The tremendous off-road racer and inventor Robbie Pierce forever changed the off-road scene. For his dedication to off-road vehicle development and racing, he was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2018. As his Jimco Racing organisation reported on Tuesday, the cherished pioneering champion tragically departed at 63.
What happened to Robbie Pierce?
Robbie Pierce represented a genuine paradigm shift in the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. His talent appeared to have no bounds. He was an extraordinary leader, racer, function Object() { [native code] }, and businessman. Pierce tragically perished on January 3, 2023, while on vacation in Bonaire due to a scuba diving mishap. He was 63 years old.
It has been many years since his achievements have been honoured and memorialised. Even though he’s no longer with us, his legacy will endure forever as an incredible enigma who redefined greatness and motivated countless others to aim high.
Robbie Pierce cause of death
Robbie Pierce, killed in a scuba diving accident, was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2018. His Jimco Racing organisation announced the information on Tuesday.
Safety pioneer Robbie Pierce perished in a scuba diving accident. Born in 1959, Pierce started his professional life in the aerospace industry before joining Mastercraft to make tubular seat frames. In the end, Pierce chose to acquire and expand the company.
Just one day before his departure, another Baja 1000 graduate Ken Block added to the community’s terrible run of tragedies.
Robbie Pierce “had one of the largest hearts in off-road,” according to Rob MacCachren, the 2022 Baja 1000 champion and a longtime friend and teammate of Pierce’s. “He used every opportunity to help someone.
As racers, we rely on multiple racing gear; he was enthusiastic about lifting the bar when we stepped into the seat. Even if some of our team members are in the pits, my family, crew, and the entire racing community will miss his generosity, zeal, and friendship terribly. My friend, good luck.
Who was Robbie Pierce?
Robert Pierce was an off-road racer from the United States and the founder of Jimco Racing, MasterCraft Safety, and Impact Products.
Pierce competed in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series and the SCORE International Desert aRacing Series in a Pro2 Unlimited truck (LOORRS).
Pierce was raised in the mountains of Southern California east of San Diego, where he was born and raised, and at the age five, he started playing hockey there.
Even though he was still in high school and was being scouted by a professional hockey team, he eventually decided to give up hockey and moved to Glenn’s Ferry, Idaho. Pierce’s interest in metal fabrication and machinery increased as he worked on massive farming and agricultural equipment. Due to his connections to his family and the region’s favourable environment, Pierce finally moved back.
Robbie Pierce Profession
Pierce used the welding skills he had picked up in Idaho at his little business. However, starting in 1985, MasterCraft was also one of his clients. His work was mainly for the demanding aerospace industry.
Pierce’s welding skills
To create the tubular seat frames for his company, MasterCraft, Jack Miller sought out Pierce’s welding abilities. Pierce MasterCraft was sold by Peri Miller, Jack Miller’s daughter, in 1999. Since then, Pierce has wholly concentrated on building MasterCraft into a top-tier safety company by producing racing seat harnesses, window safety nets, tool bags, and various seat mounts for production vehicles.
Since 2004, Pierce, a fervent patriot, has given the US military’s MRAP and LSAC combat vehicles suspension seats and restraints produced in the United States.
Along with thorough field testing, independent studies conducted by reputable laboratories proved that MasterCraft Safety’s seats significantly reduced energy from a 50 “G” load live fire blast event—the same kind of impact that IEDs have on coalition vehicles. This power reduction was achieved by 84%.
In addition to suspension seats, restraints, limit straps, and window netting, MasterCraft Safety’s 2008 acquisition of Ryan Safety included race outfits.
Business Growth
When Bill Simpson sold Impact Products to the company in 2010, the firm still expanded. The impact has been added, enabling MasterCraft Safety to offer a complete array of safety products, including helmets, gloves, and race shoes. This move accelerated Pierce’s mission to provide a comprehensive collection of safety products from one source, head to toe.
Pierce’s commercial acumen allowed all the organisations that make up the Impact Racing corporate family to fully capitalise on continual product development, advanced technology, and immersive marketing to record-breaking sales and industry sway. Pierce sold impact and MasterCraft to Italian safety giant Sparco in June 2017.
Pierce purchased Jimco Racing, a company based in Santee, California, in 2018. Jimco was formed on zeal and dedication, making it a real success story in the United States. Its talented craftspeople created and improved over 500 race cars, trucks, and UTVs throughout the years, and they took home several victories and championships around the globe.
The site is close to the former MasterCraft offices, and the acquisition followed a long-standing business relationship between Pierce and Jimco.
Pierce frequently drove with former Jimco executives Mike Julson and Matt Loiodice and supplied Jimco with MasterCraft equipment for their vehicles.
Additionally, Pierce purchased the first Jimco Trophy Truck, J2, which Rob MacCachren had campaigned for, the second Jimco Trophy Truck, and the first and only luxury prerunners ever produced by Jimco, J1 and J2.
Pierce’s Racing Career
Pierce started competing in desert races in 2004 because he focused on his growing business. After driving Tom Ridings’ Class 10 car beside him in the 2004 Tecate SCORE Baja 500, he became addicted. In 2005, he purchased a truck, and 2005 Best In The Desert TSCO Vegas to Reno race served as his professional driving debut.
Pierce’s ability to pick things up fast was displayed as he placed fifth in his class and 11th overall. He finished second in the 2006 Tecate SCORE Baja 500 in his division. Pierce won three ProTruck races before moving up to the Trophy Truck class, which is completely unrestricted and is thought to be the best in off-road racing.
He participated in two races with a truck that had been modified into the “Prophy” Truck, and despite having a somewhat reduced horsepower advantage, he fared reasonably well. He made his racing debut in the No. 30 Jimco Trophy Truck at the 2008 SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, where he finished sixth overall.
His best-ever finish was in second place in the Terrible’s SCORE Primm 300 in 2010. He finished fourth in 2010—the year he was also elected SCORE Person of the Year—and sixth in 2009 in the SCORE Trophy Truck season points.
Pierce started participating in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series’ short-course events (LOORRS), in addition to desert races, in the middle of the 2009 campaign.
He immediately entered the challenging Pro2 Unlimited class in the Johnny Kaiser-built Alpha truck that Jerry Whelchel had previously raced for Chet Huffman Motorsports.
Pierce managed to finish in the top 15 despite missing the majority of the 2010 season due to injuries sustained in a horrible incident at Glen Helen, which also left him with several broken ribs and two fractured collarbones.
In addition to long-distance desert races like SCORE and Best In The Desert, Pierce took part in short-course racing series, including TORC, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, and Stadium Super Trucks. He kept racing into his sixties, most recently taking part in the November Trophy Truck Legends class at the Baja 1000.
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