Nationality United States Role Motorcyclist Name Gary Jones | Teams Yamaha, Honda, Can-Am Years active 1969 - 1974 | |
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Born April 22, 1952 (age 71)
California, United States ( 1952-04-22 ) Championships AMA 250cc: 1972, 1973, 1974 | ||
Gary Jones (born April 22, 1952 in Southern California) is an American former professional motocross racer. He won the first three AMA 250cc Motocross National Championships, riding three different brands of motorcycles, a feat which has never been repeated.
The son of motorcycle dealer Don Jones, he began racing professionally at the age of 15. By 1969, he earned a place on the Yamaha factory's American racing team. Although there was no American motocross championship series in 1971, he is recognized as the 250cc National Champion by virtue of being the top-placed American rider in the Inter-AMA series which featured European riders touring America after the European-based World Championship season had ended.
The following year, the AMA introduced a 250cc and a 500cc outdoor national championship. Jones won the 1972 title on a Yamaha, becoming the first 250cc U.S. Motocross National Champion. He also competed in the 500cc class, finishing second to Brad Lackey. Also in 1972, he was a member of the first team to represent the United States at the Motocross des Nations. The following season, he accepted a job riding for the Honda factory racing team and successfully defended his 250cc crown riding the Honda CR250M. In 1973 he would ride for the newly formed Can-Am team and went on to win his third consecutive 250cc national championship.
When he suffered a leg injury at Daytona and Can-Am bought out his contract, Gary took the $70,000 and started his own motorcycle company. At the time Cooper Motorcycles was going out of business, so the Jones family bought the Mexican-based company and used the Frank Cooper designed enduro bike as a prototype for the first Jones-Islo (the name would later be changed to Ammex, which stood for American-Mexican).
Having retired from professional competition, Jones continues his involvement in the sport by working for motorcycle accessory companies and as a test rider for motorcycle magazines. He competes in motocross and desert races, winning World Vet Championships several times. In 2000, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, and in 2004, he was inducted into the Motocross Walk Of Fame.