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24th Annual Riding into History™
Motorcycle Concours d'Elegance

Chasing the Rising Sun
Featuring Japanese Motorcycles
Saturday, April 20, 2024, Gates open at 10am
Classic Car Museum of St. Augustine
4730 Dixie Hwy South, St. Augustine, Florida

Riding into History™ 2024 Grand Marshal

Grand Marshal Henry DeGouw

Henry's 1979 Yamaha TZ750

We are pleased to announce that Henry DeGouw has been named the Grand Marshal of the 24th Annual Riding into History™ celebrating "Chasing the Rising Sun - Japanese Motorcycles" to be held in St. Augustine, Florida on April 19-20, 2024.  

Henry DeGouw has a long, successful, and colorful history as a motorcycle road racer, race team manager and promoter starting back in 1964. Born in Gainesville, Florida in 1943, he acquired his first motorcycle in 1957, a Mustang, then a 1959 AJS650 as a junior in High School. Little did he know at the time how his early interest in motorcycles would shape his future life.  

His passion for motorcycle racing started with his first race in Punta Gorda, Florida in 1964 on a BSA Gold Star – those early days of motorcycle racing in South Florida had few official road-race tracks and were usually AMA sanctioned events organized by local clubs at improvised locations. As an amateur, Henry won an AMA Amateur National Road Race Championship in 1971 on a Honda 500cc and again in 1973 on a Kawasaki H2.  In 1976 he started a 10 year run in the AMA Expert Formula 1 National Championship Series on Yamaha TZ750’s scoring several top 10 finishes.  Henry’s Formula 1 racing highlights include:

  • 1983 & 1984 AAMRR Expert Formula 1 Southern Region Road Racing Champion
  • 1984-1986 Macau GP Participant (1984 first time Americans competed)
  • 1976-1986 AMA Camel Pro Series Expert Professional Road Racing Championship (Formula 1 Class)

Henry witnessed the growth of the industry and how the road courses he started racing on transformed from improvised events at airports and drag strips into a professional nation-wide sport. As Henry’s racings days wound down he had already established himself as a race promoter. From 1975 through 2017 (totaling 42 years) Henry promoted races at Moroso Motorsports Park/Palm Beach International Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway and Jennings GP.  

Henry was also the American Race Team Manager for the 1990 Venezuela National Championship and the 1987-2011 Macau Motorcycle GP.

In 1995 Henry was inducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame – his 1977 Yamaha TZ750D was found in England, restored and is now on display at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham Alabama. In 2019 Henry was honored with a plaque at the Daytona 200 Monument.

Henry is a witness to the greatest days of motorcycle racing history in America and especially Florida – it's a great honor to have him serve as the Grand Marshal of the 2024 Riding Into History Concours d’Elegance!