Bubba Harris

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Bubba Harris


image_size =
image_caption =
fullname = Burlin Buntster Harris III
nickname = "Bubba"
dateofbirth = birth date and age |1985|8|7
height = 1.83 m (6'0"Imperial)
weight = 86.18 kg (190 lbs. Imperial)
country = USA
currentteam = Without main sponsor
discipline = Bicycle Motocross (BMX)
role = Racer
ridertype = Off Road
protourrank =
europetourrank =
amateuryears = 1993-1994
1994-1999
1999
amateurteams = AXO
Answer Products
Redline Bicycles
proyears = 1999-2008
proteams = Redline Bicycles
majorwins =
updated = July 24, 2008

Burlin Buntster Harris III [ [http://usocpressbox.org/usoc/pressbox.nsf/2008%20Countdown%20to%20Beijing.pdf?openfileresource United States Olympic Committee document confirming Harris's first name (page.44 *.pdf file.)] ] [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-06-10-harris-bmx_N.htm usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article.] ] (b. August 7, 1985 from Palmdale, California U.S.) is an American professional "New/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years are from 1999 to the present. Usually goes by the moniker "Bubba", as did his father when he was young. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-06-10-harris-bmx_N.htm usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article.] ]

Racing career

Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.

----Started Racing: August 7, 1992 on his seventh birthday. His father took him to a BMX track and he was hooked. ["BMX Plus!" June 2006 Vol.29 Nol.6 pg.68]

First Race Bike: Huffy [ [http://www.bmxstars.com/profiles/bubbaharris.html bmxstars.com 2007 profile.] ]

Sanctioning Body: American Bicycle Association (ABA)

First race result: First place 7 Novice.

First win (local): See above.

First sponsor: AXO approximately in February 1993. ["Moto Mag" May/June 2004 Vol.3 No.3 pg.23]

First national win:

Turned Professional: November 2001 Age 16 immediately after the American Bicycle Association (ABA) Grand Nationals. Redline teammate Kim Hayashi also turns pro on this occasion. [ [http://www.redlinebicycles.com/bmxracing/history/2001-history.html Redline website history section.] ]

First Professional race result:

First Professional win:

First Junior Pro* race result:

First Junior Pro win:

First Senior Pro** race result:

First Senior Pro win: The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Empire Nationals on May 18, 2003 in Kingston, New York. [ [http://www.bmxmania.com/bubba.htm 2004 BMX Mania Interview.] ] [ [http://www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1104 Fatbmx.com article.] ]

Retired: Still active.

Height & weight at height of his career: Ht:6'0" Wt:190lbs.

*In the NBL "B" Pro/Super Class/"A" Pro/Junior Elite Men depending on the era; in the ABA it is "A" Pro.
**In the NBL it is "AA" Pro/Elite Men; in the ABA it is "AA" Pro.

Career factory and major bike shop sponsors

Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are used.

----

Amateur

*AXO Sport: February 1993-Early 1994
*Answer Products, Inc.: Early 1994-November 1999. Harris was the first racer Answer Products ever sponsored. ["Moto Mag" May/June 2004 Vol.3 No.3 pg.23]
*Redline Bicycles: November 1999-July 21, 2008. Bubba would turn pro with this sponsor.

Professional

*Redline Bicycles: November 1999-July 21, 2008. After eight years and eight months with the same sponsor Redline Bicycles released Harris from his contract. In a press release Harris explained why:

Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in "italics". "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.

----

Amateur

National Bicycle Association (NBA)
*None (defunct) National Bicycle League (NBL)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)
*"1993 California District 7 (CA-07) No.1"
*"1994 10 & Under Cruiser Gold Cup West Champion
*"1994 9 Boys Southern California State Champion"
*"1995 9 Boys World Cup Champion"
*"1995 9 & Under Cruiser World Cup Champion"
*1995 10 Expert and 10 Cruiser Grandnational Champion
*"1996 10 Expert and 10 Cruiser World Cup Champion"
*1996 11 Expert and 11 Cruiser Grandnational Champion
*"2001 16 Expert and 16 Cruiser No.1" United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
*None (defunct)Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
*NoneInternational Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
*NoneUnion Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

*See note in Professional section.

Professional

National Bicycle Association (NBA)
*None (defunct)National Bicycle League (NBL)
*None (defunct)American Bicycle Association (ABA)
*2005 Pro Race of Champions (ROC) champion.
*"2004,'05 World Champion"
*"2004,'05,'06 National No.1 Pro"United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
*None (defunct)International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
*None (defunct)Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
*None (defunct; FIAC did not have a strictly professional division during its existence).

