by Davey Coombs
40 Day Countdown To AMA Motocross Opener: 1978
Monday, April 18, 2011 | 6:15 PM
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PrintRacer X Online is counting down the days to the start of the 2011 Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship—the 40th year of the most competitive motocross series in the world. Today we look back on 1978, a year dominated by one brand and one very fast man.
If you missed any of our previous countdown years, check them all out right here.
If they ever gave out awards for the most memorable advertisements in motocross history, the man who came up with Yamaha's ad celebrating their success on the AMA circuit in 1978 would be in the running. The striking advertisement featured 500cc National Champ Rick Burgett and 125cc National Champ Broc Glover flanking Bob Hannah—who not only won the 1978 AMA Supercross title but the 250cc AMA Motocross title as well—all dirty, sitting atop their then-yellow YZs, all wearing their #1 plates.
This classic Yamaha ad pretty much said it all for 1978!
Hannah and Yamaha started the '78 season slowly, losing the first three AMA Supercross rounds to a pair of very fast new Honda riders, Jimmy Ellis and Marty Tripes. But then Hannah caught fire and reeled off six wins in a row to gap the field and clinch the title early. It should be mentioned that three major stars all went down in one weekend at the Houston Astrodome, as Ellis separated his shoulder, defending 250cc #1 Tony DiStefano tore up his knee, and defending 500cc champ Marty Smith dislocated his hip—Tony D. and Smitty getting hurt in the same first-turn crash! Of the three, only Ellis would ever win another race, and that was the last 250 National of the series. By that time, Hannah had so dominated the series—he swept the first eight races in a row—that he didn't even enter the last couple rounds of the series after injuring his wrist in an overlapping supercross. His streak to start the series would not be surpassed until a certain rider from Florida came along and started reeling off perfect seasons.
That's Suzuki-mounted privateer Danny “Magoo” Chandler at the '78 Escape Country National, just down the road from Saddleback Park.
Hannah also won the Trans-AMA title that fall, becoming the first American to do so. He won four of the seven races of what would ultimately be the last Trans-AMA Series, as the AMA was sued by Pontiac, the company that made Trans-Am cars, for copyright infringement. One year later the fading series would be called the “Trans-USA” tour.
Hannah had been forced to ride the 125 class the previous year and did not like it one bit, but his teammate Broc Glover won the title anyway, so it was little surprise to anyone that the “Golden Boy” from El Cajon won his second straight title in the class, outpacing the veteran Kawasaki rider Gaylon Mosier (who won a round on a Kawasaki) and Suzuki's hotshot prospect Brian Myerscough. But deeper in the field were a couple of newcomers who would soon shake things up in American motocross: seventh-ranked Jeff Ward and ninth-ranked Mark Barnett.
Mike Bell was the youngest member of Team Yamaha, waiting in the wings but on the cover of Cycle magazine in December '78.
Yamaha started slowly in the 500cc Nationals as well, as Suzuki's Danny LaPorte and Honda's Tommy Croft captured the opening rounds at Lake Whitney, Texas, and Sonoma, California, respectively. But then everything turned yellow as Rick Burgett, Rex Staten, and the young Mike “Too Tall” Bell split the last eight wins of the ten-race tour. “The Lumberjack” Burgett won the most, as well as the title, then found himself in that famous ad with Hannah and Glover.
Honda's Tommy Croft leads the 500cc pack at Lake Whitney in Texas.
Let's go back to the famous Yamaha ad for a second. Racer X's own Eric Johnson started out in advertising, and he once told us about having that ad hang on his bedroom wall as a kid growing up in Ohio. Once he got into the business, he dug a little deeper into how the famous ad came about.
“The ad was produced in the fall of 1978,” explains EJ. “Chiat/Day was still a very young agency at that point, but the word on the streets of American advertising was that the shop was going to change the way America looked at advertising. Leading the charge was the creative director, Lee Clow. Lee dug motorcycles and what they stood for. The ad was Lee's idea and featured Bob, Broc and Rick Burgett and the #1 plates the earned in the '78 AMA championships. I was a teenager when that ad came out, but it just blew me away.
“Here's the crazy part: two decades later, I had moved to Los Angeles and went to work for Chiat/Day, and I worked pretty closely with Lee. One day I found the ad and brought it to the company Christmas party. I pulled it out of my pocket and showed Lee and he told me the entire story of getting those guys all together—and those guys all had some egos at the time because they were the best and they knew it. Nonetheless, the ad came out beautifully and everybody was thrilled. It was very important to Yamaha's image in America, and that ad helped put Chiat/Day on the map as it rapidly became the best ad agency in the world. Needless to say, that ad holds a special place in my life and career.”
