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/1202358
CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE P118 HONDA'S SADDLEBACK SWEEP span where all three classes ran on the same day at every outdoor national. Honda and Yamaha both came close a couple of times during that first season, but in the end, no manufacturer was able to sweep any of the 11 outdoor nationals in '83. Going into 1984, Honda came out for blood with an impressive factory lineup. Johnny O'Mara headed up the 125cc effort, while Bob Hannah and Ron Lechien raced the 250s, and David Bailey and Danny "Magoo" Chandler handled the big 500cc bikes. So it was a no-brainer that Honda would be the most likely to have a shot at sweeping all three classes, but then both Chandler and Hannah suffered injuries, leaving the strong squad slightly depleted. On paper, Kawasaki also had a factory team that had the potential to sweep. Jeff Ward was on the 125, Billy Liles and Kent Howerton on 250s, and Goat Breker on the 500. Ya- maha was also stacked with Keith Bowen and Rick Johnson on 250s at Saddleback Park in the second round of the 1984 AMA Motocross Championships. The reason the feat was so remarkable is not only that it was the first time it ever happened, but the winner of each class—Ron Lechien, David Bailey and Johnny O'Mara—each had to battle strong opposition and over- come obstacles to nail down the Honda sweep. The very first "triple" national happened in 1974 at Hangtown. It was the first year of the 125cc class, and the new series got a big launch running alongside the established 250 and 500cc nationals. Honda's Marty Smith won that series debut AMA 125 Motocross National, and Bill Grossi, also Honda mounted, won the 250cc division. Honda didn't have a 500cc class entry, so a sweep was not possible. Fast forward nine years to 1983, the start of that golden three-year Honda is the only manufacturer to win three AMA National Motocross classes in a single day. I n the era of three AMA Pro Moto- cross classes (125cc, 250cc and 500cc), the odds of a single manu- facturer sweeping all three classes were pretty low. First off, except for a one-off race in 1974 (Hang- town) that hosted all three classes, there were only three seasons where all three ran together in the same weekend at AMA Motocross Nationals:1983, '84 and '85. All told there were 32 outdoor national weekends in the history of AMA Motocross that hosted all three. Only three times in history did a single manufacturer sweep all three classes, and Honda was the only maker ever to accomplish the feat. The very first time a sweep happened was perhaps the most impressive. That first sweep came Ron Lechien leads Ricky Johnson at Saddleback in 1984 when all three classes (125cc, 250cc and 500cc) ran on the same day. PHOTO: MITCH FRIEDMAN