MOTOCROSSER JIM WEST
P98
Feature
There was a new leader now and
for the next five laps, past, cur-
rent and future mx champions—
all of them factory-backed stars
of the sport—found themselves
chasing AMA number 28x, the
lanky, mostly self-sponsored
Maico rider from Pasadena. In
an era when the top riders were
drawing big salaries and flying
from race to race, a guy with just
a bike and a van had no busi-
ness even being in the top 10—
and Jim West was in first place!
Eventually, Steve Stackable,
a Maico factory rider, overtook
Jim for the lead. West held on
to second place for another five
laps, and although he faded
to fifth by the end of the race,
his impressive seventh place in
the first moto netted him a sixth
overall for the day. He had a good
chance of finishing the series in
the top 10 in points. Stackable,
who was moving on to Suzuki for
1976, believes today that West
might've been the next man up
for the official U.S. Maico team.
Jim West—Team Maico!
of courage to jump back down
them. They had earned their own
identities: Suicide Mountain,
Banzai Hill, the Tower of Power
and others that were so very hard
to go up and down that only a
few could master them. Those
who did became known as
"Saddleback Specialists."
When the gate dropped for the
first moto, it was Kawasaki rider
Gary Semics in the lead followed
by Stackable, with eventual win-
ner Tony DiStefano close be-
hind. Stackable soon took over
and would lead for a while. He
remembers seeing Jim off to the
side of the track.
"I came around," he said,
"and saw that Jim had crashed."
A high-speed jump sent rid-
ers flying as they approached
"And then I heard the paramedic tell the
driver 'let's make this a quick ride.'"
But there was still one more
race in this season and the Trans
AMA the series moved on to
Saddleback Park.
Carved out in the valleys of
eastern Orange County, Califor-
nia, Saddleback demanded a
fistful of horsepower to climb its
steep hills and an equal amount