1978 250cc AMA Motocross Championship
4/9 Plymouth, CA Bob Hannah, Whittier, CA Yam
4/16 Trabuco Canyon, CA Bob Hannah, Whittier, CA Yam
4/23 Houston, TX Bob Hannah, Whittier, CA Yam
4/30 Herman, NE Bob Hannah, Whittier, CA Yam
5/7 Southwick, MA Bob Hannah, Whittier, CA Yam
5/28 Lake Whitney, TX Bob Hannah, Whittier, CA Yam
6/11 Sonoma, CA Bob Hannah, Whittier, CA Yam
6/18 St. Peters, MO Bob Hannah, Whittier, CA Yam
7/2 Buchanan, MI Kent Howerton, San Antonio, TX Suz
7/29 Mt. Morris, PA Jim Ellis, E. Hampton, CT Hon
1978 250cc National Point Standings
1.) Bob Hannah, Whittier, CA 410
2.) Jim Ellis, East Hampton, CT 351
3.) Chuck Sun, Sherwood, OR 329
4.) Pierre Karsmakers, Holland 297
5.) Jim Pomeroy, Yakima, WA 292
6.) Kent Howerton, San Antonio, TX 236
7.) Jim Weinert, Middletown, NY 222
8.) John Savitski, Atlas, PA 219
9.) Greg Theiss, Omaha, NE 214
10.) Rich Eierstedt, Tustin, CA 213
Steve Stackable was racing for Kawasaki in 1978.
1978 500cc AMA Motocross Championship
5/28 Lake Whitney, TX Danny LaPorte, Yucca Valley, CA Suz
6/11 Sonoma, CA Tommy Croft, San Diego, CA Hon
6/18 St. Peters, MO Mike Bell, Lakewood, CA Yam
7/2 Buchanan, MI Rick Burgett, Sandy, OR Yam
7/9 Mt. Morris, PA Rick Burgett, Sandy, OR Yam
7/16 Atlanta, GA Rick Burgett, Sandy, OR Yam
8/6 Escoheag, RI Rick Burgett, Sandy, OR Yam
8/13 St. Joseph, MO Rex Staten, Fontana, CA Yam
8/20 Charlotte, NC Rick Burgett, Sandy, OR Yam
8/27 St. Petersburg, FL Rick Burgett, Sandy, OR Yam
1978 500cc AMA Motocross Point Standings
1.) Rick Burgett, Sandy, OR 399
2.) Rex Staten, Fontana, CA 362
3.) Marty Smith, San Diego, CA 345
4.) Tommy Croft, San Diego, CA 338
5.) Danny LaPorte, Yucca Valley, CA 247
6.) Steve Stackable, Austin, TX 235
7.) Darrell Shultz, Orangevale, CA 226
8.) Mickey Boone, Winston-Salem, NC 202
9.) Gary Semics, Lisbon, CA 197
10.) Mickey Kessler, Farmingdale, NJ 190
1978 125cc AMA Motocross Championship
4/9 Plymouth, CA Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yam
4/16 Trabuco Canyon, CA Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yam
4/23 Houston, TX Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suz
4/30 Herman, NE Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL Suz
5/7 Southwick, MA Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yam
7/16 Atlanta, GA Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yam
8/6 Escoheag, RI Warren Reid, Westminster, CA Hon
8/13 St. Joseph, MO Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yam
8/20 Charlotte, NC Gaylon Mosier, Huntington Beach, CA Kaw
8/27 St. Petersburg, FL Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA Yam
1978 125cc AMA Motocross Point Standings
1.) Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA 412
2.) Gaylon Mosier, Huntington Beach, CA 302
3.) Brian Myerscough, Calimesa, CA 280
4.) Steve Wise, Pharr, TX 247
5.) Dan Turner, Placerville, CA 242
6.) Warren Reid, Westminster, CA 231
7.) Jeff Ward, Mission Viejo, CA 199
8.) Greg Gregson, Salem, OH 188
9.) Mark Barnett, Bridgeview, IL 185
10.) Tod Perkins, Duncan Falls, OH 185
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Best "win" ad. Ever.
Rocket Rex Staten....that guy OWNED the Southern California and "World" Vet scene for years until 1992 or 93 when Dubach, Ward and O'Mara showed up @ Perris
Rough weekend ? 8th in the 125 class is Mark Gregson from Salem, Or., and the 250cc round was on July 9, 78 Love these things, many great memories.
