Reg Pridmore

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Reginald Charles Pridmore III (born July 15, 1939 in London, England) is a former motorcycle road racing national champion. He is remembered for winning the first AMA Superbike championship in 1976.

Pridmore began racing in England in the early 1960s winning his first race at Silverstone. As a young man, he made the decision to sell all his possessions and move to the United States. He settled in Southern California and soon began competing in local motorcycle events, racing four-stroke production-based machines.

In 1976, the AMA introduced a new national championship for production-based bikes. Riding a BMW R90S sponsored by BMW's American importer, Pridmore impressed the motorcycling world by winning the national championship against more advanced Japanese machinery. The following year he raced a Kawasaki Z1000 and claimed the first superbike victory for a Japanese bike. Pridmore went on to win the AMA superbike national championship in 1977 and 1978. He was 39 years old when he won his final championship, making him the oldest AMA Superbike champion. He retired after the 1979 season.

After his retirement, Pridmore operated one of the top motorcycle riding schools in the United States. In 2002, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.