Cycle News

Cycle News 2024 Issue 44 November 5

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/1528904

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U nless you were a Yamaha fan, bleeding bumblebee black and yellow, the late 1970s were a bleak time for motocross enthusiasts. Team Yamaha racers were winning all of the major championships in both the U.S.A. and Europe, and second place was often not even close. In 1978, Bob "Hurricane" Hannah snagged every title he could wrap his gloves around, with series titles in those hands before the last events had even been run. Dynasties can be good for sport, but it often seemed as if Hur - ricane season was going to last forever. The storms carried over into 1979, and the new year looked to be much like the old year as Hannah began to dominate both the Supercross and National Championship series. And it would have likely been another race for second place, but for a couple of MX veterans who weren't quite ready to roll over and play dead. Both Marty Tripes and Kent Howerton had established themselves as MX stars on the AMA circuit long before anyone outside of Southern California had even heard of Bob Hannah. Howerton had won the 1976 AMA 500cc National Champion - ship, while Tripes had scored two consecutive wins at the event formerly known as the Superbowl of Motocross. But by 1977, Hannah had been crowned as the new king of the hill, and it was going to take a CNII ARCHIVES P122 BY KENT TAYLOR HANNAH, HOWERTON, TRIPES THE THREE AMIGOS Kent Howerton and Bob Hannah often had historic battles in the mid-to-late 1970s.

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