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/1507881
VOLUME ISSUE SEPTEMBER , P127 "But they [Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha] were trying to tell us what to do. They wanted to run the show. And it was coming from the U.S. distributors. I don't think they were telling their factories in Japan the full story." There were other issues facing AMA motocross. The still relatively young sport was experiencing growing pains. There were complaints of too many races, some of which were being run by inexpe - rienced promoters. Others were calling for motocross to consoli- date its many championship race series' and present to the public a solitary Grand National Cham - pion of Motocross, mimicking the AMA's other most prestigious series which combined dirt track and road racing points into one championship. Ironically, it was Dick Mann, a former champion of that disci - pline, who called on the AMA to resist that kind of approach. "Mann said, 'motocross was different and that it needed to grow on its own,'" says Young - blood. "He was not in favor of pushing this idea on motocross." But no compromise on these issues could be reached and in 1982, the three companies pre - sented a co-signed letter to the AMA. "They told us, 'If you don't do it the way we want, we quit.' And when companies band together to tell an organization how to run its operations, that is a violation of U.S. Federal Anti-Trust laws." The letter was delivered in late summer, which leads into the fall—which is how everything is connected to the fate of the Trans- USA series. The companies, it turned out, really weren't quitting; they were just taking their toys to a different playground. "They were under contract with us to ride the Trans-USA series," recalls Youngblood. "Instead, they took their riders and went to California for a new series called the Trans Cal." "It created tremendous ten - sion at our AMA board meetings," recalls Youngblood. "The AMA had been founded in the 1920s as a marketing tool, trying to find ways to get people to find more ways to use their motorcycles. Each of those companies still had a representative on our board during this time and now we were involved in a lawsuit." The show must go on and so the Trans-USA kicked off at the then brand-new Spring Creek MX Park track in Millville, Minnesota. A pri- vateer Suzuki rider named Dave Hollis won the over- all over Team Husqvarna's Billy Grossi. Round two at RedBud, in Michigan, saw KTM's Donnie Cantaloupi get the win and, at the final round at Unadilla, Kawasaki rider Billy Liles came out on top. And that was the end. The remaining two rounds, Castle Rock, Colorado, and Sears Point were both canceled. Hollis took the title over Liles and Grossi. "It was a series I should've won," Grossi says today. He and teammate Kris Bigelow had just taken possession of the new bikes just days before the Trans- USA began and "they were kind of heavy. That bike was a beast to handle!" The rift between the AMA and the race teams was handled with less difficulty, apparently, with Cycle News reporting in the December 15th issue that the dispute had been settled. A new body, called the AMA Profession - al MX Racing Board, was formed, designed to establish guidelines and formats for AMA profes- sional motocross. The 1983 Wrangler Super Series came up with a formula that named David Bailey as motocross' first Grand National Champion. Works' bikes would soon be banned from AMA competition. And the Trans-USA limped off into an autumn sun - set. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives then brand-new Spring vateer Suzuki rider named final round at Unadilla, The remaining two rounds, Dave Hollis is the last Trans-USA Motocross Champion.