From the time he was in his teens, Bob Moore had one goal in mind for his racing career: win a world championship.
“I knew deep down in the 1970s and early ‘80s that’s what I wanted,” he said. “I was drawn to the tracks that they raced in the (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) World Motocross, the natural jumps, the grassy tracks. And I loved the thought of racing in front of those big crowds. I always wanted to become a world champion.”
Moore started riding mini-bikes as a child, tossing his bike in the back of his father’s truck, going from track to track and racing. His father, once an amateur racer, owned a motorcycle trailer business, so Moore was always around bikes.
“He got me into the dirt,” Moore said. “We had some property, as well, so every day after school I would ride my (Honda) MR50 till dark.”
His perseverance and determination led to a highly successful mini-racing career. But when it came time to move up to a larger bike, Moore faced a challenge.
“I was already 17, but I was 4-foot 11 and 87 pounds,” Moore said. “I was the ideal size for an 80, but to race Loretta Lynn’s, I had to get a 125.”
Moore’s dad told him he was too small to compete on a 125 and it was “time to give it up.”
“I don’t know if he said that as motivation or to get me to face reality,” Moore said. “But I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to show you.’”
In September 1984, Moore bought a 125 and began winning immediately. He turned pro and signed a $5,000 contract with Suzuki.
Moore won the 1985 AMA 125 West Coast Supercross Championship and decided it was time to head for Europe and chase a world title.
“I showed up on a 125, and everyone else was on 250s,” he said. “I finished fourth.”
During the next nine years, Moore snagged 28 individual moto wins in the 125 and 250 classes. He was runner-up three times in that championship: 1990 and 1991 in the 125 class, and 1992 in the 250 class. Moore also won three German national championships: In 1989 and 1990, he was the German Motocross Champion, and, in 1990, he took the Indoor German Motocross crown.
Then, in 1994, Moore achieved the goal he set so many years earlier: He won the FIM 125cc World Motocross Championship.
“There were some big adjustments to make when I went to Europe, and there were some turbulent times in the late 1980s,” he said. “I lost my ride when Suzuki dropped motocross. But KTM picked me up in 1988, and they became like a second family.”
After retiring from racing, Moore stayed close to the sport by managing the FMF Honda motocross team and co-founding Road 2 Recovery, a charity created in 2000 to support injured AMA professional motocross and Supercross racers.
“These kids put their necks on the line every week, and I had always thought about how to help those who suffered a career-ending injury,” Moore said.
He teamed with injured motocross racer Jimmy Button to form the foundation, eventually establishing an endowment that provides $100,000 to offset the expenses incurred by injured racers and their families.
Today, Button and Moore work for Wasserman Media Group. Moore is executive vice president of motorsports, action sports and Olympics and works with MotoGP racers.
“It’s been a blessing to be able to live my whole life around motorcycles and be able to make a career within the industry,” Moore said. “And it’s a very humbling experience to be inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, where all the people are industry leaders and game changers. I always though the Hall of Fame and the people in it were way above me.
“I am grateful to give back and still be involved in motorcycling. I am still very passionate. And I am still very focused.”