Cycle News

VOL. 55 ISSUE 49 DECEMBER 11, 2018 P97 rabilia and trophies, but also a col- lection of rare vintage motorcycles that he'd poured hundreds of hours in restoring. In spite of all this, Hunt is thank- ful. He escaped the flames. Many in his community weren't so lucky. Hunt grew up in Woodland Hills. He graduated from Canoga Park High School in 1956 and then attended Pierce Junior College. While still in high school he went to work for Bud Ekins. "I was a parts cleaner," Paul said with a grin. "I was Bud's first employee." One of Hunt's buddies during this time was Preston Petty. Hunt would later work for Petty's off-road acces- sories business. "Paul and I hung around Bud's Triumph shop doing miscellaneous assembly and repairs," Petty said. "Bud called us his house apes." Hunt began racing as a teen on a Triumph Tiger Cub. "It was the old-time scrambles and hare and hounds," Hunt said of his early racing. Hunt came close to racing fame while still in high school. "I was [on] the first 200cc motorcycle in the Big Bear [race] in '56," he says. "The only problem was I missed a check." Missing one checkpoint cost a young Paul his chance of a prestigious victory, but he would eventually earn a few. Before long Paul advanced from his Tiger Cub to racing under con- tract for Jawa. Jawa had him racing its Model 557, a 250cc, two-stroke all over the west coast and even in Arizona, promoting the brand. After serving in the Army in Germany, Hunt said Hoppy Hop- kins and Stu Peters picked him up and he went to England and began racing scrambles events there. "I ended up staying over there for three-and-a-half years." While there Hunt was one of the few Americans (along with Hopkins and Peters) racing motocross in England and the Continent. He scored several wins in British and Irish Meets and even scored a po- dium (third overall) at an International Motocross event in Cingoli, Italy. Hunt even got to race in a grand prix motocross in England, though he says he didn't do well. Hunt also twice competed in the ISDT in 1964 and 1970. He was knocked out early in both events with injury. During the mid-'60s, Hunt toured New Zealand and Australia as part of the Rothmans International Gold- leaf Motocross Series. Three inter- national riders were invited each year, and Paul placed third overall. Upon returning to the States, Hunt was one of the early pioneers of American motocross. He was one of the original organizers of the Continental Motocross Club (CMC). Maybe his biggest claim to fame was finishing second to Torsten Hallman at the prestigious Hope- town GP. Hunt was just back from Europe and was at the peak of his riding abilities. "It rained that day and I raced a lot in the rain in England," Paul remembers of Hopetown. When asked what it was like to race against Hallman, Paul quipped, "I don't know, I never saw him." All kid- ding aside, late in the race Hunt was actually catching glimpses of Hall- man up front every once in a while. He knew Torsten a bit from racing in Europe and went up to him after the race and said, "There at the end I could see you, but I couldn't catch you. Torsten looked at me and said, 'Well you know Paul, I lost third gear on the first lap.'" In 1969, Paul Hunt scored the biggest victory of his career when he won the Greenhorn Enduro on a 350cc Harley-Davidson. Throughout the 1960s and into the '70s, Hunt worked a variety of motorcycle industry jobs. Perhaps his proudest accomplishment was running Can-Am's motocross team in the mid-1970s with riders Jimmy Ellis and Mike Runyard. Ellis won the 1975 AMA Supercross Champi- onship under Hunt's leadership. Retirement saw Hunt become one of the premier classic motor- cycle restorers in the country. He also sponsored riders in vintage motocross. Hunt lost 24 vintage motorcycles in the fire. "I had a '56 Velocette Scrambler all restored, a '56 AJS Scrambler, a '54 Matchless 350 Tri- als, a '66 Matchless G85 that they only made a hundred of, a '54 BSA Goldstar completely restored." Hunt was insured, but he says he'll never get enough to replace the motorcycles he lost. Hunt hopes to rebuild, but he thinks as bad as the devastation is in Paradise, it will be at least two to three years. "I just hope I live that long," he adds with a wry snicker. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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