Wayne Wesley Rainey is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his smooth, calculating riding style, and for his intense rivalry with compatriot Kevin Schwantz, between 1987 and 1993.
Giacomo Agostini is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Nicknamed Ago, he amassed 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles. Of these, 68 wins and 8 titles came in the 500 cc class, the rest in the 350 cc class. For these achievements obtained over the course of a career spanning 17 years, the AMA described him as "...perhaps the greatest Grand Prix rider of all time". In 2000, Agostini was inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame as a MotoGP Legend, while in 2010, he was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.
Kenneth Leroy Roberts is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Roberts is one of only four riders in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing Grand National wins at a mile, half-mile, short-track, TT Steeplechase and road race events.
Eddie Ray Lawson is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1983 to 1992.
Pat Hennen was an American professional motorcycle racer. He competed in AMA dirt track and road racing competitions from 1971 to 1975 and in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 to 1978.
Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington is a South African former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 to 1982, most prominently as a member of the Kawasaki factory racing team with whom he won four FIM road racing world championships. Ballington was inducted into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame in 2018.
Jean-Michel Bayle is a French former professional motorcycle racer. He was one of the most successful riders of his era, achieving success at the highest levels in both motocross and road racing.
Fred Merkel is an American former professional motorcycle road racer and two-time Superbike World Champion.
Doug Polen is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. Polen was a dominant national and world champion road racer in the late 1980s and early 1990s, culminating with his Superbike world championships in 1991 and 1992. He raced successfully in AMA Superbike, Japanese Superbike Championship, Superbike World Championship and endurance racing. Polen was inducted to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2011.
Steve Baker is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in AMA dirt track and road racing competitions from 1973 to 1976 and in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships in 1977 and 1978.
Marty Tripes is an American former professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1972 to 1980. He was one of the leading American motocross and supercross racers during the 1970s. Tripes rose to national prominence in 1972 as a teenage prodigy when, he defeated some of the best riders in the world to win the first-ever stadium supercross race in the United States.
Yvon Duhamel was a French Canadian professional motorcycle and snowmobile racer. A six-time winner of the White Trophy, the highest award in Canadian motorcycle racing, he was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in Canadian motorsports history. His motorcycle racing career spanned the transition from the 60 horsepower four-stroke motorcycles of the 1960s, to the 100 horsepower two-stroke motorcycles of the 1970s. Duhamel was a versatile rider competing in numerous motorcycle racing disciplines including; trials, motocross, ice racing, drag racing, flat track racing and most prominently in road racing as a member of the Kawasaki factory racing team.
Graeme Crosby is a former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. A versatile rider, Crosby was equally capable on either four stroke Superbike racers or two stroke Grand Prix racers. He is the only person to have won the Daytona 200, the Imola 200, the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race, and the Isle of Man TT.
Hideo "Pops" Yoshimura was a Japanese motorcycle tuner, race team owner, and manufacturer of specialty motorcycle accessories. He is remembered for his ties to the beginnings of Superbike racing and the Yoshimura factory racing team.
Rob Muzzy is an American owner of Muzzy's Performance Products, a specialty engineering company that designs, manufactures and sells high performance parts for motorcycles. He is also a successful motorcycle racing team owner, winning national and international championships in motorcycle road racing and drag racing. His contributions to motorcycle racing resulted in his induction into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Mike Baldwin is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He was a top contender in AMA Superbike racing during the 1980s who also competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Baldwin was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.
Gene Romero was an American professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the A.M.A. Grand National Championship from 1966 to 1981 sponsored first by the Triumph factory racing team and then by the Yamaha factory racing team. Proficient on oval dirt tracks as well as paved road racing circuits, Romero won the 1970 A.M.A. Grand National Championship and was the winner of the 1975 Daytona 200. 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. Romero was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
Moriwaki Engineering is a Japanese manufacturer of speciality high performance products and motorcycle accessories.
The 1971 Anglo-American Match Races was the inaugural running of the Anglo-American Match Races, an annual series of motorcycle races between the United Kingdom and America which were held from 1971 to 1988 and again in 1991. The match was held 9-12 April 1971 with rounds at Brands Hatch, Mallory Park and Oulton Park. The event was heavily sponsored by BSA/Triumph. They also supplied the 750 cc racing triples that the riders competed on. The motorcycles were to AMA/F750 specification. Most of the competitors were work BSA/Triumph works riders.
Don Castro is an American former professional motorcycle racer who is an inductee of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. During his career he was a works rider for Triumph and Yamaha' and a privateer on Triumph, Montesa, Yamaha and Kawasaki machines.
