(Left) Tamietti
and Maico were
synonymous
back in the day at
Saddleback and
Carlsbad, among
other Southern
California tracks.
(Right) Today,
one of Tamietti's
stomping grounds
is Glen Helen
Raceway.
skinny kid named Mike Bell could
be found dicing it out on legend-
ary tracks like Saddleback, OCIR,
Irwindale and Tamietti's favorite
track, Carlsbad. "I would ride two
classes a day," he says. "That
worked out to 16 motos every
week."
He raced many brands before
finding true love on a Maico,
which was well-suited to his
riding style. "Saddleback and
Carlsbad would really develop a
hard, blue groove. The Maico had
a long-stroke motor, and it would
give you the right kind of power
for those tracks." Tamietti rode
his Maico to numerous Califor
-
nia Motorsports Championships
(CMC), including in 1976, when
he won a new Ford van for being
the CMC rider with the most
season points.
This is the story of the factory
racer. When a fast kid starts win
-
ning the big Southern California
races, the factory-sponsored ride
is sure to come his way. Cham
-
pionships, fame and fortune
ensue. The end. It's the Marty
Smith, Broc Glover, Danny La
-
Porte and others' story. But this
isn't Val Tamietti's story. And he's
perfectly fine with that.
"One day, my dad said to me,
'You've got to come watch this
new kid in the novice class. He's
hanging off the back of the bike
and just flying!' That kid was Bob
Hannah. He went from novice to
pro in one week, and I saw that
he had a really strong desire to
win.
"Winning wasn't going to
mean life or death for me," he
says. "I wanted to win, and I did
the best I could. I beat Mike Bell
a few times, and I beat Danny
'Magoo' Chandler in a race in
Sacramento, but when all of
these factory riders would show
up for a local race, I knew I would
be lucky to get into the top five.
I had to work for a living. Fenc
-
ing work kept me in shape, but
it wasn't like riding or practicing,
and I think that's what you had to
do to get to that level."
Tamietti had his AMA Pro
license, but he mostly stuck to
the local scene. He has had a
few brief spells away from racing
over the years but always found
his way back to the track. "Even
after his crash last year," Debbi
says, "it was never a question—I
knew he would ride again. He
has to race. It's what's driven
him to work out, eat better and
recover. He just really wanted to
get back on that bike."
A few weeks ago, at Glen
Helen, Val Tamietti mounted his
Yamaha for the first time in 10
months. He missed the Veter
-
ans' World Championship race
but says he will be back in 2026,
shooting for the 70+ title. "My
goal is to keep going," he says,
"and to someday be the oldest
motocross racer in the world."
CN
VOLUME ISSUE NOVEMBER , P119
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