Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

would make it hard to win a championship. Despite the difficult. if not impossible schedule, Bob showed him self capable of winning on any size bike at any race, and only mechanical breakdowns prevented him from win ning one or all three National Championships. It was difficult for him to have to help teammate Brae Glover win the 125cc National Championship at the San Antonio final, when throughout the Series he had proven he was faster . And in the final 500cc National at St. Petersburg, he had to ~ sit next to his broken bike as Mat'lY >-- Smith coasted past with enough points 1-0 to claim the 500cc title. The only time ~ Hannah lost a 250cc National- was when the bike broke as well. The 1977 Trans-AMA Series might ~ have been the redemption to the whole ~ situation. Hannah battled Suzuki's Roger DeCoster week after week, but althought Bob posted more moto wins than Roger throughout the TransAMA Series. the championship went to Roger for the fourth straight year due to a perfect finishing record while Bob suffered two DNFs . The critics said the breakdowns were .Hannah's fault, that he was too hard on equipment. They wouldn't concede that the bikes weren't up to the task , or that Hannah :was racing so many events it was impossible for one mechanic to maintain his fleet of bikes and drive them across the United Sta tes each weekend to the next race. But the 1978 motocross season in America was finally Hannah's opportunity to prove himself once and for all as the best. A long winter layoff and the use, once again, of a production ' Yamaha which was no longer com - o =' c:: petitive against the newer CR·250 Hondas saw Bob pulling off a slow start in the AMA /Toyota Supercross Series . By the third race of the series . though , he was aboard a new OW-38 B works bike, and at th e Houston . Astrodome began pulling off an unprecedented 22 straight moto winning streak which carried over into the 250cc Nationals . Within no time . at all the Supercross Series and the 250cc National Championship had fallen to Hurricane. Along the way he turned in much criticized rides in events like the United States rounds of the 125cc and 250cc Grand Prix , the Trophee and Motocross des Nations in Europe. Each race he came close to winning, yet his enthusiasm threw caution away and he found himself involved in crashes which eventually cost him the wins. Hannah did clinch the win at the Motorcycle Olympiad, a two -day motorcycle free-for -all at Saddleback in southern California , where he emerged the overall top rider in a variety of events . Bob's most important victory came 'this past fall . in the Trans -AMA Series, where he became the first American' to ever win the series in its nine year history. Competition from the established stars like DeCoster and Lackey may have been half-hearted , but Bob deserves even more credit than is usually given him for always putting on a one-hundred percent at tempt to win every time he swings his leg over the saddle. The only thing which prevented 1978 from becoming a runaway year for Hannah was the AMA's new National Championship system , which restricted riders to just entering one displacement class . This left the 125cc and 500cc class titles up for grabs, and as it so happened, it was two other Team Yamaha riders who had something to prove in taking those Championships. Broc Glover made the '78 125cc Nationals his first earned title. though the opposition was certainly reduced with Hannah and LaPorte relegated to different classes. and early points leader Mark Barnett eliminated midway through the Series due to an injury. Rick Burgett was more than honest in his reasons for garnering the 500cc .title, which included the incentive of reduced opposition from other factory riders because of the class split and the fact his contract with Yamaha was reaching it end. Still , both Broc and Rick deserve strong credit for working for their victories, displaying incentive which could only have rubbed off from teammate Hannah . This incentive was almost like a fever burning its way int o other Yamaha riders as well. like Rex Staten, who rode hard enough to post wins in both the 500cc Nationals and the Trans·AMA Series and earn him self a permanent position with the team for the 1979 season. Nothing must have burned the ".other factory teams more than the Yamaha advertisements which began appearing towards the end of the year touting "T he onl y place you'll see a Number One plate is on a Yamaha ." The strange thing was, there were other riders who could ha ve beaten Yamaha's riders but didn't - except for moments of rare occasion . , Among these riders was Marty Tripes who was cert ainly as fast as Hannah when he 1978 500cc National MX Champ Rick Burgett and tuner Bill West. - ----• 16 . wanted to be . But the times of wanting to be were few and far between. He should have beaten Hannah for the Supercross title after pulling out a huge points lead at the beginning. but then he just sat back and watched as Bob narrowed the margin and then pulled away , with Marty hardly putting up a fight at races like Pittsburgh and New Orleans. A rider with the true desire to win wouldn't have given up a "secure" 20-second lead in a Supercross event. But if Marty was apathetic to winning, so were others. Honda's Marty Smith and Tommy Croft were shoe -ins for the 500cc National Championship and 'blew it by not trying. Marty ma-y have been scared after his Houston Supercross injury, but the same disasterous weekend hurt Jimmy Ellis and didn't prevent him from coming back to win a National and tie Tripes for the Unadilla GP win . In fact , there were so many half; hearted attempts by so many of the tOR factory riders this past year, it just might be for the better not to point out why they lost races . Instead, leave Team Yamaha as a winning examp e of what can be done when riders want to try. A pat on the back goes to Brad Lackey for his outstanding performance in the 500cc World Championships where he took second overall behind Heikki Mikkola. It was disappointing to see Brad withdraw himseff from what could have been an invincible American Motocross and Trophees des Nations team , though. due to claimed injuries, which certainly didn't prevent him from appearing to race at big money local races in California on the same dates. Nor were the implications of Brad's withdrawing from the Trans-AMA Series at Buchanan after placing second overall behind Hannah, once again claiming his injuries need to heal, fully understood until a couple of weeks later when it became known he would sign with Kawasaki for the following year . The Trans -AMA Series was the emergence of two new stars. The first was Husqvarna's Chuck Sun, ' who proved that he could handle an Open class bike with enough skill that he will certa inly be a . top contender for America in the 1979 ' 500cc World Championships. The other rider, of course, is Darrell Shultz, the rider who appeared out of nowhere in one season on the National circuit to win the final Trans-AMA race of the year aboard a Maico and become the hottest new prospect for the 1979 season. Not since Bob -Hannah appeared on the scene three years ago has there been a rider so sincere and dedicated to the sport of motocross as Shultz. Team Suzuki has signed Darrell Shultz for 1979, but it is disappointing to see them scheduling him for the 250cc Nationals against Hannah. Darrell may pull off a few wins, but in the Open class he would have a much better chance of pulling off a championship. My predictions for the coming year aren't too difficult. Bob Hannah will continue to dominate motocross in America by winning the Florida Winter-AMA Series , the Supercross Series , the 250cc Nationals and the TransAMA Series once again . His op position may even be reduced as he picks up even .m ore speed for his assault on the 500cc World Championship in 1980 . In the pickings which are left , Suzuki 's Mark Barnett m ight just pull off the 125cc National Championship from Broc Glover , while in the 500cc class you can expect to see a determined battle between Rick Burgett and Rex Staten. • . ~

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