I
t happened in 1974, he said, at
a non-National motocross race
in Herman, Nebraska. Pierre
Karsmakers lifted his hand to
reveal 4 7/8 fingers and then
began to tell the story of the day
his works Yamaha snapped a
titanium motor mount bolt during
his moto. Determined to keep the
engine in place as best he could,
Pierre reached down to push the
sheared bolt back into the hole
in the mount and into the engine
casing. And it worked, many
times, until the bolt fell away
and Karsmakers blindly pushed
his finger into the empty hole.
The motor mount was solidly in
place, but the Yamaha engine
moved—just enough to slice off
the tip of the Dutchman's digit.
A fingertip and one headless
titanium bolt, buried in the clay of
a rural Nebraska racetrack.
"Every time it is cold," winces
Karsmakers, many decades later,
"I think about Nebraska."
Pierre Karsmakers was from
the Netherlands, a Husqvarna
rider who was competitive in
Grands Prix competition, lured
to the U.S. by Team Yamaha
to compete in the young AMA
series. Yamaha had just lost its
own champion, Gary Jones, to
rival Honda, and they responded
by bringing in an established
European star as payback.
Foreigners dominating U.S.
motocross is no longer a foreign
concept. In 2026, the best mo
-
tocross racers in America aren't
even Americans. At the recent
RedBud 450cc National, the top
three finishers—Hunter Lawrence,
Jorge Prado and Jett Lawrence—
are Australian, Spanish and
Australian, respectively. Eleven of
the top 25 racers were from other
countries. RJ Hampshire's distant
fourth overall at RedBud (on the
Fourth of July weekend, no less)
was reminiscent of a time when
"First American" in the standings
was a big deal 50 years ago.
Such was the scene in 1973
when Karsmakers dominated
American MX, winning the 500cc
National Championship for
Yamaha. U.S. riders, who were
accustomed to being thumped
by foreigners in the autumn
Trans-AMA series, were now
getting a woodshed whipping,
Euro-style, during the rest of the
season, too.
CNIIARCHIVES
P126
BY KENT TAYLOR
CORNFIELD
CAPER
In 1974, in a cornfield
in Herman, Nebraska, a
non-National motocross
race was held where
Pierre Karsmakers lost
the tip of his finger
not long after this
photo was taken while
working on his factory
Yamaha.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY MARK LANCASTER
WHEN A
MOTOCROSS
NATIONAL
WAS HELD IN A
CORNFIELD IN
NEBRASKA
