Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

I ." .TIME REMEMBERED By Eric Johnson t really is surprising that 15 years after America won the 1981 Motocross and Trophee des Nations and began to dominate the inter: national motocross scene, the debate still rages on as to which racers, the Americans or the European-based GP riders, are considered the best in the world. Throughout those 15 years there have been a number of historical races, events and trends that will leave an indelible mark on the sport as we know it. The Americans and Europeans have gone to war against each other on motocross circuits allover the world and it is now, 15 years later, that these great watershed moments should be illustrated and reviewed to help put the entire, overall struggle into perspective. Read on. In 1981, a young and unassuming team consisting of Donnie Hansen, Johnny aMara, Chuck Sun and Danny LaPorte was haphazardly thrown together by American Honda motocross chief and five-time 500cc World Champion Roger DeCoster. The team was shumed onto a trans-Atlantic airliner were not your father's motocross heroes. No longer were the "Old World" iron men with names such as Everts, Noyce, Carlqvist, Malherbe and Thorpe the dominant players on the world motocross stage. . From that September day forward, no matter where they competed, the Americans would be recognized as the shining new stars of the international motocross world. This new development did not play well on th.e European continent. During the very same week of the shocking American Trophee des Nations triumph, U.S. Supercross star Mike Bell dominated the first full-scale European Supercross, which was held before 30,000 spectators in Amsterdam, Holland. Bell's conquest would set the precedent for American domination of international Supercross events that exists to this very day. The writing was now on the wall. America was about to take the sport of motocross to a higher level and nothing was going to get in their way at least not for a good, solid decade. In 1982, an American Honda team consisting of the wild, yet blazingly fast Danny Chandler, Jim Gibson, Johnny Adding to the accomplishment was the fact that in the 40-year-plus history of des Nations competition, no individual rider had ever won all four motos backto-back: For Chandler and his American comrades, it was another undisputed display of total domination. 1982 would also be remembered as the year that U.s. riders Brad Lackey and Danny LaPorte claimed the 500cc and 250cc World Championship titles respectively. For Lackey, his championship had come after 10 valiant years of effort. Upon winning the 500cc title over Belgian Andre Vromans at the dramatic, pres: sure-filled final round iT). Luxembourg, Lackey basked in glory, realizing a lifelong dream. Lackey would then go on to retire from the sport that winter. Ironically, after a season-long battle with Georges Jobe, LaPorte would win the 250cc World Championship for Yamaha in his first yeal' on the European GP tour. America was not done yet. That winter, teenage sensation Rick Johnson would show up in Tokyo, Japan, and win his first major supercross aboard a Yamaha YZ250. Johnson would go on to win the Tokyo Supercross for six more consecu- can stars. A precedent was now being set that in order to entice the glQbe-trotting Americans to show up at the glamorous international events, the promoters had to hand out start money. It was a great trade-off. The Americans made lucrative off-season money and the fans of Europe and Asia were able to watch the best riders in the world. Riders such as 1982 250cc U.S. GP Champion David Bailey, Rick Johnson, Jeff Ward, Bwc Glover and others ruled the international stadium circuit with an iron fist - and would for years to come. The 1984 Motocross and Trophee des Nations were slated to take place in the powdery sand of Scandanavia. The 500cc-based Motocross des Nations was run on a rough circuit in Finland that would prove to be extremely challenging to the American team. Represented by Rick Johnson, Jeff Ward, Johnny O'Mara and Broc Glover (who was replacing an injured David Bailey), the American team had to fend off the ferocious, victory-starved European teams to the bitter end before limping away with the victory. The U.S. team never really came to terms with the rough, energy-sapping sand and to make matters worse, Jeff 5U re and flown to Europe to compete in the 1981 Trophee des Nations, which was being held in the motocross-crazed region of Lommel, Belgium. After an absence of several years, th~ Americans were finally attending the famed international event. But all was not well. The premiere riders in America at the time Kent Howerton, Bob Hannah, Broc Glover and Mark Barnett, who were initially chosen to represent the Sates were left at home due to political and egotistical reasons. At the last minute, DeCoster stepped in, obtained financial and logistical support from Honda and contacts all over Europe, and pulled the American effort together. Little did anyone know what striking effect this "rag-tag" outfit was about to have on motocross history. The unknown Americans, styled-out in bright-white JT clothing and vivid-blue helmets, showed up in Lommel and completely decimated the European teams. Competing in shin-deep, whooped-out brown sand, LaPorte and O'Mara led the way, trading 2-3 moto scores, while Hansen and Sun rode con-sistently to claim the World Team Championship (the only rider to beat the two Californians that day was the world's then-premier sand rider, Belgian Andre Vromans). Displaying dazzling technical skills and fundamentals honed razor sharp from the ultracompetitive world of American Supercross racing, the riding technique of the American's oozed styIe and aggression never before seen on the GP circuits of Europe. Just to hammer the point home a bit more convincingly, the American team would also go on to win the 500ccbased (as the format then dictated) Motocross des Nations the very next weekend in