Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Runner-up Pat Richter chases 19n Hangtown 125cc winner Danny laPorte. Crowds like this are found at nearly every point on the 1.4-mile track, Hang town, d a classic 10 years in the making By Bill Medlock The Hangtown Classic MX started as a dream by a handfulof men; it has developed into one of the most prestigious, fun events the American Motorcyclist Association offers each season. Hangtown has come a long way to become a recognized and qualified success in the world of spectator motorcycling. And . 18 success being what it is, the 10th annual Hangtown Classic is a time for a bit of reflection by some of the people who for the past 10 years have poured grit and countless working hours into making the event into what it is today - one-of -a -kind , Back in 1969, a-group of about 15 individuals who called themselves the Dirt Diggers North Motorcycle Club came up with an idea to promote motorcycling and their club at the same rime r, Stage a professional motocross in the Sierra Nevada foothills . With a little coordination and effort and a lot of imagination , the Dirt Diggers that year promoted the first annual Hangtown Classic. There wasn 't much to rave about after its debut. The local press had devoted a few buried but informative paragraphs to signal its advance , passers-by on race day figured that "those crazy bike racers are at it again ," and , generally, Hangtown #1 was thought of afterwards as a lowkey , fun outing into the beautiful hills surrounding historic Plymouth , There were a few notes of interest from the '69 race, however. Gary Bailey emerged as the final day 's Open class winner, Bob Grossi captured the 250cc titl e and Larry Mulock won out over a fairly talented 125cc field , Sportsman Day even had its highlight : A skinny teenager from Pinole by the name of Brad Lackey made his way to the winner's circle after ex hibi ting h is superiority over a group of Open Novice competitors. . "T hose were the days, " recalled Dirt Diggers North president Don Fisher, a charter member and one of the originators of the Hangtown tradition . " O ne weekend's worth of preparation and we were ready for the race , It was so sim ple. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially the riders." When you call something the "first annual ," yo~ are naturally expected to follow through and produce an even bigger event the following yea r , and so it went with Hangtown . The word must have sp read after the first Hangtown race - the 1970 crowd doubled to 2,000 and the rider's purse hit the four digit mark at $1 ,000 . Bob Grossi dethroned Bailey as the Open champ in 1970 wh ile Hans Hanson and Lars Larsson were the respective winners in the 250cc and 125cc classes. The third annual Hangtown Classic offered a $1 ,500 purse a nd over 5 ,000 spectators attended , a mark ed improvement, but it wasn 't until th e following year, 1972, that the dramatic significance of Hangtown finally came to the forefront as far as numbers were concerned , The '72 Classic attracted an unbelieveable 15 ,000 fans . They lounged , sunned and enjoyed, and wi messed three Professional classes battling over a then -large $5 ,000 purse. Non -fans turned their heads in interest , if not admiration , and said that something worthwhile must be going on in "them thar' hills" to cause such a ruckus and attract so many people . The media also experienced a change of heart from that point on ; what before was just machines in grease and dirt became "news" for the simple fact that 15.000 people were there and , as the old saying in journalism goes , people are news . Interviews with Pro riders on radio and television became much more commonplace and newspapers finally figured out th at cycle racing and motocross were not always synonymous. Now it 's 1978, a week before Hangtown. Plymouth and virtually all of Amador County are again gearing up for the annual weekend of fun and frenzy. Local campgrounds have been reserved weeks ahead of time by long distance travelers who had the forethought to avoid disappointment on race weekend, Plymouth itself is doing everything in its power to make Hangtown '78 a success , ordering extra supplies of everything for the landslide business that will hit within th e city limits. "W ith ou t the support and help of the people of Plymouth , nothing would be possible, " said Fisher. "The Dirt Diggers North and professional motocross owe the people there a vote of thanks." Police Chief T.J . Pl ymouth Roberson ha s his plan of attack also , already se t to bl ock off the main section of town from traffic to reduce the snarl of car behind car. Roberson expects nearly 40,000 visitors to trek to Plymouth during the two-day event and has called on neighboring counties to supply manpower if need be. ' The Dirt Diggers themselves hav e been busy for two months (in some cases longer) plotting strategy and formulating a careful plan of action. While club president Fisher looks after the total gam e plan. his lieutenants scurry around like chickens without their proverbial heads. Promotional coordinator Bruce Young has set into motion a myriad of publicity plans as well as having seen', . h . ( to Important matters suc as tickets, programs and individual rider needs; Competition chairman Bill Onga , another of the club's charter members , has been busy for weeks overseeing the draining, grading and grooming of a course that will again test the skill and warrant the admiration of the finest 125cc and 250cc professionals in the nation . The unexpected heavy rains left the lA-mile course in virtual swam p -like condition and it has taken Onga and most of the other 45 Dirt Diggers North members four straight weekends of back -breaking work to whip the course into shape in time for the first race Apr. 8. d Race day draws nearer and preparations are finally at an end, or nearly at least. Late developments and last minute details always seem to pop up: Young has just completed work on a promotion whereby Mr. PiBB and Honda will give away a brand new , 125cc cycle to a lucky fan on Pro day,' Apr. 9 ; Onga has put the fin ishing touches on the newest Hangtown innovation, the Bosch jump , where riders will fly over 50 feet through the air after hitting a high -arching mound at the end of the a long straightaway; and Fish er is working out the final details on how two other motorcycle; clubs - the Sierra Old Timers and th e Ride-On Motorcycle Club - will help the Dirt Diggers North with problems of crowd cont rol a nd course flagging ;! Once th e 10th annual Hangtow , Classic is over, it will have become / history. Fans will leave beautiful, Plymouth , talking about the winners.i losers or just -abouts. or they might even look forward to next year and) wonder what isin store for them . J, But after Sunday's final race, after the , presentations have been made ,') after the crowd has departed , after the ' clean-up effort has begun , a good number of wh ire -a nd-red -stripe shirted hard workers called Dirt Diggers will adjourn to the local tavern to congratulate each other over a beer,' all having the satisfaction of knowing that the job has been done well. •

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