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/553925
CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE T he early 1980s were a really cool and fun time in motocross racing. Imagine if you will Ryan Dungey or Jeremy Martin taking the opportunity during one of their off summer weekends to head to Europe to race a Grand Prix! That's exactly what up-and-coming motocross racer Johnny O'Mara did in June of 1982, when he flew off to Frauenfeld, Switzerland, to compete in a round of the 125cc World Championships. O'Mara took the time off from his domestic battle with Mark Bar- nett, Jim Gibson and Jeff Ward to go off and do battle with riders like Eric Geboers, Harry Everts, Michéle Rinaldi and Corrado Maddii on their home turf. It went well for O'Mara. The 1982 season was a magical one for Ameri- can motocross. Brad Lackey (500cc) and Danny LaPorte (250cc) were en route to becoming the first Americans to win World Championships that season. Back home O'Mara was not quite yet at his peak. It would be the following season when O'Mara would finally break through and beat Su- zuki's Mark Barnett for the AMA 125cc Motocross National Championship. Early in the '82 season O'Mara was in a pitched battle with Barnett and Ward in the 125cc Nationals. Suzuki's Barnett, the two-time and defending 125cc national champ, had gotten off to a great start in '82 with hard-fought overall victories at Hangtown and Saddleback. Jeff Ward came back at Lake Whitney, Texas, and scored victory for himself and Kawasaki. At round four it was O'Mara getting into the win column in the Mr. PiBB National at Sunshine Speedway in St. Petersburg, Florida. The hot and humid conditions in Florida, combined with an energy-sapping sandy track, brought the supreme fitness of O'Mara to the forefront. After going 1-1 to take the overall O'Mara was proud of his victory. "I've been training so hard for this champion- ship," O'Mara said. "I knew what the sand here was like, and I was getting tired, but so was ev- eryone else. I'll just keep knocking at the door. There's eight more motos in the series, and I think I can make up the difference in points." The overall in St. Petersburg helped O'Mara close the gap to series leader Barnett. O'Mara was into second in the standings, just 15 points out of the lead. There was a big gap in the schedule that year, from the May 2 round in St. Petersburg with the next round in Binghamton not coming until the end of June. With the Swiss THE O' SHOW'S AMAZING SWISS CAMEO P144 PHOTOGRAPHY BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS