VOL. 55 ISSUE 24 JUNE 19, 2018 P97
125s, 250s and 500s. Even the indoor version,
which was still called stadium motocross, had a
champion. Although the original Inter AM series was
on its way out, the Trans AMA series was still bring-
ing in top European riders, like World Champion
Roger DeCoster and frequent USGP winner Gerrit
Wolsink. Jim Pomeroy and Brad Lackey, American
stars chasing the World Championships, would also
come home to ride in this fall series.
A new contingent of stars had also converged
on the scene. And they were young; teenagers like
Tony DiStefano and Marty Smith. West, at 23, may
have seemed like a veteran to
the new stars, but age wasn't
slowing him down. Another teen
star, Billy Grossi, remembers
West, as "a fluid, really smooth rider. The kind
of a rider who didn't look like he was going
fast, but he was! And when the Trans came
around, he looked like he was riding better
than he ever had!"
His results would back that up. When the
Trans AMA series began at Road Atlanta,
West finished the day in 11th overall. In Lex-
ington, Ohio, he ran near the front early and
hung on to finish seventh, ahead of riders like
Lackey and Pierre Karsmakers. He was ninth
at Unadilla and continued his streak of strong
finishes with an eighth overall a few weeks later
in Texas.
It would be at the penultimate round in Liver-
more, California, November 23, where Jim
would have the ride of his life. In the second
moto that day, Honda's Marty Smith grabbed
the holeshot, but crashed almost immediately.
West shared
a Husqvarna
ad with world
champion
Heikki
Mikkola.
