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SHOBERT ENSHRINED AT
MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (August 16, 2007) – Three-time AMA Grand National Champion and
1988 AMA Superbike Champion Bubba Shobert was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of
America when the prestigious organization staged its annual induction ceremony Aug. 15 in Detroit.
Shobert, who was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998, is one of only four riders
in the history of AMA racing to complete the AMA Grand Slam, by winning races in five different
disciplines: the Grand National half-mile, mile, TT, short-track and national road racing. The only
other riders to accomplish this rarest of feats in motorcycle racing were Dick Mann, Kenny Roberts
and Doug Chandler.
Shobert was forced to retire from racing in the prime of his career after suffering head injuries
in a freak accident at the U.S. World Championship Road Racing Grand Prix in 1989. Shobert
recovered from the injuries, but never returned to racing. He was honored as the AMA Pro Athlete of
the Year in 1986 and 1987.
Shobert was inducted this year along with NASCAR champion Bill Elliott, Indy car mechanicteam
manager Jim McGee, 1960 Indy 500 winner Jim Rathmann, Goodyear and Indy Racing League
executive Leo Mehl, the legendary Pro-Stock drag racing team of Ronnie Sox and Buddy Martin and
SCCA and Sebring legend John Fitch.
Mehl also has deep ties with the AMA. He served as a consultant to AMA Pro Racing in the
early 2000s.
Shobert was named Rookie of the Year in 1980 and he went on to win the AMA Grand
National Championship in 1985, ’86 and ’87. He then focused on road racing and won the AMA
Superbike title in 1988. All of his titles came while riding for Honda.
“It’s a great honor to be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame,” Shobert said. “To be up
there with all the greats from racing is something I never dreamed would happen.”
Shobert joins a select list of motorcycle racers enshrined in the Motorsports Hall of Fame that
includes Jeff Ward, Jay Springsteen, Don Vesco, Gary Nixon, Eddie Lawson, Freddie Spencer, Bob
Hannah, Bart Markel, Carroll Resweber, Jim Davis, Malcolm Smith, Roger DeCoster, Dick Mann, Joe
Petrali, Joe Leonard, Kenny Roberts, and Cannonball Baker.
About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Racing is the competition arm of the American Motorcyclist Association and is the leading
sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its professional properties include the
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF,
the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat
Track Championship, the AMA Supermoto Championship and the AMA Pro ATV Championship. In
amateur and pro-am competition, AMA Racing sanctions over 4000 events in 24 different disciplines
and supports over 110 thousand active members.
For more information about professional racing,
visit www.amaproracing.com.
Accredited media outlets can also access an on line Press Room at
www.amaproracing.com/pressroom.
For amateur racing information visit
www.amadirectlink.com/amrace/amasports.asp.
For more information on becoming a member, log on to http://www.amadirectlink.com/.
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