VOLUME 59 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 8, 2022 P105
stupid, I should have just hung
back and let them tire out."
I should add that during our
entire interview Hannah failed to
remember that Jeff Stanton won
both motos that day at South-
wick. His recollection was that
Lechien won the first and that
once he got by Jeff Ward in the
second moto, he was chasing
Lechien for the lead and the
overall. While his memory of the
second moto chasing leader Le-
chien was correct (Stanton made
a late come-from-behind charge
to win that moto), Hannah had
completely forgotten that Stanton
won the first moto. I interjected
mentioning Stanton and Hannah
paused for a second and said,
"No, I don't think Stanton was up
there that day." After texting him
the coverage of the race he re-
plied, "That's why you guys write
that stuff down, because us old
guys can't remember shit!"
Fading memories notwith-
standing, Hannah was always a
great rough-track rider, and they
didn't come any rougher than the
sandy loam that is Southwick.
Even though he was supremely
confident about his chances in
Moto-X 338's sandbox, he'd ac-
tually scored just one national vic-
tory at the track and that was way
back in '78, in the 250cc class.
But he was solid there through-
out his career, nailing down
podium finishes again in '81 and
his final full season of '87, finish-
ing runner up to Kent Howerton
and Rick Johnson, respectively,
in the motos.
Fans flooded to Southwick that
day to see off Hannah. Technical-
ly, this wouldn't be his final race,
he ran the USGP at Unadilla a
couple of weeks later, but most
fans knew this would be their
final chance to see the Hurricane
at The Wick.
In moto one, it was Ward blast-
ing off to an early lead on his
Kawasaki with Stanton, Danny
Storbeck, Lechien and John
Dowd giving chase. Hannah put
himself in a hole with a poor start,
but he made up for it by being the
fastest rider on the track, in spite
of doing it in heavy traffic as he
made his way up to the leaders.
Six laps into the moto, Hannah
moved all the way up to fifth but
then his charge hit a snag in the
form of local hero Dowd. Try as
A couple of weeks after his strong
showing at Southwick, Hannah got
a hero's send-off at the USGP at
Unadilla. Hannah said he knew he
was in trouble when he arrived at
Unadilla and the track had been
graded smooth. Here he is greeted
by Yamaha's Keith McCarty, who
was closely tied to Hannah's stellar
career. PHOTO: NATE RAUBA
His testing
contract with
Suzuki allowed
Hannah to race
select events.
Here, he's shown
talking with
Maryanne Rawson
and Team Green's
Erick Poston at
the 1989 Winter-
Am in Florida.
PHOTO: ADAIR/SPORTS
PHOTOGRAPHY
