Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Sylvain Geboers. The top Ameri- can in the series was Husqvarna rider Mark Blackwell, who would be honored with the title of 500cc National Champion for his efforts, though he finished only 14th in the final Trans-AMA standings. Americans are more than just fast learners. They would be- come very fast motocross racers as well, and by 1975, they were now challenging (and winning) these very same Trans-AMA events. Many of the top Euro- pean racers were electing to skip autumn in America, and when the series wrapped up at Saddleback Park, it was 18-year-old Tony Di- Stefano on top, winning his third consecutive event. The champi- onship still went to Suzuki's De- Coster, but Tony D and his fellow young Americans made it clear that they were no longer racing just for top American honors. The 1975 event also became a day that will live in infamy for MX fans. Maico rider Jim West crashed hard near Saddleback's famous Banzai Hill, suffering fa- tal internal injuries. West was the first pro motocross racer to lose his life in AMA competition. Saddleback Park was a sprawl- ing riding facility, and in 1977, savvy promoters decided to use the property to help deter- mine just who was the very best motorcycle racer in the world. It was the first (and last) Motor- cycle Olympiad and riders like Malcolm Smith, Bob Hannah, Jim Rice and David Aldana competed in a variety of events, including motocross, flat track, road racing and drag racing. Each rider even had to serve as his (and her, as dirt track's Diane Cox also took part) own mechanic. The Olympiad champ was Husqvarna's Kent Howerton, who won the title despite scoring no actual victo - ries in any of the events. In 1979, the AMA's National Motocross Championship calen- dar included a stop at Saddleback. It had been a long six years since that series had visited the famous park, and while the event took place on April Fool's Day, the racing was all busi- ness. In the 250cc class, Maico wild child Danny Chandler wowed the crowd with an exhilarating first moto performance that saw the crazy but highly skilled redhead go mano a mano with Yamaha's Bob Hannah. Hannah was the reigning champ and was already well on his way to repeating, but "Magoo" Chandler was giving the Hurricane all he could handle and a bit more on this day. Double jumping was something of a rarity in 1979, but on that day, Chandler was leap- ing a two-jump section in a single bound, forcing Hannah to join him in the race to become Superman of Saddleback. In the end, a fragile Maico machine would eventually sideline Chandler, but not before he won the admiration of the crowd—and earned his own track namesake, the "Magoo Double," for his efforts. Two years later, Hannah would find himself in another Saddle - back battle, one that should've come with iron breastplates and jousting lances. Hannah and Kent Howerton (now on Suzuki) spent a good part of the 250cc National that day engaging in moto-fisticuffs. Each rider took his best shot, ramming, jam- ming and cramming the other, with Hannah eventually getting the overall win. The Saddleback confrontation set the stage for a season-long battle between the two titans of MX. In 1984, the famous racetrack held its final AMA National, which saw Honda riders Johnny O'Mara, Ron Lechien and David Bailey sweep the three classes. On September 7 of that same year, the great racetrack fell silent, with creeping development and buzz- killing progress being the culprits. Today, the property is an old adobe ghost, occasionally cough- ing up a nut or bolt or an old plastic premix bottle. But in the memories of thousands of rac- ers, fans and weekend joy riders, Saddleback Park will never die. Thanks, Vic. CN Saddleback produced some of motocross racing's best duels, like Bob Hannah battling Kent Howerton in 1981. VOLUME ISSUE SEPTEMBER , P139 Subscribe to nearly 60 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives