Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

By Scon ROUSSEAU nickname Ode To Sugar Bear here aren't a whole lot of legends and mys"That's when they had [Rex] Staten, and me, and teries surrounding the career of former fac[Marty] Smith, and [Bruce] McDougal, and [Chuck] Bower tory motocross racer Billy Grossi, unless you and Tommy Croft. It was a big, young team. They made us count his nickname, "Sugar Bear," a rather work out together, play basketball together. It was fun." unusual monicker for someone involved in Grossi began his year with Honda in a big way, winthe tough-guy world that was the 70s motocross scene. ning the AMA 250cc National MX opener at Hangtown There's certainly no mystery as to how Grossi got in dominating fashion. He won the first moto after going wheel to wheel with Husqvarna's Marty Tripes, then involved in the sport. "My brother, Bob, who's six years older than me, came from behind to pass defending series champion used to race in Northern California with Brad [Lackey] Gary jones in the second mota, and battle Tripes to the and everybody," Grossi says. "My dad also was involved finish again. Grossi prevailed, going I-I for the overall in racing, so it was just kind of in the family. I had no win. Consistency kept him at the top of the points standchoice but to race." ings into the summer, but a badly broken leg suffered in Cutting his teeth at places such as Hangtown, White a crash at the 1974 Superbowl of Motocross ended Rock [Sacramento], Watsonville, Placerville and what appeared to be a certain championship. Instead, Carnegie, Grossi raced for the fun of it, never really he finished fifth in the series. thinking that it could someday earn him a living. "I had a big points lead [in the Nationals] up until "I just kind of grew into it," he says. "When I turned then, and I probably could have just finished up the 16, I went on the road with my brother. I had a sponsor- series, a couple more races, in third or fourth place and ship through a local dealer, and Husky helped me out a still win the Championship," Grossi says. ''At the time I little bit. I hit the road and just went for it." just dealt with it. I figured I'd have another shot at it [a Grossi's desire to pin it, win it, or die trying, eventuNational title], and sure enough, the next year I did." ally got the attention of the manufacturers. He landed his Switching to both the factory Suzuki team and the first real factory ride with Kawasaki in 1973. SOOcc class, Grossi arguably hit his high-water mark dur"It wasn't like a factory ride nowadays," Grossi says. ing the 1975 season. '" had bikes and parts. At the first of the year I was actu"I think I rode fastest on the Kawasaki in 73, but as ally driving a truck for them, and then it got so that the far as the books go, 75 was probably my best year," better I did - winning some of the motos in the support Grossi says. "I won the National at Ravenna, Ohio. I beat classes - [that] before I knew it, , had a mechanic. I startLackey because he had a flat tire, but I still beat him. That ed pulling off some pretty good motos. I got second put me into the points lead, but we still had one race left behind Gary jones a couple of times in some Nationals. in New Orleans, which was The Battle of New Orleans." It all came together." And, as fate would have it, Grossi wound up losing ........... The Battle and the war. "Somebody went down in front of me on the first lap, and I hit them and went through the fence and parked my bike underneath somebody's van," Grossi recalls. "I knocked the spoiler right off the front of it. It was pretty bad." I wasn't hurt, but my bike was bent up pretty bad. I got back on it and finished the race, but I ended up fourth in the championship." Undeterred, Grossi dropped down to the 12Scc class in 1976. "I battled with Bob Hannah and Marty Smith," Grossi recalls. "I was kind of hanging in there, and I had as good a chance as anybody," Grossi says. "I remember that I went 3-3 at the U.S. Gp, and I felt pretty good about that. Then I got home, and about two days later I had an appendectomy, and that put me out for the rest of the series." Grossi soldiered on through the decade, bouncing between privateer rides and factory rides, and never quite recapturing that As a factory Suzuki pilot, Grossi just missed aut on the AMA mota mojo that he'd held in the mid-70s. SOOcc National MX Championship in 1975. "My last real factory ride was with Husky But after having a solid year with Kawasaki, Grossi in '82," Grossi says. "When that ended, I retired, but then was unexpectedly sent packing after the company electIgot a call from a friend and wound up doing a couple races ed to retain only jimmy Weinert for the 1974 season. in France. Then Igot what I thought was going to be anothGrossi found a home at Honda, along with a slew of er factory ride with Maieo in '84, but they were going bankrupt, and by the time I got there and did a couple other young lions. Os. even if h' motocross '~ syrupy Suggested oth erw'se. T 78 DECEMBER 7, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS races, it all dissolved. That was basically it for me." After a long layoff, Grossi got sucked into racing AHRMA Vintage motocross just after the turn of the millennium. It was a lot of fun until a crash at Sears Point in 2002 left him badly injured, and spelled the end of his racing days. "I just blew my leg up," Grossi says. "I broke it in five places, and it put me out of work for a year. Now, I just do dual-sport rides and stuff like that up here in Northern California. "I never really got to say thanks to all the people who helped me after I got hurt," Grossi adds. "I especially want to thank the Clayton Memorial Foundation, which I didn't even know existed before that. They helped out tremendously, and everybody should donate to them because they exist for us [racers]. I also want to thank all the clubs, and there were hundreds of them, who helped out during that time." A nice sentiment, to be sure, but that doesn't completely tie up the tale of Bill Grossi. Only one real question remains: In an era when the sport's top stars were adorned with rough-and-tumble nicknames, such as Hurricane and The Jammer, how on earth did Grossi get saddled with the nickname, Sugar Bear? ''Aww, we don't have to do that, do we?" Grossi groans. "Okay, I was down in Florida, doing the Florida Series with Tony DiStefano in 1975. I was in the 250 class, and he was in the 500 class; and we were winning everything in sight. So we met a couple gals, and anyway one of them named me "Sugar Bear" because I reminded her of that Sugar Crisp [cereal] bear, you know, and I could never get enough ... Well, you can take it from there." "Sugar Bear" Grossi, now 49, still lives in Santa Cruz, California, where he works as a tile setter. Happily married, he and wife jill have three children. life is good, and he still follows the sport that consumed much of his life by reading Cycle News. As for his racing days, it wasn't perfect, but Grossi wouldn't trade any of it. "My career was up and down," he says. "It wasn't your typical storybook ending, but I loved it. I loved being there, and I loved the traveling. If I had SO bucks in my pocket to get me to the next race, I was happy." eN

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