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
*"2005 Elite Men World Champion"

*Note: Beginning in 1991 the IBMXF and FIAC, the amateur cycling arm of the UCI, had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase in merging which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger and both ceased to exist as independent entities being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1996 World Championships held in Brighton, England the UCI would officially hold and sanction BMX World Championships and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.

Pro Series Championships and Invitationals

BMX Product Lines

*Bubba Harris Signature Series of various products::Redline Aluminum Flight Mini, Flight, Flight Expert, Flight Junior, Flight Pro XL, Flight Pro XXL, Flight Series Cruiser frames and forks.:Product evaluation:
*2pure Lizard Skins Grips.

Notable accolades

*He is a 2002 ABA "BMXer" magazine Golden Crank winner for Professional Rookie of the Year. [ [http://www.bmxmania.com/bubba.htm 2004 BMX Mania Interview.] ]
*He is a 2003, [ [http://www.bmxmania.com/bubba.htm 2004 BMX Mania Interview.] ] '04, '05, '07 ABA "BMXer" magazine Golden Crank winner for Professional of the Year.
*He is a 2003, '04, & '05 "BMX Plus!" Pro of the Year.
*In 2004 Harris became the youngest racer to hold an ABA professional title, becoming ABA No.1 Pro in the 20" class at the age of 18. [ [http://www.bmxplusmag.com/detail.asp?id=296 "BMX Plus!" website report on 2004 ABA Grand National.] ]
*He has become only the second rider in BMX history, and the first in the ABA, to win the Senior Pro 20" class three consecutive times winning the "AA" pro class title in 2004, 2005, and 2006, tying Terry Tenette. Terry Tenette was the first pro racer to do so in 1990,'91 & '92 in the National Bicycle League "A" Pro (Elite Men) class. Other three consecutive title wins have occurred in other classes in the past. Brent Patterson did it priorly in the NBL Pro Cruiser class in 1981,'82 & '83 and Cheri Elliott in the ABA's girls amateur 20" division in 1983,'84 & '85. Other racers have done it and exceeded it in other classes since. John Purse came close to doing it in 1997 after winning the title with the NBL in 1995 and 1996 but a crash in the NBL Grand National semi finals ended his bid for a "three-peat". ["BMX Plus!" December 1997 Vol.20 No.12 pg.46] Terry Tenette was still the only one to have done it in 20" Men's Senior Pro until 2006. Bubba Harris would had made it four in a row breaking Tenette's record if he took the 20" AA pro title again in the ABA racing circuit in 2007. However while in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics he suffered an ankle injury in Beijing, China on August 20, 2007 that took him out of the running to accomplish that feat. [ [http://bmxactiononline.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=26&func=view&id=8234&catid=13 bmxactiononline.com Bubba Harris interview by Gary Haselhorst] ] .

ignificant injuries

*Fractured his arm at the ABA Lonestar Nationals in Beaumont, Texas on March 5, 2000 after going two years without an injury. He was laid up for approximately three weeks until the weekend of March 26 of the ABA Winternationals in Phoenix, Arizona. [ [http://www.bmxtreme.com/news/news_prev_05_30_2000.htm bmxtreme.com article. Search for "fractured" (without the quotation marks)] ]
*Fractured shoulder at the Nellis Silver state NBL/UCI National race in Nellis, Nevada on March 26, 2006. Was laid up for seven weeks until the ABA Dixieland Nationals in Marietta, Georgia on May 20, 2006. [ [http://www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1575 May 19, 2006 Fatbmx.com article.] ]
*Suffered a separated shoulder at the UCI national in Las Vegas, Nevada. ["BMX Plus!" July 2006 Vol.39 No.7 pg.10]
*Suffered a jammed elbow at the UCI Supercross time trials on September 7, 2006 in San Jose, California. [ [http://www.georgiabmx.com/ Georgia BMX.com. Word search for UCI "Supercorss" ("supercross" is misspelled on the site)] ]
*Exactly one year to the day BMX competition was to start in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, he completely dislocated the left ankle at the talus bone on August 20, 2007 in Beijing, China on the official Olympic track during his first run of his Time Trial. Coming out of the second turn he took an extra two pedals before setting up for the jumps. This did not leave him enough time to make the transition smoothly. He hit the first jump of the rhythm section and his right foot became unclipped from that pedal. He hit two sccessive jumps essentially one footed, his still clipped in left foot taking the weight. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-06-10-harris-bmx_N.htm usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article.] ] He hit a fourth sccessive jump slightly obliquely and was launched sideways by his momentum into the air, coming down on the back side of a jump with his left foot still clipped into an SPD pedal. It was twisted at approximately a 90 degree angle from its proper position. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-06-10-harris-bmx_N.htm usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article.] ] Doctors almost amputated his foot. After three months of recuperation, he attempted to race the 2007 ABA Grandnationals but reinjured the injury slightly in practice and sat out the Grands. He did race the NBL Christmas Classic on December 27, 2007 but didn't make the mains. Despite the constant pain he is in even just walking, he put off surgery on it to remove bone splinters to speed his recovery in time for the 2008 Olympics. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-06-10-harris-bmx_N.htm usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article.] ] In defiance of the pain, he was able to do relatively well during the 2008 racing season, including winning the Elite Men class at the NBL National in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 16, 2008. [ [http://www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4959 fatbmx.com June 24, 2008 article.] ]

