REMEMBERING MARTY SMITH
P82
Feature
And what was the worst? "Los-
ing a championship by a couple of
points. The year I won the Open-
class championship, I missed the
250cc (Championship) by just
15 points because I DNF'd the
second-to-last race in Michigan.
I would have had two National
Championships in two classes in
one year, which would've never
happened again because now
they won't let you race two class-
es. That was a depression to me
because I wanted it really bad."
While vying for American titles,
Smith also beat some of moto-
cross' best riders on the world
stage when he won the 125cc
USGP of Motocross at Mid-Ohio in
1975 and again in '76. And he even
won a GP round in Europe, in
Denmark, also in 1976. That year,
he and Honda attempted to chase
the 125cc world title, as well as the
AMA titles. Although he finished a
respectable fourth in the champi-
onship despite several mechanical
DNFs, Smith never enjoyed racing
in Europe, confessing in our 1980
interview: "I was young at the time,
and I didn't like it there. I liked be-
ing home much better." He later
said, "I got a cold reception over
there, to say the least, I didn't like
anything about Europe, so that
pretty much ended my desire to
contest the world championship
(Right) In 1974, the inaugural AMA
125cc National MX Championship,
Smith claimed the number-one plate
in the four-race series.
(Right) Smith's racing career
took a big hit when he dislocated
his hip at this race, the Houston
Supercross in 1978.