Bilstein, West Germany. . The shocking display of riding put on by the American foursome that afternoon left the European spectators stunned and speechless. No one could believe it as shock waves were set off around the motocross world. These O'Mara and David Bailey (who was a last-minute replacement for a seriously injured Donnie Hansen - hurt during a midweek practice session just a few days after a convincing win at the Swedish 250cc Grand Prix) showed up in Switzerland to defend the U.S. Trophee des Nations title. On a baked-hard Swiss track, the American squad again took the measure of the European contingent. "Magoo" Chandler led the way, reeling off two flawless, wire-to-wire moto wins. The next weekend, the U.S team also defended American honor at the Motocross des Nations (for 500cc bikes), claiming yet another worldchampionship title. Chandler was again the star of 'the show, storming to two devastating moto wins and managing to terrify every European rider present in the process with his patented high-flying, hold-on-and-pray approach. Legend has it that Chandler was jumping so high and far on the high-speed, jumpfilled German circuit, that he was actually grazing tree branches that drooped out over the course. The promoter, fearing for Chandler's own personal safety, ordered a lumberjack out to cut down the ominous limbs. The toughest foe Chandler would have to face that day was in the form of a bee. While railing alone out front during the second moto, Chandler was stung by a cotton-candy crazed bee. Normally this would not have been too big of a concern, but Chandler had a terrible allergic reaction to the sting and was in trouble. While gasping for air and trying to keep his mind on the task at hand, Chandler suffered through the moto in agony, collapsing just a few feet beyond the finish line with the moto win (an antidote was administered immediately thereafter). It was a truly heroic effort. The determination, desire and skill that Danny Chandler displayed at both the 1982 Motocross and Trophee des Nations is to this day considered to be one of the finest individual performances in motocross history. tive years and become the darling of the Japanese fans. Danny Chandler thrilled American fans in '82 by winning the immensely popular 500cc U.S. GP at Carlsbad, California. It was Chandler's first major professional victory and would set the stage for his dramatic performance at the Motocross and Trophee des Nations later that summer. Finally, Holland's Kees van der Yen would uphold European honor in 1982 by winning the Unadilla 250cc USGP aboard a KTM. It would be the last. time a European-based rider would win the 250cc U.S. GP for over a decade. In 1983 Mark Barnett (Suzuki), Broc Glover (Yamaha), David Bailey (Honda) and Jeff Ward (Kawasaki) were chosen to compete in the annual Motocross and Trophee des Nations. For the first time since the win streak began in 1981, the American team would be represel1ted by riders· from all four manufacturers. On a dreary, wind-whipped day in Belgium, the U.S. team completely domineered the European-based teams, putting their aggressive skills to work on an incredibly rough circuit which was carved out in a wide, green pasture. The next week, the American's traveled behind the Iron Curtain to Sverepec, Slovakia (site of the 1995 Motocross des Nations - but more on that later), and again captured the 250cc-based Motocross des NationS title (the 250s ran the week after the 500s in '83). Screaming around the frighteningly fast Sverepec course in a flying formation, the Yankees were again in a league of their own. It was another year of complete domination for Team America. Following the '83 des Nations, a number of high-profile American stars were invited over to Europe and Asia to compete in the then-fledgling international supercross circuit. Cities such as Paris, France; Tokyo, Japan; Genoa, Italy; Osaka, Japan and others were now promoting highly successful supercross events where the local fans were awed and mystified by the high-flying Ameri- t t Ward had to compete that Sunday with a severe fever brought on by a nasty stomach flu. Nonetheless, the American's rode valiantly and came o.ut on top with the hard-earned win. Now it was on to Sweden for the Trophee des Nations (which would be the last time the Motocross and Trophee des Nations events would take place on separate days). The Trophee would be a different story for Team America. Ward shook off his flu during the week and the Americans, widely regarded as 250cc specialists, took to the sandy, timber-lined Swedish track with gusto. The Europeans were no match for the Americans that afternoon as Ward (who would later call the race the finest in his career) was untouchable, rocketing away to two commanding moto victories. That same winter, Bailey and O'Mara would rule the international supercross circuit, with the highlight of their tour being a dominating performance at Bercy Stadium in Paris, France. Bailey and O'Mara, with their ultrasmooth and fluid riding styles, would come to be adored by the appreciative French spectators. Another historical footnote to the '84 season was the outstanding ride put in at the Unadilla 250cc USGP by thenteenage supertalent Ron Lechien of EI Cajon, California. Lechien went head-tohead with the world's best that Sunday afternoon and came out on top as the youngest GP winner in FIM motocross history. That summer, Broc Glover won the Carlsbad, California, 500cc U.s. GP, once again slamming home American dominance. 1984 will be remembered as the year where a new trend began to develop among a few strong, yet lesssuccessful American riders. A handful of talented, yet unsatisfied U.S. racers were being approached by European GP teams to pack up their belongings and come over to Europe to race on the GP circuit. Riders such as Billy Liles, Jim Gibson and Mike Guerra would be among the first wave of modern-day American motocross exiles to emigrate

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