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III ARCHIVES
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John Hateley FIVE
BY SCOTT ROUSSEAU
John Hateley (right) won the Houston TT and Kenny Roberts (left) won the
Houston Short Track the next day at the Astrodome in 1972.
I
t might be hard to believe that
popular Southern California-
based AMA Grand National
campaigner John Hateley only
won two AMA Grand National
races during his career. It might be
harder to believe that neither was
at Ascot Park, but rather both were
at the Houston Astrodome TT.
And when someone tells you
that Hateley's wins came five
years—to the day—apart, that's
really asking the stars to align.
But that's just what happened on
January 28, 1972, and '77.
Hateley is honored to be one
of a handful of riders to win at
Houston more than once, and he
remembers that it was a special
place to everyone who ever
raced there.
"Houston, in a nutshell, was
the opening race of the year,"
Hateley said. "Daytona was
in March, but Houston was in
February. The TT was always on
Friday night and the Short Track