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/126293
Ian Hahn By Mike and Anne Adair Tony DiStefano won the 1977 250cc National Motocross title against formidable opposition, his works Suzuki performing flawlessly. The man behind his bike's reliability is Suzuki Racing Team mechanic Alan Hahn. The soft spoken. easy go ing Hahn look s more like he cou ld start at linebacker for th e Rams th an dissect a sophisticated motorcycle engine . The b lond haired well built bachelor has become a popu lar member of the racin g frat ernity on th e pro motocross circuit. Alan loves the circuit and the ob vious advantages of being part of a successful team . He cit es every race as a new experience and says he learns something at each . His experiences with new people and new places are irreplaceable . but as he points out. traveling constantly does have its drawbacks. La ck of proper food and regular rest are at the top of his complaint list. Alan has learned proper Meticulous attention t o detail is a key part of t he A lan Hahn me thod of race machinery preparation. 12 die t from T on y and wor ks ou t regula rly to stay in sh a pe . Distant ra ces ofte n requ ir e the Suzu ki Team tru ck to cross th e co u ntry between events . and co up led with the usual three days of bike preparation. there is sca nt time for rest. He cites lack of pa tience with others as his personal sho rtcoming and his pet peeves a re people who la ck organization in their work a nd bo rrow too ls. chain lu be . etc. Ala n was first exposed to motorcycles on th e fa mily's dairy farm near St. Charles. Michigan. His athletic prowess netted him a full football schol a rshi p as ta ckle and guard at two. yea r Northwood In stitute . Alan majored in "girls." so when Michigan St at e tried to enroll him for further gridiron hostilities his English grades held him back. After returning home . he started an apprentice program with Iron Works Loca l 25 in Detroit. but when Uncle Sam mailed him an Army ent ry blank he quickly joined the Navy . As a result of personal effort he was assigned to his preference, a Seabee Battalion. He spent two tours in Vietnam bu ilding combat fa cilities under less than desirable working con d itions. Aft er his stateside rea ssignment in Norfolk. Virginia . he campaigned a vin tage DT-I Yamaha. developing an ea rly reputat ion for winning with a well maintained bike. In one season he ra ced 22 straight events without a mechanical failure. After mustering out he watched th e Honda Hills' Trans-AMA and set a personal goal to ride the famed seri es one day. Back in Michigan he found jobs scarce but secured a wrench job with th e local Yamaha shop. riding weekends to advance his racing career and recalls that he never lost a ra ce at one local track. He and a buddy bought out the shop ' and after only a month . the building lea se was violated and our guys were out in th e street. Alan moved the tools to his home garage and went back to iron work but his reputation for th oroughness became well known as he set -up area race bikes. With help from American J awa he campaigned a CZ in as many qualifiers as he could drive to and in 1974 he earned National # 93 and a shot at the Trans-AMA Series. Just when finances looked hopeless. Jim and Imogene Stapleton pitched in and Alan and you ng Mark Stapleton joined forces for the series. Alan met Tony and the Suzuki team during th e series and began to learn team techniques . During th e final 1975 event at Saddleba ck he was centerpunched by a flying rock and after painfully finishing th e raCe he was taken to the emergency room . sha red by Maico rider J im W est. T h e doctor told Alan of Jim's death and thi s event cha nged th e co urse of Alan's career. During th e off-season he was en couraged by AMA Referee Chuck MeCall and his wife . Deni se . to pursue a ca reer as a mechani c. Tragedy struck prior to th e first 1976 Florida WinterAMA race when his close friend Mark Stapleton was asphyx iat ed while slee ping in his van . Alan stayed with th e fa m ily and traveled to J acksonville for a moving memoria l ceremony at th e first race. While in Florid a. Gary Chaplin offered a wrench job and Alan rejoined the circ u it with Gary at the Gainesville ra ce . Alan sti ll rem embers Eve Chaplin's fin e h om e cook ed meals in th eir Winnebag o. With Alan tuning. Gary's Suzuk i was stay ing together and he sta rt ed th e 1976 Supercross Series "ho t" goi ng in to th e Los Angeles Coliseum event. Chaplin an d Hahn had agreed that if a fac tory job was offered . Ala n would be free to acc ep t. A member of team Suzuki asked Alan to travel to Ca lifornia fo r a job in terview a nd Ala n worked la te to co mplete Gary's bike before his depart u re . He rejoined Gary at Phoenix with the news th a t he would sta rt work wit h Suzuki. tun ing for Da nn y La Por te th e followi ng race. Da nn y had a su per 125cc N a tiona l sea son . finishing seco nd to Bob Hannah with overall wins in th e fina l two races and a seco nd place Support cla ss fin ish in th e T ra ns-AMA Series. Tony DiStefano asked Hahn to wrench for him during the 1977 Season and through the Florida W inter-AMA Seri es th e pair learned to wor k well together. According to Alan. Tony Knows the motorcycle inside and out and is a stickler for detail. Alan's respect for Tony's determination is boundless and he has learned much from T on y's self discipline as he defended his 250cc National title vigorously . his machine purring through every moto for a record third consecu tive National Championship . •