Gene Romero was an American professional motorcycle racer.
24 Facts About Gene Romero
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Gene Romero was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
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Gene Romero was born in Martinez, California to a Mexican immigrant father and a mother of German heritage.
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Gene Romero grew up in San Luis Obispo, California where, with the help of his father he began competing at an early age in kart racing and Quarter Midget racing, as well as motorcycle racing.
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Gene Romero had a serious accident in 1967 in which he fractured his femur so badly that leg amputation was considered.
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Gene Romero was meticulous in preparing his own machinery and, his efforts showed as he finished in 20 out of 25 races including, four third-place finishes and five second-place finishes during the 1969 national championship.
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Gene Romero started the season finishing second at the Daytona 200 but, Rice surged to the championship lead with 6 victories.
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Gene Romero continued to post consistent results and, his first victory of the year at the Sedalia, Missouri Mile race catapulted him into second place behind Rice in the championship.
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Gene Romero added his third national victory of the season the following week at the Gardena, California Half Mile race.
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At the age of 22, Gene Romero became the youngest AMA Grand National Championship titleholder in the history of the sport.
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Gene Romero finished in second place at the Daytona 200 and won the San Jose Mile, the Oklahoma City Half Mile and the Nazareth One-Eighth Mile.
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Gene Romero dropped to third in the 1972 championship with his lone victory coming at the San Jose Mile.
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Gene Romero won the San Jose Mile for a third consecutive year in 1973 but, a seventh-place finish in the national championship marked his final year as a Triumph rider.
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In 1974, Gene Romero accepted an offer to race for the Yamaha factory racing team as a teammate to Kenny Roberts and Don Castro.
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The race was run in two 100 mile legs with Gene Romero winning the first race after Agostini crashed and Roberts settled for third place after making a poor tire selection.
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Roberts won the second leg but, Gene Romero won the overall event by coming in second place ahead of Sheene.
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Gene Romero began the race riding conservatively as early leader Kenny Roberts retired with a mechanical failure.
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When McLaughlin crashed on the 30th lap, Gene Romero took over the lead and held on for the victory by fifteen seconds over Baker.
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In 1976, Gene Romero competed under the sponsorship of motorcycle stunt man Evel Knievel.
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Gene Romero helped to change professional motorcycle racing by being one of the first riders to seek sponsorship from outside the motorcycle industry from companies such as Ocean Pacific and Busch Beer.
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At the 1979 Transatlantic Trophy match race series which, pitted the best British riders against the top American road racers, Gene Romero swept both races of the Oulton Park round, helping the American team secure the series victory.
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Gene Romero competed in the Daytona 200 fourteen times, winning the event in 1975 and finishing second in 1970 and 1971.
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Gene Romero was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
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Gene Romero died on May 12,2019, in Fullerton, California of pneumonia and lung complications.