[F500] Who is Tony Murphy?

[O.S. Brannon]

Art, thanks for the information.
Our business dealings with Tony has been very good.
Above all, he has been 100% reliable, a rare thing in this world today.
We appreciate what he has done for the class and yes, he is certainly entitled
to make a profit!


>-- Original Message --
>To: f500 at f500.com
>Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 00:24:06 -0500
>From: "A. E. Trier" <qre-shadow at juno.com>
>Cc: 
>Subject: [F500] Who is Tony Murphy?
>Reply-To: f500 at f500.org
>
>
>Guys and Gals,
> 
>Now that things have quieted down somewhat, I'd like to touch upon a
>subject that bothered me during our past engine conversations. To whit,
>the somewhat indifferent, and sometimes negative, reaction to what Tony
>Murphy has advised and to his involvement with F500. Tony saved this
>class back in 1996 and most admit that, although some grudgingly. He
>didn't have to, you know. But he responded to "racers" that needed an
>engine. And his continual support of the class has kept us going when
>other's have failed. He has traveled to Topeka and to the Runoffs, trying
>to be available to the competitors as well as SCCA to answer questions
>and give his support. Some have ignored his presence and that is a
>certain amount of ingratitude. A "Hi" would have been nice.
> 
>Tony is a racer, just like us. He is a sportsman. He cares where this
>class goes. He is not someone who just hawks Rotax engines. Selling
>engines and parts to this class does not in anyway make him rich. Far
>from it. He cares where this class goes and that is, truthfully, his
>motivation. Perhaps Tony's history might help some to understand where
he
>is coming from.
> 
>In his early days, Tony was a motorcycle racer. In 1962 and 1963 he rode
>for Honda and won the 250cc and 350cc national championships. In 1964,
he
>switched over to Yamaha and again won the 250 and 350cc championships in
>1964 thru 1966. He ran his private bike, a 500cc Norton in those years
>and also was national champion on that bike too. In 1967, he "retired"
>and became the Racing Manager for Yamaha. In 1968, he left Yamaha and
>went to work for Petersen Publishing(Hot Rod,Car Craft Motor Trend and
>Motorcyclist magazines) eventually becoming editor of Motorcyclist. After
>a seven year stint with Petersen, he went off on his own doing PR work
>and Federal emissions monitoring for several motorcycle manufacturers.
> 
>In 1969, he co-drove a James Garner sponsored Rambler with Bob Bondrant
>in the Baja 500 winning the Production class. He worked as a consultant
>to the GM Technical Center in Michigan and rubbed elbows and became good
>friends with people like Bill Mitchell. He also raced F3 Norton powered
>cars in the 1960s and participated in several Toyota Celebrity events on
>the west coast. His involvement with Bombardier/Rotax came about when he
>received a call from Bombardier when they were developing a new
>motorcycle.
> 
>So, is Tony Murphy just a hawker of engines? Not hardly. He's been deeply
>involved motorcycles and cars to the extent some of us could only wish
>for. And being involved, he wants this class to go on. And yes, he will
>make a few bucks in the process, but that's the American way. Is there
>anybody out there that can do better?! 
> 
> 
>Art
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O.S. Brannon
Manager, AAA Auto Club South
Heathrow Service Center
Phone (407)444-4360
Fax (407)444-4070