VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P143
wet with dew" and spectators
throwing down picnic blankets in
"sunny meadows."
When the gate dropped for the
first 250 moto, it was Billy and his
Honda out in front. As his friends
and family (including brother Bob,
who was sidelined with a knee
injury) cheered him on, Billy found
a heady adversary in Marty Tripes.
Tripes, who had been let go by
Honda following the conclusion
of the 1973 season, was now on
Husqvarna and likely determined
to show his old employer that they
had made a mistake in letting
him walk. Tripes pursued Grossi,
eventually taking the lead from
him on lap four. The two teenag
-
ers locked horns in a tremendous,
all-moto-long battle that would
see Grossi go on to the win. Not a
bad finish, especially for a well-
used old race bike!
"My Honda was actually the
previous year's works bike,"
Grossi said. "It may have actually
been Gary Jones' championship
bike. I can't prove that, but either
way, it did work really well for me
and my riding style. I could just
get on it and go."
In the second moto, Grossi's
start was not as strong, and he
found himself slicing his way
through the pack. Superstars like
Pierre Karsmakers, Gary Jones,
Kenny Zahrt, Tripes, and others
stood between Billy and another
moto win. One by one, however,
these MX legends would find
themselves eating dirt kicked up
by the curly-haired 18-year-old
from Santa Cruz.
"I remember coming to the fin
-
ish line," Billy says, "and there was
my dad, who was jumping up and
down. I said, 'What happened—did
I win?' He said, 'Yes, you won,' and
then he jumped on the back of my
bike and rode with me to the pits!
"I remember that well," Billy
says. "That was the best part of
the day."
Team Honda's good fortune
would continue, with Marty
Smith capturing the overall in the
very first authentic AMA 125cc
National. In the 500cc class,
another Honda, piloted by Rex
Staten, grabbed the first moto
win. Unfortunately, a second
moto DNF put Staten out of the
top finishing order and kept the
red, white, and blue boys from
sweeping the event.
Sadly, many great tracks from
the early days of MX have gone
away, and the original Hangtown
would be one of them. The final
AMA National was held there in
1978 and the track was shuttered
not long after. The Hangtown name
moved to today's location near
Sacramento, but the original track
in Placerville is off-limits to anyone
who wishes to reminisce about the
greatest days of motocross.
"We tried," says Billy, "to have
Bob's ashes spread there. It was
something that he had men
-
tioned—the kind of thing that
people talk about as they get
older, you know."
"We were all set to go there, but
at the very end, it all fell apart. We
weren't allowed to go in."
This weekend's race commem-
orated 50 years since Grossi's
National win. Alongside his good
friend Rick Johansen, who also
worked as his mechanic that
day in 1974, Grossi will serve as
Grand Marshal for the event. The
racetrack may have moved, and
many things have changed in
motocross over half a century.
But on Saturday, June 1, 2024,
Hangtown, once again, belonged
to a man named Grossi.
CN
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Marty Smith (right) won the first 125cc
National at Hangtown in 1974.
