Richard Chambers

I was saddened and shocked to read that Rich Chambers had died yesterday morning. Rich was racing at the first race that I ever competed in at Bridgehampton, Memorial Day weekend, 1972. My memory is that Rich was punished for some indiscretion by being forced to start the push start race on his 125 Yamaha facing backwards at the back of the grid. He simply stradled the bike and when the flag dropped, he lifted the bike up and turned it around and paddled it into starting. He may have won the race. He was such a warm and gregarious racer and always helping his fellow racers. In Sept., of 1973, I, like many others got to Charlotte Motorspeedway for the AMA national late and had to camp outside the track. In the morning, Rich was running around shouting 'vamos' at the top of his lungs to wake us all up and get us in for practice. He was an incredible trackside mechanic and used to carry a big vise mounted on a pedestal which he called 'Victoria". One time at Summit Point, Rich Schlachter fired up his TA250 Yamaha on second call and it made this odd chirpping sound. Chambers immediately recogonized that as a leaking head gasket and grabbed breaker bar and socket and reefed down on the head bolts while Schlachter was pleading "torque wrench". But, the chirpping noise stopped and Schlachter probably won the race. Many years later at an AHRMA race at Daytona, a fellow stopped me in the paddock as I was pushing my H-D ERTT and said that he had raced that bike. He didn't mean a bike like my bike, but that actual bike before I owned it. He ended up sending me photos of him on the bike at Summit Point and there in the backround of the photo was Rich Chambers bikes identifiable by their number and Union 76 paint job, as Rich was sponsored by Dave White, owner of White's Truck Stop on I-81 in Raphine, Va. For years Rich would share his home grown reefer, which he called 'Raphine Red'. One year he was annoyed to find that some kids had ripped though his secret grow on dirt bikes and mutilated the plants. But, he found that that year's crop was the most potent ever and reasoned that 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger'. He went on to race a TZ750 in AMA Formula 1 and KZ1000 in Superbike and was always one of the top privateers. After he stopped racing, he started announcing at races, especially at Daytona. He was good at it because he knew all the players intimately and knew racing intimately, though he sometimes got so excited that he mixed things up. We all looked forward to be interviewed by Rich if we go on the podium. After AHRMA Daytonas ended in 2020, Rich would still come east to spend time with his good friend Bob Coy, and announce at the USCRA's Loudon event. Last April, I spent a couple of days with Rich and his wife Laurel in their Hollywood home between the AHRMA races at Willow Springs and INDE M/S Ranch and my friend John Stein arranged a visit with Phillipe De Lespinay and his fabulous collection of 50-125cc road racers. Rich was so excited about these bikes as he had a deep love of the histoy of the sport. r