Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The wlnnersl Johnny O'M. ., Denny laPorte, Chuck Sun end Donnie He,..n in Biels1ein's winner's circle. Motocross (I Tr~heedes Nations review They came, they saw, they conquered By Larry Maiers U.S. efron was doomed before it The United States had not participated in the prestigious Motocross and Trophee des Nations races for the past two years. Teams had been entered, but at the last minute with- Tnned practice on the Lammel track raised a few eyes and had many checking their watches. The Americans were running as fast as the Europeans. What's more, they stayed on two wheels and even had the audacity to pass the European stan. "That's just practice," the Europeans said. "It means nothing. The Americans are burning themselves out while our riden are concentrating on gearing, jetting and learning the track." "That's funny," replied Sun. "I thought that's what I was doing." Next were the qualifien. Two 20· minute plus two lap motos to determine which 7 of I!I countries would join Belgium, the reigning champions, in the fmal event. Two riden from each team participated in eacb of the qualifien. The best three scores of the four riden would count. A flTSt place finish was wonh one point, a second place finish, two poinu and on and on. Sun and Hansen were in the first qualifier and when the gate dropped, it was Sun and Hansen fint in the comer. The two Americans stunned the crowd by holding first and second for !I/4 of the race. Van Mierlo, a sand specialist from Holland, pressured Hansen. and Hansen let him by. Sun held the lead and went on to win the opening qualifier by a wide margin, with Hansen holding third. In the second qualifier, Luxembourg's J. Marten grabbed the holeshot and won the moto going away. O'Mara ended up second and LaPone worked through traffic to founh. I watched the qualifien with a friend from Fmland. He explained to me that the American team had not drawn. Money, equipment. and conflicting schedules were the . . reasons· gIVen by the sponsonng factories. They were legitimate 14 reasons when you consider that invest· menu by corporations demand returns ... returns that were not apparent when these evenu were brought to note. Dick Miller, editor of Motocross Action magazine looked beyond financial returns. It was his feeling that the mega· buck factory teams owed the American public an obligation. An obligation to participate, win, and establish the U.S. as a true motocross power in the eyes of the motocross world. Dick used his magazine to voice his opinion and gain public suppon. He's not always right, but this time he was. He doesn't always win, but this time he did. He bullied, cajoled and threatened riden, factories, officials, friends, and fans. And when he was done, the U.S. had a team and financial suppon. His mission was accomplished. It was then left up to the riden .. Chuck Sun, Dan LaPone, Donnie Hansen and Johnny O'Mara. They would go to Lammel, Belgium to ride 2!>Occ bikes in the Trophee des Nations. The following week they would travel to Bielstein, Germany to ride Open class bikes in the Motocross des Nations. The Americaa team t the U.S. began. sur:oun~ by controversy. They arnved m Europe tbe same way. Tbey were thought by the Europeans to be a second rate team becaUJe their numbers did not include Glover, Hannah. Howenon or Barnett. The Europeans read our magazines and these are the names they see most often. They fabely assumed that beyond these often mentioned riden thett was Dothing. They considered our team a token efron, and said so. High ranking FlM officials were embarrassed JOT us. The event promoter in Belginm said we were a joke. The European £ans said, "Where's Hannah, whett's Howenon? Who are you guys?" No one was impressed that Chuck Sun and Dan LaPone were former U.S. National Champions. They ig· nored the fact that in 1981, in only his second year as a factory rider, Hansen gave Hannah and Howenon all they could handle and finished third in the U.S. l!SOcc National MX Series. They forgot that Johnny O'Mara had won the 1980 U.S. 1l!!>cc GP and has so much raw talent that many are betting he'll be the world's next motocross supenrar. 1 couldn't help but smile when I listened to our riders discuss the Lammel track with the Europeans. "No, I've never seen sand like this ... No, thett is nothing in the States to compare .. . Yes, it's very difficult to learn." The Europeans were satisfied. Their -Pcio- were confirmed. The necessarily won. "Qualifying is not to go fast, it's team strategy aimed at putting your riden into Sunday's main event. No European was trying hard. The Americans obviously were going as fast as they could, and it was a mistake. Tomorrow you'll see," he said. And that seemed to be the opinion of most of the "experts." They begrudgingly admitted American riden were fast, but added that practice and qualifien were a long way from a race. There was no one from the European contingent that believed the American riden could handle the sand for a full 40 minutes. When the gate dropped for the fint moto, it was all red, white and blue. And when the checkered flag was thrown, it was still red, white and blue. Instead of fading, the American riders grew stronger. The Europeans were the ones that faded. The great motocross teams from Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland .. the teams that were expected to fight for the win .. were not even close. In fact, if all the European riders were combined, the U.S. still would have won. As it was, the U.S. came out on top with 20 points. The defending cham· pions from Belgium were second with !l7, Holland was third with 52, and Luxembourg founh with n. Andre Vromans, a Grand Prix rider from Belgium, put on a sand riding demonstration that took him to victory in both matos. O'Mara and LaPone each took a second and third. Hansen was fourth in the first moto and eleventh in moto two. Sun finished 8· 6. Only the best six scores are counted, so Sun's eighth and Hansen's eleventh were thrown out. Add the remaining moto fmishes and it totals 20. The American piu were full of handshakes. hugs, congratulations and even damp eyes. John Penton, many times an ISDT rider, and many more times a sponsor, summed it up: "I've chased arrows and riders all over Europe trying to win a World Championship, but never succeeded. Being here today and watching you win has satisfied my dream. I can't describe how happy I am." The feeling was fantastic. We were all full of pride and happiness beyond description. It was made' sweeter by the fact our team was given no chance, and in fact it was doubtful they would even qualify. Had the Europeans accepted the American team as equals, or even shown a small measure of respect for their abilities, the victory would not have been as sweet. I don't recall exactly how long the win was savored before someone said, "Hey! We are the only team that can win them both. Wouldn't that be neat? World Champions in both the Motocross and Trophee des Nations." O'Mara said, "I'm jazzed! We can do it." No one argued, least of all the Europeans. But BieIstein, Germany would be a different situation. O'Mara had never ridden a big bore bike, and after a career of 125's and only a few rides on 2!>O's, that could present a problem. Practice for the Open class event took place in a cow pasture that was rough and full of big brown pies. "This dirt smells funny," Hansen said as he wiped his face. "It's slippery, too," LaPorte said as he cleaned his tires. But the classic belonged to O'Mara and it went like this: O'Mara's fint practice session lasted only three laps. "I can't ride this thing. The front end is either up in the air or the rear end.is trying to pass me!" Paul Turner, O'Mara's mechanic, laid a couple of wrenches on the bike, conferred with the other mechanics, did absolutely nothing and told O'Mara, "Try it now. I think it's better." And that's the way

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