Donny Robinson


Donald Robinson is an American professional "New/Current School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years are from 1999 to the present. His moniker is "dR", his initials. The use of the lowercase "d" for his given name is perhaps related to his relatively diminutive physical size. A past nickname, "Scrawny", was definitely linked to his small stature, since even when very young he was the smallest child in his age group. It was given to him by Bruce Minton. Like BMX predecessors Mike Miranda and Eric Rupe, Robinson is a devout Christian. He over the course of his career. In the same interview, he advocated for better concussion protocol at the lower levels of BMX racing. Robinson joined the board of directors of concussion-education collaborative The Knockout Project in January 2013.
On June 25, 2008, Robinson was chosen by Mike King, team coach of the 2008 USA BMX Olympic Team, to represent the USA along with teammates Jill Kintner, Mike Day, and Kyle Bennett in BMX racing competition at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. His Olympic dream was realized at least in part when he came in third at the Summer Olympics winning a Bronze Medal executing a maneuver that saw Sifiso Nhlapo take out nearly half the field. Since it was the sport's debut and the men's final was run after the women's, he became the third American and the sixth person overall to win an Olympic Medal in BMX Racing. Jill Kintner won the Bronze medal; Mike Day won the Silver medal. Kyle Bennett finished sixth in his semi-final and as a result did not qualify for the finals. Donnie robinson announced his retirement of the sport at the 2016 USA BMX Grand Nationals.

Racing career milestones

Note: Professional firsts are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.
MilestoneEvent Details
Started Racing:Age five at the Napa Valley BMX track in the summer of 1989 when a friend took him to the track.
Sanctioning Body:American Bicycle Association
First race bike:U.S.Boss.
First race result:First place.
First win :See "First race result"
First sponsor:USA Wheel Sports 1989.
First national win:
Turned Professional:December 2001 at age 18.
First Professional/Junior Men race result:First Place in a local race at the Canadian Cycling Association Abbotsford Indoor BMX Rrack in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, on December 8, 2001.
First professional win:See above.
First junior men/pro* race result:See above.
First junior men/pro win:See above.
First senior pro/elite men** race result:
First senior pro/elite men win:In "AA" pro on August 31, 2003, at the American Bicycle Association's Blackjack nationals in Reno, Nevada.
Height & weight at height of his career:Ht:5'5" Wt:150 lbs.
Retired:Still active

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

Amateur

Note: Listed are district, state/provincial/department, regional, national, and international titles in italics. Only sanctioning bodies that existed during the racer's career are listed. 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/Junior Men

National Bicycle League
American Bicycle Association
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme *
International Bicycle Motocross Federation *
Union Cycliste Internationale *
*See Professional section.
USA Cycling
Note: USA Cycling's BMX program did not exist prior to 2007.

Professional/Elite Men

National Bicycle League
American Bicycle Association
International Bicycle Motocross Federation *
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme *
Union Cycliste Internationale *
*Note: Beginning in 1991 the IBMXF and FIAC 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 1997 world championships held in Brighton, England, the UCI would officially hold and sanction BMX World Championships and inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.
USA Cycling
†This is USA Cycling's inaugural national title award as a sanctioning body in the discipline of Bicycle Motocross. Robinson won the Elite Men's title on June 9, 2007, in Waterford Oaks, Michigan. Krystal Hime won for Elite women. This Championship was held under UCI rules and skill classifications as opposed to the UCI affiliated and USA Cycling owned NBL.
International Olympic Committee
Independent Pro Series Championships and Invitational Races
¥This race is a tribute to the memory of the late Mario Soto held every year in his home town of Bogotá, Colombia, and is called International BMX Championships “Summer Festival”. It is a professionals-only invitational race in which top pros are invited to participate. The first of these annual two-day events was held in 2003.

BMX product lines

Robinson officially retired from competitive BMX racing after the 2016 USA BMX Grand Nationals. He is still very active in the sport, promoting BMX racing, coaching, and developing grassroots BMX leagues.

Personal life

Robinson wed girlfriend Tiffany Lei Glenn in a ceremony in Napa, Calif., on November 14, 2009. In addition to BMX racing, Robinson has aspirations to be a Broadway theater actor/dancer/singer. He sang in his middle school choir. He went on "tour" with his now-wife performing at schools and fairgrounds.

BMX and general press magazine interviews and articles

Note: Only magazines that were in publication at the time of the racer's career are listed unless specifically noted.
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
BMX Plus!:
Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:
Twenty BMX:
Moto Mag:
BMX World:
Bicycles Today & BMX Today :
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer :