so he headed up to Canada where the age requirement was only 16. He won the Western Ca- nadian Championship, the Manitoba Championship as well as several regional championships. He became eligible to race AMA and Trans- Am events in 1970, but continued to race mainly regionally in the Pacific Northwest for the next couple of seasons. It was in '72, on a privateer Bultaco, when Pomeroy began hitting the nation- als in earnest and he won almost right off the bat at Saddleback. That victory earned Pomeroy his Bultaco support ride in '73. Once in Europe in the spring of '73, Pomeroy signed up for a couple of International events ahead of the season-opening 250cc MXGP. He did well and his confidence was at an all-time high when the Spanish Grand Prix dawned on April 8, 1973, in Sabadell. In the first moto Pomeroy got a good start and made the first turn in about fourth. He then worked his way up to the lead on the first lap and held on to take the stunning moto win. Spaniards got be- hind Pomeroy, rooting for the American rider racing a Spanish-made Bultaco. In the second moto Pomeroy finished fourth. Maisch, who not only raced for Maico, but his fam- ily also owned the company, had taken a 2-3. This is where things went haywire. The Spanish officials used the old scoring sys- tem, which awarded one point for first, two for sec- ond and so on. That left Pomeroy and Maisch tied with five points apiece. The tiebreaker was lowest elapsed time, which gave the win to Maisch. But that year the FIM had, in fact, changed the scor- ing system to award 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third and eight for fourth. Somehow the Span- ish officials hadn't gotten the memo, and under the new scoring system Pomeroy took the overall victory with 23 total points to Maisch's 22. It was two days after the race when the FIM issued an updated race result showing Pomeroy the true winner. Bultaco, ecstatic with the victory, immediately signed Pomeroy to contest the rest of the '73 world championship. He continued to be com- petitive most of the year, including scoring a second overall at the Italian GP. He finished the season ranked seventh in the final standings. He would go on to win two more MXGPs during his career and would continue racing, including a stint stateside with the factory Honda team, through 1980. But what about that first-place trophy that Maisch made off with all those years ago in Spain? Years later a group of friends got together and pitched in and another Spanish 250GP Trophy was obtained from the original foundry in Barce- lona. The foundry still had the main component, an original trophy figure left over from 1973. From that another Spanish 250 motocross grand prix trophy was assembled. Then over 30 years later, at the 2003 Chehalis Classic AHRMA Na- tional, Pomeroy was presented his 1973 Spanish GP first-place trophy in a surprise ceremony held just before Sunday's motocross riders meeting. You can see Pomeroy, who died in an auto ac- cident in 2006, receiving the trophy in an emo- tional ceremony here. So eat your heart out Maisch—Jim finally got his trophy after all! CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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