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P106 ues as pretty much the same formula today, 43 years later. There were always matters to resolve between promoters and the riders. "We heard a lot of complaints early on about our tracks. Many of the European riders would tell me I didn't know what I was doing. Roger DeCoster would complain, but he was polite and helpful. Gerrit Wolsink was, let's just say, not so nice. I listened because I re- ally didn't know any better." "Eventually, I wound up being appointed to the FIM jury, which meant that I would go to Europe for races three or four times a year. And when I got over there, I found out that our tracks were just as good, if not better than what they had. There were some pretty dangerous courses in Eu- rope. There were trees that were way too close to the tracks, no protective hay bales and so on." Though he would spend a lot of time around the riders, Di- Prete tried to maintain a profes- sional distance. "I knew I would have to make difficult decisions," he says, "and that can get kind of messy." When asked about riders, like Jimmy "The Jammer" Weinert, a fellow East Coaster, DiPrete pauses. "Hmmm," and there is a pause that lets you know you're not going to get the full story. "What do I say about Weinert," he continues. "Well, he was always on me about money, always thought the riders should be making more money! "And I liked Bob Hannah. He was cocky, sure, but he always did what he said he was going to do." But it was on a hot, summer day in 1977 in San Antonio, Texas, that even Bob "Hurri- cane" Hannah had to do what someone else told him to do. The setting was the final 125cc National of the season. It's an oft-told tale, but to summarize, Bob was ordered by his mechan- ic Keith McCarty to back off late in the second moto and allow Yamaha teammate Broc Glover to pass him and take the race victory. The infamous pit board message, with 2/3 of its fateful message misspelled ("Let Brock Bye") was shown to Hannah, who then surrendered his lead. The move helped Glover earn the extra championship points he needed in order for Yamaha to defeat Suzuki rider Danny La- Porte for the AMA's 1977 125cc National Championship. "I came to San Antonio that day, because we were concerned about what might happen," DiPrete recalls. "I spoke about it during the riders' meeting." He is surprised to learn that the incident lives in infamy (or at least on the internet) all these years later. "I carried the rule- book with me. And no rule was broken." DiPrete said Team Suzuki took no action and that there was no official protest from anyone. "And besides," he adds, "what could I have done? If I would've disqualified Hannah, it would have likely resulted in a lawsuit. I had no reservations, and I don't regret it." Then, after a short pause and with some hesitancy, he offers his own perspective. "Person- ally," he says quietly, "I didn't think it was right for them [Team Yamaha] to do it. And I know Hannah didn't like it, either." There would be plenty of other controversial issues to keep Di- Prete at the center of the storm. He battled early Supercross promoter Mike Goodwin on many issues, though he sees today that Goodwin was good for the sport. DiPrete moved from moto- cross czar to Commissioner of all AMA Racing in 1978. Eventually, the burden of travel- ing 40-45 weekends per year became too wearisome, and he moved on from the AMA in 1983. He partnered briefly with PACE management to promote his own events, but left motorsports behind in the '80s. He ran an irrigation business for 25 years, then opened a small bakery/ cafe with his wife. Today, at 85, he lives in a wooded area in Richmond, Rhode Island. When his neuropathy isn't giving him fits, he likes to play golf. He will occasionally watch motorcycle racing on television. "I was involved in the sport dur- ing an important time of develop- ment," he said. "I'm thankful to have been a part of it." CN CN III ARCHIVES Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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