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/127668
Factory Yamaha mechanic Brian Lunniss • • tnnatsantt going to ha ve to wait...a nd se e what happens: " Wrenching on the"motocross .circuit is a fast-paced life. Driving box vans at fast speeds, eating fast food arid sp inning wrenches on fast bikes ridden by fresh-faced teenagers who love to go fast on mo torcycles. In professional m o tocross, rid ers last fo r a while; mechanics, usually, just a little wh ile longer. Lunniss has been the exception. For nearly a quarter of a century, he has been torquing head bolts, tuning suspensions and changing tires ("the worst part of the job," he says) for some of the biggest names in mot ocross. He ha s worked for three of th e four ma jor Japanese factories, and his riders have captured titles in 2S0cc, SOOcc and Supercross competit ion. And he isn' t finished yet. "I have friends in NASCAR and Indy car racing who are pu shing 60. I want to keep on going as long as I can." Lunniss was once a racer himself, a factory pilot for the snowmobile manu(Left) Brian Lunniss Is currently paired with Team Yamaha's newest recruit, Michael Craig . (Below) Lunn iss enjoyed most of his success wh ile wrenching for Rick Joh nson at Team Honda. Here, he consuhs with Johnson at the 1987 M"otocross des Nations, at Unadilla. By Kent Taylor Photos by Kinney Jones 28 he re was an element of ne ar-tragic iro ny in th e event tha t was unfo lding before Brian Lunniss' eyes on tha t su mmer da y, 12 yea rs ago in Germ an y. Lunniss was a member of a pow erful Team Honda, working as a mechanic for Donnie Hansen, who was fresh from clinching the duo's first-ever AMA Natio nal Ch am p io nship . The American Honda team was in Europe, preparin g to protect the early days of America's now long-standing stranglehold on th e cove ted Motocross des Nations crown. On a motocross bike, Donnie Hansen was smooth and always in contro l. The late '70s feet-off-the-pegs riding mode introduced by Bob Hannah had left its mark on motocross; Hansen was one of the first to take that speed and refine it, executing it wit h style. If Hannah was rough and raw like Janis Joplin, then Hansen was stylish and fluid like Melissa Eth erid ge. The intense feeling was still there and still very real, but it was smoothed out, finely-tune d and mo re relaxing to take in. But on this day at a German practice track, located within earshot of the Autobahn howl of BMWs and Porsches, the only feeling was one of fear. Hansen had crashed while dicing with Honda teammate Danny "Magoo" Chandler and his landing was hard, driving him headfirst into the ground. The impact had crushed the padd ing insi de Hansen's helmet, resulting in instant brain d am age. Lunn iss ran to fi nd Hansen on the gro und, first twitching, then shaking and finally convulsing, by now very much ou t of con trol of even his own bod y. Lunn iss quickly thrust a rag into his rid er's mouth to preven t him from biting off his own tongue, and rushed hi m to a hosp ital, where he struggled to communicate with Germa n doctors about what had happened to his rider, to his friend. Hansen soon lapsed into a coma, where he wou ld remain for several weeks . Though he woul d recover, Hansen would never again compete in professional motocross. In 24 years on the motocross circuit, Lunniss has seen a lot... perhaps a lot more tha n he has wanted to: successes and fail ures; victories and violent getoffs; championship trophies and chilling moments when the dark side of motorsports rears its ugly head , as the battle moves from the race track to the emergenc y room and the fight is nol onger for the overall win, but for itself. "I' ve had to make a lot of calls to family members over the yea rs," says Lunniss today, lean , even wi ry at age 43. "Sometimes, I can tell them, 'He's crashed, bu t he's gonna be o kay.' Sometimes, it's, 'He's crashed and...we have to talk to the doctor. We're jus t life