Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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a jump in an off-weekend race in Selma, Alabama. It hyperextended and severely dislocated his left knee and kept him out of competition for seven months. Runyard came back and finished sixth in the 1972 AMA 250 Motocross Championship with Mon- tesa, but come fall and the Trans-Am, he moved to CZ, where he was the third-ranked American in the Trans-Am and was eighth-ranked in the AMA 500cc Motocross Cham- pionship. That led to his year with Suzuki in 1973, where he finished runner-up to Karsmakers in the 500cc Championships. Runyard remembers he was making the princely sum of $350 per week (the equivalent of about $75,000 per year in today's dollars) with Suzuki. In 1974, Runyard continued with Suzuki and had some strong results. He was fourth overall and the top scoring American at the Trans-Am in Livermore in November of that year, but Runyard's luck was about to take a turn for the worse. "I was let go by Suzuki in De- cember of 1974 and I purchased a 360 Husqvarna a month later and started the 1975 season from scratch as a privateer in the Florida Winter Series," Runyard recalled. "Here I was used to staying home and training, flying to the races and having mechan- ics take care of my bikes, and suddenly I was making no salary and doing everything myself. I was recently married with a ready-made family, so it was a big shock. I scored a couple of podium finishes, then had my motorcycle stolen. I'd lost everything. I called and begged for a ride from Can-Am and got a factory ride with them starting at Daytona in March of '75." With Can-Am, he fin- ished sixth in the 250 Na- tionals. Can-Am wanted him to race in the Canadi- an Motocross Series. He finished second in 1975 and won the Canadian National title in 1976. That was his final full season in racing. Fellow racer Peter Lampuu got Runyard involved in movie work in Hollywood. At first he was on the construction crews, but eventually he became a well-respected stunt man. "I feel fortunate to have been involved in moto- cross during its formative years," Runyard says. "Everything was so fresh, and the sport just grew so rapidly. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen in motorcycling. And getting to race against the world's best and sometimes giving them a run for their money was a memory that I'll always cherish." CN This Archives edition is reprinted from the October 31, 2007, issue of Cycle News. CN has hundreds of past Archives editions in our files, too many destined to be archives themselves. So, to prevent that from happening, in the future, we will be revisiting past Archives articles while still planning to keep fresh ones coming down the road. -Editor CN III ARCHIVES P122 Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives for a ride from Can-Am and got a factory ride with them starting at Daytona in March of '75." ished sixth in the 250 Na tionals. Can-Am wanted him to race in the Canadi an Motocross Series. He finished second in 1975 and won the Canadian National title in 1976. That was his final full season in racing. Lampuu got Runyard involved in movie work in Hollywood. At first he was on the construction crews, but eventually he became a well-respected stunt man. been involved in moto cross during its formative years," Second-place Runyard was the top American-born racer in the 1973 AMA 500cc National Motocross Championship. Dutchman Pierre Karsmakers, racing with an American license, won the championship. There is debate as to who really won the title.