Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Superbowl .Su per bowl showdown Tripes versus Hannah By J im Gianats is "This ain't no sissy's game. We aren't playing baseball out there," quipped the Hurricane. And from that point on the American motocross scene became a battleground between two riders. For months the confrontation had been brewing, but it was at the Omaha 250cc National back in April that the first real shots were fired. The two fastest riders in the country , Bob "Hurricane" Hannah and Marty "T yp hoon" Tripes were at warl Marty claimed that Bob had forced him over a berm and into a lapped rider, causing Marty to crash just as he was about to pass Bob for the lead. Bob said he was nowhere near Marty. and even if he was, it was all part of the racing game. If Marty couldn't handle the rules, there were easier games around. But it's best to begin at the beginning, and that was back in February at the Seattle Supercross, the opening race of the 1978 AMA /Toyota Supercross Series. Bob Hannah was the defending 1977 Supercross Series Champion with Team Yamaha and the winningest rider in America for the past two years. Bob was nearly invincible, but he came into the 1978 season off his stride and unprepared to race . . "I just kicked back during the winter after the Trans-AMA Series. I went fishing and four -wheeling my pickup truck out in the desert. I never even trained or rode a bike. Other guys like Tripes were racing and training during that time. It caught me off guard." . The new Marty Tripes was a phenomenon in itself. The spoiled brat of motocross. whose only claim to fame had been the winning of the first two Superbowls of Motocross in 1972 and 1973 while riding for Yamaha and Honda. was a changed person. After six years of jumping from one factory team to another, losing a possible 250cc National Championship in the process back in 1974 when he sold out to another manufacturer just days before a sure win at th e final event for the title, Marty Tripes was finally ready to get serious, "I want to convince people that there's a new Marty Tripes. One that's serious about racing and winning, and one who will maintain a good public image of himself for him and American Honda ." And Team Honda did give Marty a second chance based on his promises at the beginning of the 1978 season. Marty didn't let them down as he placed second at the opening Seattle Supercross, Two weeks later he picked off the wins at Atlanta Stadium and Daytona International Speedway to garner a nearly invincible points lead in the AMA /Toyota Supercross Series. "H u rri ca ne" Hannah, meanwhile , had been having a terrible time of things. He found his riding coordination was off. Crashing both weeks at Seattle and Atlanta left him way out of the point standings. His production YZ250E was also having a hell of a time trying to keep up with the new works RC 250 and production CR 250R Hondas with their awesome power and over three inches more suspension travel. At Daytona , Bob showed up with his new Yamaha OW 38B works bike and was finally getting himself back in stride. placing fourth behind a Tripes-led Team Honda onslaught despite teething problems with the new machine. By th e time th e Supercross Series reached the Houston Astrodome. the - Hurricane was ready to win , storming to victory in both nights' Feature events. The next weekend at the Pontiac Silverdome Stadium it was the same story. Two nights of racing and two more wins . Making the feat even more surprising was the fact that, at one race each in Houston and Pontiac. Bob had come from last-place starts to pass Marty Tripes and take the victories in less than 20 laps in the Feature on the tight stadium courses which were classified as nearly " im possible" to pass on by the other riders. Team Honda's huge seven-rider team tried to put a halt to Hannah's onslaught. but the only result was that Marty Smith and Jimmy Ellis were sent to the hospital at Houston with injuries. then at Pontiac it was series leader Marty Tripes' turn to visit the .hosp ita l with a smashed knee from a first turn crash on Friday night. Marty returned on Saturday night to ride valiantly and garner a few points. but by the weekend's finish Bob had closed to within three points of Marty's once seemingly-uncatchable lead. After Pontiac Stadium, the Supercross Series took a temporary break while the AMA/Mr. PiBB 250cc National Championships got underway. Tripes. the only rider who seemed to be able to stay near Hannah, was forced to miss the first three races because of his knee injury. Meanwhile, Bob romped his ultra-reliable Keith McCarty-prepared Yamaha to victory week after week . By the Houston, Texas National he had broken his 12-consecutive race win streak from the 1977 season. Finally, the fourth 250cc National at Omaha saw the return of Marty to the circuit, and it was there in the first moto of the day that Marty blasted up to challenge Bob for the lead despite Marty's four-week layoff. It was in making his bid to pass Bob for the Iead that Marty crashed into a lapped rider and went down. He claimed Bob had forced him over into the other rider's line, while Bob claimed it was a lie and that Marty should change his occupation if he was afraid of getting his leathers dirty. It was then and there that war on the track was declared between the 37

• Cover