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/1523994
W hose idea was it, any- way—this crazy notion of jumping our motorcycles? Who was the first daredevil who thought that these contraptions, which were designed to operate in direct contact with hard surfaces, should leave said ground and vault into the atmosphere? Did Gottlieb Daimler, making his maiden voyage on the world's first motorcycle, catch a little air? At the whopping top speed of seven miles per hour, it is unlikely that the engineer was thinking about a nac- nac. Still, one wonders if maybe he eyed a small hill and gave it a mischievous German grin? However it happened, many riders enjoy the rush of jumping with their motorcycles and often like to observe those who do. Shrewd promoters connected the dots, and so it was that on October 28, 1977, a jumping competition was held at the famous Orange County Interna - tional Raceway. Seven riders, by invitation only, would compete for a motorcycle jumping cham- pionship of some sort. On hand were some of the top jumpers and motorcycle stunt- men in the world. From across the pond came French stuntman Alain Prieur, Czechoslovakian cra- zy man Karel Soucek and Great Britain's Eddie Kidd. American entrants were well-known jump- ers Gary Wells, Rex Blackwell, and Dick "The Red Devil" Stone. These men were accom- plished in their field. Eddie Kidd had once jumped a portion of the Great Wall of China. Gary Wells, who would later attempt to repli- cate Evel Knievel's fountain jump at Caesar's Palace, was consid- ered one of America's top jump- ers. Soucek, like many racers from 1970s Communist coun- tries, was a go-for-broke rider. He was, according to Cycle News "a daredevil who will do anything for the right amount of money," including (successfully) riding in a barrel over Niagra Falls. There was one more rider listed by CN as an alternate. His name was Bob Duffey. No expla- nation was given for why Duffy was an alternate, but the New Mexico native was determined to prove he belonged in this talent- ed group of riders. This was more than just a jump-for-distance contest. Rather, a complex and apparently controversial points system had CNIIARCHIVES P136 JUMPING FOR CASH BY KENT TAYLOR OCIR HOSTS INTERNATIONAL JUMP CONTEST In 1977, a seven- rider invitational jump-off was held at OCIR in California. Competitors had to leap 110 feet (over cars) and look the best doing it to win. Little-known Bob Duffey won the $20,000 grand prize.