David Thorpe

Who is David Thorpe?

David Thorpe is a British motocross racer and a three-time World Champion.

Thorpe's early career saw him excel in both motocross and football, and at one stage he was even offered a contract with professional side Queen's Park Rangers, before opting to concentrate on motocross. After a successful early career for the UK Kawasaki team, Thorpe switched to the Honda factory racing team in 1983. He emerged as a regular Grand Prix winner in 1984, and took his first world title in 1985. In this year's Motocross des Nations at Gaildorf in Germany he also took the overall individual win beating American riders Jeff Ward and David Bailey. He retained his world title in 1986, following a season long battle with Honda team-mate André Malherbe.

A series of injuries prevented Thorpe from making a title challenge in 1987 and 1988, where he finished fifth and third respectively in the 500cc FIM World Championship. However, Thorpe won his third title in 1989, following a thrilling season-long battle with Eric Geboers. 1990 saw him move teams to the factory Kawasaki team, however the Kawasaki machine was inferior to the factory Honda, and Thorpe struggled to compete. In 1990 and 1991 he finished fifth and seventh respectively in the 500cc World Championship. Thorpe left Kawasaki in 1991, and moved back to Honda, riding for the Italian 'Cinti Honda' team. Thorpe was unable to capture his old form, and he retired from professional motocross in 1993 at the age of 31.