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WORDS: ERIC JOHNSON
Twenty-fi ve years ago, Americans
ruled the Grand Prix circuitTWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, no less than a half-dozen
Americans were title contenders on the FIM 250cc World
Championship tour. While guys like Jeff Stanton, Damon
Bradshaw, and Mike Kiedrowski battled for AMA titles,
journeyman pros like Trampas Parker, Bob Moore, and
Donny Schmit pursued their moto dreams in Europe.
And the Americans enjoyed no better year than 1992.
We spoke with each of the riders who followed
opportunity across the ocean for that season—well,
almost all of them. Schmit, the eventual champion that
season, is no longer with us. And Trampas Parker, the
man Schmit took the title from, didn’t want to partici-
pate, telling us, “I don’t want to talk about 1992. I’ll talk
about it one day when I write a book.”
Twenty-fi ve years later, maybe he’s still not quite
over it.