Awesome. Love these things, but surprised there's no mention of the first ever Unadilla 250 USGP.
I had a humongus poster of the same Yamaha ad, only the three guys (Burgett,Hannah, and Glover) were all wearing their helmets. I begged my Yamaha dealer to part with it and he finally did. Unfortunetly my basement flooded about twelve years ago and ruined my awesome MX memorabilia collection. I've started another pretty good collection since then, but nothing compares to the old school things I had saved. I almost cry when I think back of all the stuff I lost.
I was working at Encino Cycle a Yamaha Kawasaki shop in the San Fernando Valley in '78. I was tearing the canyons up on an RD350 then but my heart was in dirtbiking as well so when the latest in Yamaha advertising came out I jumped on it for posters on the wall. I had that picture as well as King Kenny who won the AFM 500c Road Racing World Championship that year as well. Golden years for sure. On a side not, I have the tuning fork sign from that shop hanging in my garage today. Thanks for the memories!
Davey,
This whole series of articles just rock! I have always liked your writing and your outlook on anything MX but this is great work...your dad would be proud!
Wait a second...Hannah won 8 races on a production-based '77 YZ250D while racing against full-on factory prototypes. I bought a '77 YZ250D because of Hannah's impressive rides and loved the bike. I won the GNC (Grand National Championship) 250 Expert Southern Region. That's the same bike Hannah rode with all those wins, but everything here says it was '78. What's up? Am I nuts? Somebody tell me he won those races on a '77 model.
That poster hung on my wall till it was torn and tattered. Love these articles Davey, but no mention of Unadilla sweep, or the "Hannah" rule that the AMA came up with at the end of 77, I believe. They came up with the rule that a rider could only compete in one displacement class per year. They were afraid that Hannah might win all four championshipsin 78. A Hurricane will and did, change the landscape!
Jairtime, Hannah did all his winning on the '77 production bike during the Florida Winter Series and then one lucky person won the bike in a contest. In '78 he won the SX and MX titles on a works OW Yamaha Factory bike.
Thanks, Mr. Keller! That bike handled really well. It was a real handlebar dragger and two wheel drifted predictably. I remember a great battle I had with Mark Rakestraw (AMA #55 Maico) on that thing, and since my engine was stock, it wasn't that fast, but the handling made up for it. I hated to sell it!
What also made this Yamaha stick out so much, was the fact that Yamaha had this ad placed in the center of the magazine, has a fold out, and used allot thicker paper stock, than the magazine pages. Also, with CycleNews being a newspaper style, this ad also really stuck out, since it too was also the center spread to CycleNews.
Guys, thanks for reading, and my bad on not mentioning the "Hannah rule." I do remember my dad being mad at Bob because he decided to not race the last couple rounds of the series, which were Red Bud and High Point, because it was already clinched, yet he showed up at High Point anyway because he was friends with the Stevenson family from up the road and he hung out with them at their campsite all weekend, but didn't really do anything for the crowd or opening ceremonies or whatever.... At least that's the way I remember it, because I was only 12 at the time!
DC
Man I remember that year- my dad, Mel Callaway was the man that hired all 3 of those riders, and was actually hear of advertising at Yamaha as well. He was unbelievably proud of all of them(the entire race dept) brings back godd memories-
I meant head of advertising, and good memories!
one day we'll all look back at this bubba reed battle and say holyyyyyy balls..takin eachother out,goin over the bars...alot,lol..im 17 now and i dont know too too much on bob the hurricane,lol.i cant say ive watched him race,cant say i even know anything about them back then..tv needs to play on any sunday..my dad says he grew up to that,ive looked for it and the only place i can find it is online,lol..ive got a hgue moto collection right now,my walls are filled to the gills with posters,banners,all of the above..i got o houston every year and rack up,any chance i see to grab some moto stuff,i grab it..more write ups on retro riders!
* fatboy517* dude, really cool you can appreciate the present and the past at 17 years old! I'm over 30 and been racing 22 years. I didnt have the mind set to appreciate the past until it was the past for me.lol ...keep riding bro! Your a true moto lifer already!
Love that pic.... "Motocross is so easy... A Caveman could do it!".... ha hah a
I remember all of this like it was yesterday. My parents dropped me off in ATL to see the National in 1978. More accurately - Hampton Georgia. I was on cloud 9 for sure.
