kind works' motocross bike. A
privateer racer drove away with
the hand-built Honda, and the
hours that Marty and mechanic
Jon Rosentiel had poured into
testing and adjustment were
now as worthless as sand in the
bottom of an hourglass.
But true to his reputation as
a racer who could be competi
-
tive on almost any motorcycle,
Tripes, on his new bike, was
also on the gas by mid-season.
In June, he came out on top
of a fierce, four-way battle at
Sears Point, topping Hannah,
Howerton and Jim Weinert for a
double moto victory.
"I haven't had to push that
hard in a long time," Tripes said
afterward. It was a clash of
America's MX titans and Tripes'
win was Honda's first major vic
-
tory of the season.
But just one week later, when
the AMA National Champion
-
ship series moved to Lakewood,
Colorado, the "riddle" returned.
In the second moto, Tripes'
held a sizable lead, with Han-
nah in tow. At the halfway point,
suddenly and inexplicably, he
slowed his Honda to "a snail's
pace." A likely bewildered Han-
nah moved past quickly to take
the lead and the win. Tripes "al-
lowed himself to coast back to
fourth position."
Money in his pocket?
Honda team manager Gunnar
Lindstrom was upfront with the
Cycle News staff with his criti
-
cism of his rider. "He doesn't like
the bikes," Lindstrom moaned.
"He doesn't think he can keep up
with the other riders. He knew
he was going to get passed, so
he pulled over."
One week later, the predict
-
ably unpredictable Tripes
stormed back to take another
double moto sweep over Han-
nah at RedBud, Michigan. He
even took a post-race swipe at
his rival, saying, "I don't even
remember passing Hannah; it
happened so fast. I could've
gone faster!"
Hannah went on to win the
1979 250cc Championship,
which would be his last major
AMA title. Howerton's best years
were still ahead of him, as he
succeeded Hannah as champ in
1980 and defended his crown in
1981. For Marty Tripes, the Red
-
Bud National would be his last
AMA win. An unquestionable
talent with unmatched skill, he
remains an unsolved motocross
riddle.
CN
CNIIARCHIVES
P124
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Tripes' (left) 1979
MX season started
terribly when his
factory Honda
CR250R was taken
away from him, a
victim of AMA's
claiming rule.
