Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

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Official 2006 Logo

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is a motorcycle rally held annually in Sturgis, South Dakota. It was founded on August 14, 1938 by the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club who still own and operate the tracks, hillclimb, and field areas that the rally is concentrated around. The first rally lasted two days and was focused on racing and stunts.

The founder is generally considered to be Clarence "Pappy" Hoel who is still honored in various ways by the crowd at Sturgis.

The main focus of a motorcycle rally was originally racing and stunts. This could include half mile track racing (the first year in Sturgis, there were 19 participants), board wall crashes (intentional), ramp jumps and head on collisions with automobiles.

The Sturgis Rally has been held every year, with exceptions during World War II.

In modern times, there has been a revitalization of motorcycling and a new group of fans that are interested in the old rallies. This has led to huge attendance numbers for classic rallies such as Sturgis. Attendance was estimated at 514,951 in 2004, and 525,250 in 2005.

In 1997 the crew from COPS attended the rally as well as Dennis Rodman. From 1996-1999 it also featured a WCW wrestling pay-per-view called Road Wild.

VH1 Classic's annual coverage of this festival includes interviews and performances as well as featuring rock videos. The rally was featured in 2005, as part of the ESPN SportsCenter promotion 50 States in 50 Days.