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/126494
o 00 0') ...-4 (Left) O'Mara does the majority of work on his practice 'bike. (Rightl Working out at Nautilus is a key pan of the training program he does each week. By Mark Kariya Rodney Dangerfield made the line "I don't get no respect" famous. Before his unexpected win at Mid-Ohio's 125cc USGP, John O'Mara probably felt the same way, though it didn't'reall¥ bother him. He went into that race a darkhorse at best behind American 125cc stars Mark Barnett, Broc Glover, Jeff Ward and the Continental force from Europe like Harry Everts, Gaston Rahier and Marc Velkeneers. In fact, in this his first year on the National motocross circuit, O'Mara was probably best known, or at least most conspicuous for the slick epoxywhite bike he rode with matching white leathers that were worn outside his boots. In a sea of muddy yellow, red and green bikes, the "white knight" look plainly stood out causing many to ask, "Who's that?" and "What's he riding?" Mter overcoming the power-consuming, energy-draining slop and the opposition to card 1-3 finishes for the people knew just a bit more. Number 101 (or 26, on that particular day) was John O'Mara from southern California and he rode a Mugen which was basically a Honda. Win, Right and wrong. The ,only parts on his Mugen that Honda manufactured are the crank, tranny, most of the cases a'nd the hubs. The majority of the engine, frame and other pans are produced by Mugen Co., Ltd. in Saitama, Japan. O'Mara, or Johnny 0', lives with his parents and younger sister in Van Nuys, CA, north of Los Angeles in the sptawling San Fernando Valley. He is soft spoken and with his longish blond hair and small mustache, could be your stereotypical basic, laid back southern California su~fer type.. Now 19 years old, he got his start on two wheels out in the desert where his father raced. Just six,-John says, ''I'd just ride around the pit and camp and stuff. I never raced desert; I always raced motocrosS." His first race was at a small cycle park that is now a housing tract. It was just a local m!>tocross and it was, predictably, forgellable. "I rode a TS90 Suzuki and of course I got last. I got lapped by all those guys there. And I was only nine, or something like that; I could barely reach the ground," he recalled. O'Mara stuck with it, though, pushed and helped by his father. Due . to his small size (today he stands 5'8" tall and isa strong f40 Ibs.), his results were far short of spectacular, but he was learning and gelling better slowly. In 1976, John earned the number one 100cc Expert plate in American Motocross Enterprises, a SoCal club, competition_ After that, he moved to 125cc Intennediate on a Suzuki. He won his first Intennediate race and most afterwards, then about two months later, was moved up to the Pro ranks. Racing was gradually becoming a bigger and bigger part of his life. "It was just my goal (to become a full-time motocrosser), even when I was 12 years old. I used to look at all the big name guys and go, 'I want to be like that.' That's what I always wanted to do. "I've ~ever had a job in,my life," he. stated, before stopping short and adding, "I was a paper boy and that was like the only thing. "When I turned Pro, I just went at it and I was doing'good.right off. A lot of people said, 'Yeah, you could be good,' so I Mas always feeling good about that." However, O'Mara felt that school was taking away from practice time . More and more, he'd find himself in class thinking he' should be riding. Realizing that finishing school was also important, John took the high school proficiency test, passed and got out a year and a half early. At first,. his parents naturally wanted him to get a regular job and support himself that way with racing being possibly a way to augment his earnings as well as being something he enjoyed doing. 9