Where legends live on..

Following the Fishers

He, of course, was a great Honda, Triumph and Yamaha rider in the early 1970s and then later rode some BMWs in the AMA Superbike races later in the 1970s. In his memories of the 1972 Daytona 200 he refers to Pridmore being on Vesco’s Yamaha and the two of them being the only ones on the same lap.

He actually raced with Reg Pridmore later on BMWs, and it was Dave Smith, not Pridmore, who was the rider he would have been referring to. And Gary must be thinking of another race, as he mentions that he led 12 or 13 laps of the 1972 Daytona 200, but he actually only led one lap (lap 28) before his Honda oil tank ruptured and he was out.

He had actually just inherited the lead from Jody Nicholas, who went out with a shredded rear tyre after leading for 14 laps.

Those corrections aside, I can say that Gary was one of the top riders of the 1970s. He never enjoyed much in the way of factory support, and wound up on less-than-reliable machines at times, but as he proved at Loudon in 1972 and other races, when he finished, he often won, or was right near the top.

Don Emde
San Diego
California, USA