Ralph Hepburn

Ralph Hepburn
Ralph Hepburn, 1919
Nationality	American
Born	(1896-04-11)April 11, 1896 Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 16, 1948(1948-05-16) (aged 52) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Cause of death	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 200 mi (320 km) National Championship at Ascot Park in Los Angeles riding for the Harley-Davidson factory. He began winning consistently thereafter and in 1921 won the "Dodge City 300 National Championship" while breaking all existing 300 mi (480 km) records. In 1922 he dominated professional track racing for the Indian Motocycle company. That year, he rode to his second victory in the 300 mi (480 km) 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 100-mile (160 km) 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.