2013 AMA Supercross Legends & Heroes Tour
This week, as this year’s season of Monster Energy AMA Supercross makes a stop in Seattle, Washington, The Legends and Heroes Tour honors former racer Pat Jacobson, who is a local to the Emerald City.
Jacobson started racing at the age of thirteen, but it didn’t take him long to fine tune his skills enough to move up in the ranks. Just two years after he began racing, Pat gained sponsorship from a local Seattle company, Westcoast Factory Operations (WFO).
While making his way up the ladder in the amateur ranks, Pat traveled to Minnesota on vacation where a local Can-Am dealer offered him an opportunity to race the open pro class. After celebrating a victory in the first moto, the dealer asked him to race the 250 pro class as well. Despite getting a flat during the second race, Pat received a flurry of interest from the exposure.
Soon after, Jacobson received a sponsorship from Bellevue Suzuki and continued to race the 125 class in the AMA Motocross Nationals.
In 1979, halfway through the season, Pat was fifth in points, and the top privateer in the series when Suzuki offered him a factory ride. Tragically, during the first moto (in the very first turn) on his brand new factory bike, Pat Jacobsen suffered a life-changing crash that would end his racing career and leave him paralyzed from the waist down. As one of the most well liked riders of the time, Jacobsen was dearly missed in the racing world.
Today, Pat works in IT for PACCAR (Kenworth/Peterbilt Trucks), and continues to be an avid fan of the sport. For more information on Pat Jacobsen, and The Legends and Heroes tour, visit LegendsAndHeroesTour.org.
