TERRY DORSCH RIP

This article appeared in Cycle News #45. It was written by Larry Lawrence. I am reprinting it because not all of you subscribe to Cycle News.

Terry Dorsch, former AMA National number 22, and best known as a Triumph rider and for earning a podium finish at the Ascot TT National in 1973, passed away on Wednesday, November 7 from injuries sustained in a street bike accident on the Angeles Crest Highway in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles, He was 63.

Dorsch, a native of Tujunga, California, emerged on the AMA Grand National circuit in 1971. A Triumph support rider, with the pedigree of AMA District 37 Champion and several National amateur wins, he had a solid rookie expert season in '71, earning four top-10 finishes, including a season best fifth at the Corona (California) Half-Mile National. At the end of the season, Dorsch won a special made-for-TV event called, the Race of Champions, held at the San Jose Half Mile. His rookie performance made him one of the nation's leading up-and-coming racers, and earned him his national number 22.

"We were in the same class of riders turning expert in '71," said former Daytona 200 winner, Don Emde. "Terry seemed to get faster as the years went on, and by '72-'73 he could race with anybody. And the whole way he made friends and gained the respect of everyone in the sport. It's a big loss for his family and the sport.

Throughout the 1970s, Dorsch was a consistent qualifier at AMA Nationals. He was especially adept on TT tracks. In the middle of the 1973 season, he strung together an impressive string of TT results, scoring three-straight top-five finishes at Castle Rock, Peoria, and including his one and only AMA Grand National podium in the Ascot TT on July 21, 1973. In that race he finished just behind David Aldana and Kenny Roberts.

"That was a great race and a great memory for him," said fellow racer and friend John Hateley. "That was sort of a famous race, because I think that's the one where Aldana won on a Norton and then the thing caught on fire."

Dorsch was a regular on the National circuit, from the early-to-mid 1970s, before he began scaling back on his efforts. He scored his final National finish, a ninth at the Ascot TT, in 1977l. He raced Triumph most of his career, with a few rides later aboard Yamaha's and Harley-Davidson's.

During his racing career, Dorsch made many lasting friends. Dorsch's sister, Cheryle Carmitchel, said, Hateley, Gene Romero and Gary Scott were among his best buddies from that era.

"He had that charismatic, almost-movie-star type attitude with the hair to match. He was very meticulous about how he dre4ssed and looked," Hateley said. "That's part of what made Terry who he was."

Dorsch drifted away from racing and it was Hateley who convinced him to come back to mingle with fans, new and old, at some of the racing reunions in recent years. "Terry was a little shy about that," Hateley explained, his voice cracking from emotion. "He didn't think anyone would remember him. They did, one of my lasting memories of Terry will be at Pomona this year where people were coming up happy to meet him and he was signing autographs. I'm glad he got to experience that."

Dorsch died riding in the hills he loved and had ridden since he was a youth, both on road and off.

"It's a terrible shock to us," Cheryle said. "He had just gotten that Grand National history book that just came out and he was really pumped about that. And he'd attended those legends reunions this summer. We all grew up around racing, so he was thrilled to be a part of it again.

"It was one of those perfect days and he went out to ride his Triumph and lost it in a turn and hit a guardrail. Some construction workers saw the accident and were able to talk to him. Like an old racer, he'd figured out his injuries and told them where he was hurt. But they had no phone reception, so they had to drive off the mountain to call 911. They took him in a helicopter, but his internal injuries were just too much. We're all going to miss him so much."

Dorsch is survived by his wife, Jennie, his son, Walter, who is also a racer, his sister, Cheryle, and his mother Vickie.

The family is planning a private funeral service. Gene Romero and John Hateley are also planning to put together a memorial gathering for Dorsch at a yet to be determined time and place.

Donations can be made in Dorsch's name to: Victory Junction    http://www.victoryjunction.org/index.php