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词条 Ralph Hepburn
释义

  1. Indianapolis 500 results

  2. References

  3. External links

{{Infobox Champ Car driver
| name = Ralph Hepburn
| image = RalphHepburn1922.jpg
| caption = Ralph Hepburn, 1919
| nationality = American
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1896|04|11}}
| birth_place = Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1948|05|16|1896|04|11}}
| death_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
| death_cause = Injuries from racing accident
}}

Ralph R. Hepburn (April 11, 1896 – May 16, 1948) was a pioneer American motorcycle racing champion and an Indianapolis 500 racecar driver.

Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Hepburn's family moved to Los Angeles, California when he was ten years old. He began riding motorcycles as a teen and his skills led to him signing on with a cycle performing group in 1914 that toured the West Coast and parts of the American Midwest. He then began competing in on board tracks, then on dirt. His racing career was interrupted during 1917 and 1918 due to World War I.

In June 1919, Hepburn came to national prominence when he won the {{convert|200|mi|km|abbr=on}} National Championship at Ascot Park in Los Angeles riding for the Harley-Davidson factory.[1] He began winning consistently thereafter and in 1921 won the "Dodge City 300 National Championship" while breaking all existing {{convert|300|mi|km|abbr=on}} records. In 1922 he dominated professional track racing for the Indian {{not a typo|Motocycle}} company. That year, he rode to his second victory in the {{convert|300|mi|km|abbr=on}} National Championship motorcycle race, this time at Meridian Speedway in Wichita, Kansas.

At the end of the 1924 American racing season, and after competing in special events in Australia, Hepburn began his auto racing career.

In 1925, he competed in a car built by Harry Miller in the first of fifteen appearances at the Indianapolis 500. Later that year, during practice for the AMA {{convert|100|mi|km|adj=on}} championship race at Altoona Speedway, he crashed his Harley-Davidson racing motorcycle and damaged his hand. Hepburn then lent the motorcycle to Indian rider Joe Petrali, who won the race and shared the prize money with him. This began Petrali's association with Harley-Davidson.[2]

In 1929 he qualified third at Indianapolis, but gear problems resulted in him having to drop out after only fourteen laps. He finished third in 1931, and although he led the famous race three times in three different decades and had four finishes in the top five, his best result came in 1937 with a second-place finish 2.16 seconds behind Wilbur Shaw, the closest ever at that time.

For a time, Hepburn served as president of the American Society of Professional Automobile Racers. In 1946, at the age of fifty, Hepburn qualified Novi Governor Special at of {{convert|134.449|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}. He led forty-four laps in the race before the car stalled on Lap 121.

In 1947, Hepburn joined Preston Tucker and Tucker Corporation and drove the prototype Tucker 48 onstage when it was unveiled to the public on June 19, 1947. He served as West Coast Regional Manager for Tucker Corporation.

Hepburn died practicing for the 1948 Indianapolis 500 while driving a Novi Special for Tucker Corporation.[3] He was survived by his wife Ida Mae Hepburn and one daughter Joanne Hepburn. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.[4]

In 1998, Hepburn was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

Indianapolis 500 results

{{col-begin|width=auto}}{{col-break}}
YearCarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired
1925176108.48971614415Gas tank
19261915102.5171481510Flagged
1927195114.209524390Fuel tank leak
1928166116.354624480Timing gears
1929183116.543331140Transmission
19311910107.9331832000Running
19332341110.0013238330Rod bearing
19343111114.32110141640Connecting rod
1935217115.1561352000Running
1936924112.67328121960Flagged
193786118.8091522009Running
19392513122.20422221070Crash BS
19405421123.860929470Steering
19415410120.6532842000Running
1946219133.94411412144Stalled
Totals186468
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
Starts15
Poles0
Front Row1
Wins0
Top 54
Top 105
Retired9
{{col-end}}

References

1. ^{{cite news|title=Milwaukee boy is second in coast event|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1ZdRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iAoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4629%2C5221901|newspaper=The Milwaukee Sentinel|date=June 24, 1919}}
2. ^Motorcycle Hall of Fame - Joe Petrali
3. ^{{cite news|title=Veteran racer, Ralph Hepburn killed on track|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OtRPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EQgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6556%2C4626313|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|date=May 17, 1948|agency=United Press}}
4. ^{{cite news|title=Ralph Hepburn and dad buried today|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_G4gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=82YFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4217%2C4904480|newspaper=Lewiston Evening Journal|date=May 21, 1948|agency=Associated Press}}

External links

  • Motorcycle Hall of Fame
{{commons category|Ralph Hepburn}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Hepburn, Ralph}}

14 : 1896 births|1948 deaths|Sportspeople from Somerville, Massachusetts|Sportspeople from Los Angeles|Racing drivers from Massachusetts|Racing drivers from California|American motorcycle racers|Indianapolis 500 drivers|AAA Championship Car drivers|20th-century American racing drivers|Racing drivers killed while racing|Sports deaths in Indiana|Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductees

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