Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/417591
P114 BY STEVE BAUER CN III FRIENDLY FIRE E ach year at our Old SoCal Pro Reunion, I read aloud a list of names I have com- piled of fellow riders and industry friends that we have lost through the years. Then we all raise a toast to our fallen brothers and sisters. It serves as a poignant reminder that any of us could be the next to be added. At our last party in 2013, it took me just over 3 minutes to read the list. I timed it just now and it took 3 minutes, 29 seconds. The last names are listed alphabetically and I am very, very sad to say that it now runs from A all the way to Z, be- ginning with legendary Ascot promoter, J.C. Agajanian, and ending with our beloved friend, Kenny Zahrt. It hurts with each keystroke to type these words, but Kenny is gone, the victim of a massive stroke that left him with inoperable bleeding, deep in his brain. He was found unconscious in front of his Canyon Country race shop, Haul 'n Zahrt Motosports, just af- ter 6:00 AM on Thursday, Novem- ber 13, 2014. He never regained consciousness and passed away the following afternoon at Henry Mayo Hospital in Newhall, sur- rounded by family and friends. He was 59 years old. If you were a motocross racer or fan growing up in Southern California during the seventies, you knew who Zahrt "The Dart" was. He was that always stylish, longhaired guy on the Bultaco, who usually got the holeshot, almost always won and always Zahrt grew up in Woodland Hills, California, the oldest of five boys and one girl. He began rac- ing, and winning, in 1970. A quick search of the Cycle News ar- chives turned up this nugget from a race report about the 100 Ju- nior class at an ACA Saddleback REMEMBERING KENNY ZAHRT " HE JUST HAD HIS OWN UNIQUE STYLE: A SKINNY DUDE IN A FULL- FACE HELMET, ELBOWS AND KNEES STICKING OUT EVERYWHERE AS HE FLEW HIS WICKED PURSANG OFF THE JUMPS HIGHER AND FARTHER THAN ANYONE ELSE… " got the girls. As the saying goes, women wanted to be with him and men wanted to be him. He was cooler than cool, and one of my original heroes growing up. He just had his own unique style: a skinny dude in a full-face helmet, elbows and knees stick- ing out everywhere as he flew his wicked Pursang off the jumps higher and farther than anyone else, with the big "thumbs up" logo on his chest. event held on October 4, 1970: "All credit goes to Ken Zahrt on a Bultaco. He literally turned almost completely sideways at the top of the hill, one foot flying around in the air and yet didn't lose it! Talk about a handling machine!" Zahrt was apparently inventing Free- style Motocross while still a 100 Junior! It was interesting to read about Ken racing at Saddleback, be- cause I knew him as an "Indian