*Still maintaining Olympic hopes he was in training for the Summer Olympics at a track at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. His Olympic dreams for making the 2008 team came to an end when he broke his right ankle in practice for the Olympic Trials on June 12, 2008. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/14/AR2008061402047_2.html Washington Post article June 15, 2008.] ] Ironically, the training track is an exact replica of the Olympic BMX track that the BMX events for the Beijing Olympics would be held on. His crash was on the second straight. He had hoped that it was a bad sprain but the next day doctors confirmed the break and Harris withdrew his name from the Time Trial competition leaving only seven competitors. [ [http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/13/finish-line-injury-ends-harris-olympic-bid-in/ rockymountainnews.com June 13, 2008 article.] ] On June 14, 2008 Harris saw his good friend Mike Day win the Olympic team Qualifying Trials and qualified for a sure slot on the USA BMX Olympic Team. He was cheering him on straight through. A few days after the Trials Harris had surgery to remove some of the floating bone chips left over in his left ankle from his severe August 20, 2007 dislocation. Harris intends to return to racing late August 2008 (ironically at approximately the same time the BMX events are scheduled to start in the Olympics) and stay in contention for the 2008 ABA pro title. [ [http://www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4959 fatbmx.com June 24, 2008 article.] ]

Peccadilloes

Post BMX career

BMX magazine covers

Note: (defunct) denotes that the magazine was out of business before the career of the racer started.

----"Bicycle Motocross News:"
*None (defunct)"Minicycle/BMX Action" & "Super BMX:"
*None (defunct)"Bicycle Motocross Action" & "Go:"
*None (defunct)"BMX Plus!:"

"Bicycles and Dirt:"
*None (defunct)"Total BMX"
*None (defunct)"Snap BMX Magazine" & "Transworld BMX:"

"Moto Mag:"

"Twenty BMX:"
*April 2005 Vol.1 No.1"BMX World:"

"Bicycles Today" & "BMX Today" (The official NBL publication under two names):

"ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer" (The official ABA publication under three names):

BMX and general press magazine interviews and articles

*"The Fabulous Five" "Snap BMX Magazine" May 2001 Vol.8 Iss.5 No.55 pg.63 One of five short articles with five racers including Donny Robinson, Ian Stoffel, Brandon Nicholls, and Clint Gower.
*"Just Bubba" "Moto Mag" May/June 2004 Vol.3 No.3 pg.22
*"Factory Redline Pros" "Transworld BMX" November 2004 Vol.11 Iss.11 No.97. It is page 17 of the imbedded Redline catalog included in the magazine along with interviews of teamates Kim Hayashi and Jason Carne$.
*"BMX camp, weekend event features some of best riders" Greeley Tribune August 11, 2005 Newspaper article.
*"#1 on #1"BMX Plus!" June 2006 Vol.29 Nol.6 pg.68 Bubba Harris & Mike Day interview each other.

Miscellaneous and Trivia

End Notes

External links

* [http://www.ababmx.com/ The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Website.]
* [http://www.nbl.org/ The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website.]
* [http://www.bmxmania.com/bubba.htm 2004 BMX Mania Interview.]
* [http://www.bmxonline.com/bmx/interviews/article/0,15737,459308,00.html "Hey Bubba, what is your favorite...." June 17, 2003 one question, many answer interview by ridebmx.com]
* [http://www.greeleytrib.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050811/SPORTS/108110061&template=printart "BMX camp, weekend event features some of best riders" August 11, 2005 Greeley Tribune Article.]