CN
III ARCHIVES
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
L
ooking back, 1973 is an often
overlooked year, but it was
a seminal year nevertheless for
American motocross. Americans
had been racing motocross by
that time for nearly a decade and
some of the American riders of
the early 1970s were beginning
to have major breakthroughs.
Perhaps the most significant
event for American motocross
that year was Yakima, Wash-
ington's Jim Pomeroy stunning
the world with his victory in the
opening round of the 250cc MX
World Championship in Spain. It
made Pomeroy the first American
to win a grand prix motocross,
securing his place in the sport's
history. The Bultaco-backed
American went on that season
to prove his opening round win
was no fluke, by turning in other
P124
MOTOCROSS '73
in world championship moto-
cross, but it was more often than
not military servicemen in Europe
riding, say for example, under a
German or British racing license.
The FIM/AMA affiliation opened
the floodgates for American and
European motocross riders to
compete with and against one
another with real points and pres-
tige up for grabs.
1973 was also the year that
America hosted its first FIM Mo-
tocross Grand Prix, the 500cc
U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross at
strong performances in the '73
FIM 250cc World Championship
and finishing the year ranked
seventh.
The big change in the early
1970s was the FIM's
recognition of the
AMA as its official
American affiliate.
Prior to that there
was the occasional
American competitor
Do you know who holeshot the first
moto of the very first MXGP held in
America? As this photo shows it was
none other than the man himself,
Roger DeCoster. West German Willi
Bauer, trailing DeCoster, went on to win
the 500cc MXGP race at Carlsbad.
Bob Grossi won a moto
and finished second
overall in a World Cup
125cc Motocross race in
St. Charles, Missouri, in
August of 1973. The World
Cup was a precursor to
the FIM 125cc Motocross
Championship, which
officially launched in
1975.
