Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1193082
BY LARRY LAWRENCE P180 his passing may have ultimately triggered the end motorcycle competition on America's Mountain. Dunne was a four- time winner and the first Pikes Peak motorcycle racer to break the 10-minute barrier. He was on track to win this year's race when he crashed near the finish. It now appears that Cycle News Road Test Editor Rennie Scay- sbrook's 9:44.963-record set this year will stand forever. 7. It was a sad day in May when we learned of the pass- ing of Gene Romero, one of the great legends of American racing. The 1970 AMA Grand Na- tional Champion and winner of the 1975 Daytona 200, Romero won 12 AMA nationals during his 16-year racing career. He was one of the first to bring sponsor- ship into the sport from outside the motorcycling industry. In 1970, Romero won the presti- gious AMA Most Popular Rider of the Year Award. 6. The feel-good story of 2019 undoubtedly was three-time 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix World Champion Wayne Rainey riding a motorcycle again for the first time since his crash at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix that left him paralyzed. Already an all-time hero to most American racing fans, Rainey continues to be one of the most important figures in our sport with his lead- ership of MotoAmerica. Seeing him have fun on a motorcycle again brought a much-needed smile to all of us. 5. After a terrible 2019 with Honda, MotoGP pundits and fans wondered fairly early in the year if Jorge Lorenzo would keep his factory seat for 2020, but things continued so badly that it wasn't a complete sur- prise when Lorenzo instead announced his retirement at the end of the season. Shock or not, the series lost a five-time world champion and one of the all-time elites; it was one of the most significant stories MotoGP witnessed in recent years. 4. This was the year Harley- Davidson released its first electric motorcycle. Dubbed the LiveWire, the machine is viewed simultaneously as the wave of the future and a potential down- fall for Harley. It's safe to say no motorcycle has generated such strong views in the history of the Motor Company. While not a racing-related story, the LiveWire (along with the 2019 launch of MotoE) may indeed point to the inevitable future of the sport. 3. We already knew Marc Marquez was a generational talent, but the factory Honda rid- er's 2019 MotoGP season was simply superlative. Coming back from shoulder surgery Marquez scored 12 wins, earned 18 po- dium finishes and 10 poles! He ended the year with 420 points. Second place Andrea Dovizioso had 269. Marquez clinched the MotoGP World Championship with four rounds remaining! He continues to amaze, not even mentioning his nearly weekly spectacular saves. If you haven't already, go and watch him race next season, just so you can tell your grandkids someday. 2. By the time Cooper Webb won the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship it didn't seem all that surprising. The Red Bull KTM rider did, after all, win a series-leading seven rounds, but going into 2019 most experts and fans viewed him as a longshot. Think about it, Webb hadn't even won a 450cc-supercross main event coming into the season. Webb became the 22nd rider to win the AMA Supercross title in the 46-year history of the series. 1. It was 91 years into the his- tory of the International Six Days Enduro before the USA won its first, fortunately we didn't have to wait that long to win again. This year in Portugal, Team USA won its second FIM ISDE World Trophy just three years after winning its first. Riders for the team were Steward Baylor, Taylor Robert, Kailub Russell and Ryan Sipes (who amaz- ingly also won an AFT Singles National, scored a Supercross top 10 and won a major hillclimb event). Russell and Robert were also members of the winning squad from 2016. As a bonus, Tarah Gieger, Brandy Richards and Becca Sheets also won the Women's Trophy for America. While America's dominance of motocross may be waning, our off-road racers appear to be on the ascendancy. CN CN III ARCHIVES