Tony DiStefano

Tony DiStefano (born February 6, 1957) is an American former professional motocross racer. He won three AMA 250cc National Motocross Championships.

Born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, DiStefano was the son of a motorcycle shop owner and began riding motorcycles at an early age. He began his professional racing career in 1973 on a privateer CZ. the following year, he led the 500cc motocross national championship for most of the year before an injury relegated him to second place behind Jimmy Weinert. His strong performance earned him a job with the Suzuki factory motocross team. With Suzuki, he proceeded to win three AMA 250cc national championships in a row in 1975, 1976 and 1977. DiStefano also won the 1975 Inter-AMA championship.

At the end of 1979, DiStefano seriously injured his eye in a home construction accident. Despite being nearly blind in one eye, he made a valiant come back. Afterwards, injuries began to take their toll and DiStefano retired from competition after the 1981 season. He continued his involvement in the sport by starting a motocross school for young riders in 1982. In 1988, while practicing at a track in New Jersey, DiStefano crashed, broke his back and became paralyzed.

Today DiStefano continues to teach his motocross schools traveling around the United States. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.

External links

• Tony DiStefano motocross school
• American Motorcyclist, January 1976, Vol. 30, No. 1, ISSN 0277-9358