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/127826
VOICES
America.s weekly motorcycle newspaper
LETTERS TO
Volume XXXIV
EEDITOR
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Mann is the man
Regarding Hank Scott's letter (Voices,
Issue #3, January 22), this subject is a bit
like trying to determine who was the
best heavyweight fighter of all time. I
have been a connoisseur of dirt track
racing since 1952, the days of Billy
Huber, Bill Miller, Eddie Fisher, Paul
Goldsmith, Jimmy Philips, Johnny Gibson, AI Gunter, Sammy Tanner, Iimmy
Chann, Leon Applegate, George Heck,
Tommy McDermott, Tommy Morrison,
Walter Smith and I'm sure many others
that I've left out.
I think I would have to choose Dick
Mann as the best. Bugs could do justice
to all forms of racing. He was a miler, a
half miler, a shoIt tracker, a scrambles
rider, a road racer (having won the Daytona 200) and a IT specialist. Dick won
the Grand National Championship competing on seven different brands. As far
as I know, Dick did almost all of his
own mechanical work and on the miles
and half miles he rode a 500cc machine
against the Harleys.
I remember one instance in York,
Pennsylvania. I was strolling through
the pits when I stopped to chat with
Dick. I asked him what motorcycle he
was going to tide, noticing that he had
two in his pit area. He pointed to the
one he had just finished practicing on.
At that moment, I noticed a crack in the
frame of that particular motorcycle. I
said, "You're going to ride the one with
the cracked irame?" I pointed to the
place on the frame where it was cracked
and as I was walking away he started
welding. The point is that Dick didn't
have a factory mechanic at his beckoning - he did his own work and he did it
well.
So for my choice, I vote for Dick
Mann as the best all-around rider and
mechanic. I think it would be interesting
to see how others feel about this subject.
Larry Mohler
Fairfax, VA
It has to be the King
Hank Scott makes a good point about
lUcky Graham being the best. The one
thing he didn't mention - and I've never
heard anyone mention it - is how many
Nationals Kenny Roberts could have
won if he had been riding a Harley.
I don't think Kenny's Yamahas were
as competitive as the Harleys on the dirt
tracks in those days. We also have to
remember that Kenny left to go road
racing when he could have stayed and
continued to ride the dirt track Nationals.
John Burton
Stow,OH
Where's Homestead?
I can't believe that it has happened
again. The AMA has let another track
slip from its hands again. After going to
the trouble of having a Superbike
National in Homestead, Florida, last
year, having good results, positive feedback from all involved, it's gone.
And again it has come down to
money and politics. In the end the people who suffer are always the racers.
Great job, AMA, keep up the good
work.
Michael Lehning
.
Stuart, FL
According to the AMA, promoter Ralph
Sanchez opted not to have an AMA race in
1997. "He didn't feel the e"llent was big
enough for them to proceed with," AMA
communications manager Larry Lawrence
said. "1 think they were looking for a lot
more sponsorship. "
Jeremy and Bobby
With Jeremy McGrath moving away
from Honda, I hope he doesn't become
the Bobby Rahal of motocross.
Kevin Park
North Hollywood, CA
Nathan rules
I have been following the career of 125cc
rider Nathan Ramsey for two years and
am upset by the lack of cre