Riding for the Indian racing team, Bill Tuman, wins the AMA Grand National Mile on a rough one-mile dirt oval track in San Mateo, California.
Bill Tuman was part of Indian Motorcycle's famous racing team, along with Bobby Hill and Ernie Beckman, known as the "Indian Wrecking Crew".
Born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, racing outside of the midwest was a rarity for Tuman. With four children to raise, he tried to race as much as possible near his home often missing the AMA Grand Nationals in order to race, and usually win, local and regional races. Not only did racing locally keep Tuman closer to his home and his family, but it turned out to be profitable as well.
"I was making too much money racing the local events to worry about racing in all the Nationals," Tuman recalled in a 1979 interview with 'Indian Racers' magazine. "I can remember during county fair times I would race six and seven races a week."
Bill Tuman was the last single-day winner of the AMA Grand National Championship crown, the result of his victory at the Springfield Mile in August of 1953. It's interesting to note that Bill won Springfield racing with a motor he borrowed from a fellow Indian rider. His own motor had shit the bed due to dozens of local races he had competed in that summer. Sadly, it would be the last time that an Indian rider would win the prestigious AMA Grand National No. 1 plate.
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
Born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, racing outside of the midwest was a rarity for Tuman. With four children to raise, he tried to race as much as possible near his home often missing the AMA Grand Nationals in order to race, and usually win, local and regional races. Not only did racing locally keep Tuman closer to his home and his family, but it turned out to be profitable as well.
"I was making too much money racing the local events to worry about racing in all the Nationals," Tuman recalled in a 1979 interview with 'Indian Racers' magazine. "I can remember during county fair times I would race six and seven races a week."
Bill Tuman was the last single-day winner of the AMA Grand National Championship crown, the result of his victory at the Springfield Mile in August of 1953. It's interesting to note that Bill won Springfield racing with a motor he borrowed from a fellow Indian rider. His own motor had shit the bed due to dozens of local races he had competed in that summer. Sadly, it would be the last time that an Indian rider would win the prestigious AMA Grand National No. 1 plate.
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
