Terry Statum popping the cork after an endurance road race win with Team Sunset at the Sears Point National in 1986. (Larry Lawrence photo)
Former racer John Geyer called to let me know that his friend and fellow 1980s road racer Terry Statum has passed away. Statum was a leading Southern California club racer in the 1980s. While he was a regular sprint race winner, Statum made his biggest impact as an endurance racer. One of Statum’s biggest race wins early came at Riverside Intl. Raceway in July of 1981 with teammate Mike Krolick, when they won the AFM/Kawasaki 2-Hour Race. He then went on to become a key member of Team Sunset, one of the top AMA/CCS National Endurance GTU teams of the mid-1980s. Statum was the rider who put Team Sunset on the GTU pole at the Paul Revere 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Statum began his racing career in the early 1970s as a flat tracker.
Rider Files 
Terry was a very kind and generous friend…Met him through Mike Krolick whom was my room-mate. Those two and Pete Carroll and I were all buds and Team-Mates in Racing. Terry was always calm…cool and collected….until someone would change lanes on the highway without using their Turn-Signal. Some of the funniest shit I’ve ever seen in California’s Bumper to Bumper traffic. Terry would pursue the vehicle and begin his hilarious bombarding of insults/truths until the person had to pull over and cry…True
Ski
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RIP Terry. I remember Terry and Pete Carrol were always fast, especially at Sears Point. Great photo of Terry & Pete, Larry.
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What caused terrys death. Im a old friend. We lived on same street for many years
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My brother died from a massive heart attack. He was 59.
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I grew up with Terry and his brother Clifford. Terry was my best friend for many years until we grew into adults and went our separate ways. So incredibly sad
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Terry was my cousin, who I sadly lost contact with many years ago, but I remember him as a funny, happy, teenager. I think I inherited his Yamaha AT1 back in 1975 that became my first motorcycle. He had a great family too. His dad Connie, mother Adrienne, brother Clifford, and sister Mary Louise (sadly passed in 1978) were wonderful people. Had many memories of Christmases and Thanksgivings at our house or theirs.
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I first met Terry working at the same engineering firm. What a nice guy and consumite prankster! One day I left work and climbed into my car and there sat a single Styro packing peanut in the passenger seat. I thought to myself that I was tipped off to my glove compartment being stuffed with them. Carefully opened it and yet full of them but a failed prank right? Headed on down the road and came to a spot with the sun in my eyes and pulled down my sun visor and yep styro peanuts raining down from above lol. I also remember Terry missing a week of work and having to keep the massive road rash a secrete from the firms owner. Terry as Aero Engineering did some work for me over the years and I last saw Terry in the 90’s when I helped him shoot grades on his lot out by Lake Matthews. Sorry to hear of his passing.
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