I haven't been to an outdoor AMA MX National since but there's a decent chance I'll get to see the event in CO later this year - fingers are crossed.
DC, again thanks for the awesome recount. That ad was/is an all time classic. If you guys will recall, the dealer brochure version of it for the '78 YZ's folded out into a sweet poster of the Hurricane railing a berm in the desert. One still hangs in my parents kitchen of all places and of course my garage/shop. That same year I got to see Hannah at Unadilla 2x. The Trans AM race in the fall was the classic battle with DeCoster. My Dad, who didn't really like or follow MX still talks about that race to this day!
How bout New Jersey's own Mickey Kessler finishing 10th in 500cc points. He was the man when I grew up in Jersey and he was a true privateer. Couldn't be done today. Now his son is fast too, but nowhere the speed of the old man. Great job Mick!
I get tears in my eyes reading these everyday..... Thanks so much DC
I would like to have seen you include a re-cap of the Trans-AMA series as well and give us the whole OUTDOOR effect from these long forgotten days. I grew up outisde of Puyallup, WA and can still close my eyes and see Roger and Gerrit and Mikkola battling Buck Murphy, home town boy riding with one shock.... A bunch of buddies of mine and I practiced on that property until 1995 believe it or not.... it was the back 40 for a retail strip mall but we still had 80% of the track in tact.... those were the days my friend..... waiting with baited breath until you get to the years that include Washougal and how a kid named Eric Eaton smoked everyone on his big bore....
got a '78 YZ250 in '85. 6spd, 3ft long shock. loved that bike
Lee Clough
These surely were the golden years of motocross. I remember going to Saddleback Park and it seemed that almost every weekend you'd run into a factory rider out practicing on one of the tracks. It was the Meca of MX. Escape Country? Oh man! That place is maybe a 2 miles from where i've lived the last 20 years. Oh how these days are long gone and I really really miss them! Davey thank you so much for sharing this with us.
picture a show...every best of all time rider you can imagine,same bikes,same fitness level..one race...what would the attendance be at that race,where could you hoold it to have all the fans..the outdoor track would have to be so big just to fit fans in..i mean from every century of racin
'78 Escape Country National...that track was so high~speed (and dusty). Wardy gave evidence of his future greatness that race. Too bad the younger set will never know the awesomeness of having open riding right up the block and tracks everywhere with racing every day! Dang...So. Calif. in the 'olden days'.
Much respect, FoyBoy517...you are moto
Hannah Killed them. Very cool articles and pictures. In 1978 I was 12 years old and been racing a couple years in the Sacramento area. I had heard of Hangtown but didn't go for my first two years in sac because my parents thought if we werent racing why go. The 78 Hangtown (the last year in plymouth) was my first professional motocross race I went to and I have so many memories. Back then they did 40 minute motos and the most memorable thing I remember was in the first 250 moto Hannah just killed them lapping everyone but Howerton who got second. He did close to the same thing in the second moto.
There was no camping at the race, our family joined the Ride On Club that helpped the Dirt Diggers put on the race, so we got to camp Saturday night, I remember watching the Dirt Diggers party hard all night then but on a great race the next day, which I got to flag so I had a great view. And Hannah was travelling in an old van (not a box van) I remember he had a speed bag hanging from the inside of the back door that said bannana on top. After the race the riders just sat around in lawn chairs and signed autographs of their factory pictures. I still have the signed pictures from that day. After the race, with over 30,000 fans trying to leave on a two lane road, we hung out around our trailor and did't get out of there until about midnight. After that crowd they moved Hangtown to Prairie City were the race is now. That was a good day.
I went to several of those races in '78.My good friend ,Bart Batson #113-Open class, and I went to the Whitney,Sonoma-Sears Point,St Lois-Cycleland, and St Petersburg.
We were both 17,and leading the true privateer lifestyle.Other guys had it worse than us,living out of their vans, and bumming showers from us.I remember Hannah & McCartney racing thru the pits throwing firecrackers at everyone.St Lois, we saw this crazy dude on a Maico riding the backwheel thru the shopping mall parking lot.The next day, he rode around the entire Natl track on the back wheel.Doug Domokos.
Yeah-The last race at Ol' Plymouth. Baddest Sand track in the Nation. Earned Nat'l No. 93 that day-Highlight of my effing career-- BTW the other part of my name(RacerX) was my cb handle then, 'cause I was speed's Older Bro. HELLO TO ALL still alive from then, see ya