Back in the day when they repaved Nelson’s, he showed up on his OW01 to break the track record which was a mid 1:10 at the time. He was pulling prodigious wheelies out of turn 13 to everyone’s delight. One lap some jackwagon cut across his line and while on the back wheel, he leaned to the right, passed this moron, then leaned back to the left to cut in front of this dude and kept going…still on the back wheel. Most amazing piece of riding I’ve ever seen!
Does anybody here know anything about the Camel Honda that Tom rode? There is somebody in Central Florida who says they have it and are willing to sell it, would be nice to get some info on the machine if possible. Thanks in advance.
Narrow it down, which Camel honda? Kipp was one of the dudes I just didn't know. Good enough dude from a distance but just never became friendly with. His Wiseco OwO1 was wicked ass fast.
Who also won a championship for Yamaha. A very good man. [added] He also had a unique way of downshifting. Coming into turn two at Laguna, he slams on the brakes hard, pulls in the clutch, taps the shifter multiple times w/o blipping, then slowly lets out the clutch for engine braking.
Nicest, most humble and respectful racer you will ever meet. I last heard he's a pastor, but haven't heard anything lately.
Was a Yamaha guy until factory rides came calling. Martin Adams speaks highly of his time riding the Camel sponsored Commonwealth Honda's.
It can't be the RC30 that he rode. Commonwealth only had two RC30s, one of which Martin Adams still owns and the other is still in Smokin' Joes paint from Mike Hales three wildcard rides in the AMA SBK class in '94. Iirc that bike is at the American Honda Museum.
I found a YT vid where he was a guest at a church three years ago. Search for i3dJ5zkr5d0 and go to the 8:45 mark.
Understatement. Was teaching the riders school at IRP and had a front flat right as I'm supposed to take the group out. I start losing my shit (I'm better now!), and he comes over and asks if he can help. I knew him, but didn't KNOW him, and it didn't click who it was. I was just pissed. He says "hey, go use my bike, and i'll work on getting this sorted". And that's what he did. That experience really made me look at my behavior, and played a big part in me making changes.
From Wikipedia: Tom Kipp (born November 17, 1968) from Chardon, Ohio[2] is an American former motorcycle racer. A Superbike World Championship race winner,[3] Kipp won the AMA 600 SuperSport Championship in 1992 and the AMA 750 SuperSport Championship in 1994, 1995 and 1999;[1] Kipp, who started motocross racing before he was six years old,[4] also competed in the AMA Superbike Championship, the British Superbike Championship and the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship.[1] He retired in late 2003 to study[4] for Christian ministry, returning to competition for 2005 in the Canadian Superbike Championship.[5][6] He later became a pastor.[7]
I reached out to Mark Merical once I remembered they had worked with each other for the Motor Racing Outreach Association to ask for an update on Tom. His response: “Yes, I do! I talked to him pretty regularly. He is in charge of MROA. Motor Racing Outreach Association. That is a division of Motor Racing Outreach. MRO. he is also on the staff of MRO. They are the Chaplain organization for NASCAR. He also is Chaplain for a truck racing series up either in north eastern Ohio or maybe Canada. I can’t remember where the series is for sure.”
