VOLUME 63 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 P145
father re-engineered in 1971.
When they finished their R&D,
they crated the motorcycle and
sent it to Japan. The Japanese
took the Jones family's project
and turned it into the works bike
of 1972, all the way down to the
famous black strap holding the
fuel tank in place, which was
not really part of the Joneses'
design. When the family shipped
the prototype machine to Japan,
they had simply strapped the
tank to the bike for easier trans-
port. Once in Japan, Yamaha en-
gineers apparently assumed this
was a go-fast trick, and when
Gary's (and brother DeWayne's)
new bikes arrived in '72, the tank
strap was standard equipment.
When the (forward-falling)
gate dropped, it was Gary Jones
out in front in moto one, moto
two and, yep, moto three. His
first-moto margin of victory was
a whopping 40 seconds, enough
time to not only give Miss Dolly
Diffbrake a sloppy smooch but
also get her phone number and
maybe even show her his etch-
ings. Each moto was the same
story, with eventual second-
place finisher Hallman lament-
ing the progress of the young
American star.
"Last year," Hallman moaned,
"I was lapping this kid. Today, I
can't even get close to him."
In addition to the kisses from
Miss Diffbrake (the pretty lady
hawking a gadget that con-
nected a motorcycle's front
brake to its rear brake), Jones
also picked up a cool extra $100
for being top American. He was
awarded a bottle of champagne
for each moto win, the last one
shared with his crew.
Cycle News' headline for this
story was "The Year of the Amer-
icans." With the gift of hindsight,
we know that it would be a full
year before an American would
win another major event against
European riders and one full
decade before California's Brad
Lackey became America's first
World Motocross Champion. A
bit optimistic on that header, but
no one can question that June
25, 1972, was certainly "The Day
of Gary Jones."
CN
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(Far left) Jones
swept the Boise
race, winning
all three motos,
showing that
American
motocrossers
were becoming
a threat in the
European-
dominated
sport. (Left)
Even four-time
World Champion
Torsten Hallman
had nothing
for the up-and-
coming 20-year-
old Jones.
