by Davey Coombs
The List: Best from NorCal
Friday, January 27, 2012 | 11:35 AM
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The Oakland Supercross this weekend got us to thinking about Northern California and some of our favorite motocross people: Todd Hicks and the Fox boys and everyone at Fox Racing, the Dirt Diggers at Hangtown, MXA's Dennis Stapleton, Honey Lake's Larry Wosick, Michael “Fresh Top End” Stusiak and just too many other friends and moto people to list here.... So who were the 10 fastest men ever from Northern California? Here's our attempt at The List.
10.) Ryan Morais: Let's give it up to a guy that might have more SX Lites/125cc podiums than anyone, but never quite had the right 15 laps to get him to the checkered flag first. You will not find many in the pits today with more honest respect and charisma with his rivals and opponents than Ryan Morais.
9.) Ricky Ryan: One fine day, one entry in the record books: Daytona SX winner, 1987. Until Chad Reed's wins last year, he was the last privateer to win a supercross main event in the premier class.
8.) Billy Grossi: The faster of the Grossi brothers, Billy spent time on factory Hondas, Kawasakis and Suzukis, then ended his professional career on a Husqvarna. He and Bob Grossi are the only two brothers to have each won outdoor nationals.
7.) Rodney Smith: “El Rod” may be more familiar to young enthusiasts as a five-time GNCC champion but before that he was a top-shelf motocrosser, winning GPs in South America and Europe while racing for the Chesterfield Suzuki team.
Before collecting number ones in the woods, Rodney Smith won a bunch of 250 GPs.
Weigandt photo
6.) Tallon Vohland: One of two very fast brothers—the only two brothers to have each won a 125cc Supercross main event—Tallon had great success in Europe, spending much of the nineties racing on the Grand Prix circuit. He later returned to the U.S. and even challenged RIcky Carmichael a few times in the 125 Nationals. He's still at the races, working as an executive for Acerbis.
The TV Show.
Fran Kuhn photo
5.) George Holland: One of the most overlooked national champions of all time, Holland took the '88 AMA 125cc National Championship and then retired one year later run his family's massive Almond farm in Herman. What's he up to now? Check out his story HERE.
George Holland leads Erik Kehoe in a classic Gainesville 125 National showdown.
Buckley photo
4.) Darrel Shultz: A strong rider both indoors and out, “Shoe” won the 1982 AMA 500cc National Championship with one of the all-time iron man performances. Don't believe it? Read Nick McCabe's Where Are They Now?
All-time tough guy Darrel Shultz.
Racer X Archives
3.) Danny Chandler: “Magoo” was a wild man, no doubt about it, but he was also a winner. His romp through Europe in 1982, when he swept all four motos of the Trophee and Motocross des Nations, may be the greatest performance ever seen at those events.
Magoo!
Racer X Archives
2.) Steve Lamson: The two-time 125cc National Champion ranks high on the list of fastest 125cc riders of all time. How Lammy managed to race as long as he did without winning a supercross is still a mystery! And his overall moto win on a 125 at the '96 MXoN in Jerez, Spain, was not as much a shocker as Magoo's, but it was extraordinary.
1.) Brad Lackey: America's first FIM World Champion (1982), as well as our first real AMA National Champion in the 500cc class ('72). “Bad” Brad is not only one of nation's greatest riders ever, he remains a big enthusiast.
Lackey in France.
Moto Verte photo
Brad was an all-around bad dude.
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The James Stewart Freestone AMA Spring Classic in Texas has quickly earned a place on the list of must-attend springtime amateur events. Page 182.
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Tyler Evans- Pretty sure he was from Salinas, CA
wow! how do you leave out Bobby Moore or Danny Turner
Miss the days of Schultz and Magoo. I have some great old pics that I took together with those guys during the Marysville MX days her in Norcal. I also have some of Darrly's Bro who was a pretty decent rider of his own.
@runskins...Tyler Evans??? you're joking right?
Tyler Evans made more cash on a dirt bike then any of these guys.
almost farm? Gotta love spell checker. My guess is almond farm.
In that picture of George Holland, it looks like the track was plowed flat.
@Bluelint13...The list isn't richest riders from Norcal, it is best from Norcal. I don't think winning supercross LCQ's qualifies.
I would like to clarify the fact that Ricky Ryan is the only true privateer to ever win a supercross.Not to take anything away from Chad Reed but by no stretch of the imagination is he a privateer.
Hey Davey how can you rate Lamson above Maggo and Shultz (shoe anint scared) above them? Please explain? I am so confused? ya I rember Maggo,raced him in Kansas when he was out of the Suzy shop in Pittburg Kansas. My friend Tom was his wrench at the Keithsburg Ill. National, Shue I neve got to know. But Lampson? Please tell me why?
Hey Welker, you kick ass at name dropping, but spelling, not so much.
Sorry ronnie My fingers are kinda old. did not mean to name drop. just wanna get the record strait. did not mean to name drop and offend anyone.Just said what happened. Were you there on any of those days? In those days your hands took a pounding.PS: I tried to spell check this time.
i raced gatorback many times, and raced the 88 national the day of that pic, i can say.......the track was not flat at all. square edged chuck holes, rock hard ruts, and blue groove was the norm. i liked it ! i was also racing daytona the day ryan won ( i was in the 125cc, i think i got 19th or 20th) and rodney smith landed on me at the lake sugar tree national in '90, first lap, first moto on an uphill triple. couple guys cross rutted, i checked up and rodney didnt....and i spent the next few hours trying to remember where i was at? i can always say, one of the baddest assed dueds from norcal used me for traction.............. now that sumin to be proud of........haha!
I was also thier the day Ricky Ryan won at Daytona I was a specator then. It was a big deal then.
jojo keller asked me "who won"? when i told him ricky ryan........ he said "WTF!" it was the biggest upset i can remember in mx history. maybe hannah beating smith was bigger, but that was before my time. hannah was a factory rider, ryan was a privateer........ an '80's privateer, which is well below the level of support that reed has. the mud was bad that day........and mud truley is a great equalizer. rick ryan was a bad ass on dry days too, but top 10 normally, top five on a good day........... if my memory is correct?
uhhh Jeremy McGrath from San Francisco? He was successful on a motorbike :)
How about Ukiah's finest: Michael Brandes!
MC from san fran.............? is that right? thought he was so.cal all the way
Rick Ryan was a huge upset! I don't remember him and his crew flying to Daytona and meeting up with the Rick Ryan team one-two semi truck though??? A national/supercross champ and privateer should never be used in the same sentence!
Nice report!!! Does anybody know what happened to Tyler Evans? He was quite the showman at the races!!! Love him or hate him, he was fun to watch!!!
I know that I maybe showing my age here, but there was a man who came before all of these guys, and all mentioned are deserving, but this man raced with Lackey in the early days, and this man still shows up to the races - to only watch now, his name is Dick Mann...One of the originals from "On Any Sunday"..
Thanks for the feedback and the bench-racing here. I put Lamson second because he won 21 outdoor nationals and two titles, and he also dominated the MXoN on a 125 in 1996 -- he was the first man to win a moto outright on a 125, something even the great Johnny O'Mara did not do.
As for Bob Moore and Jeremy being from NorCal, while they may have been born up there (I am not sure) they were always considered "SoCal" because that's where they grew up and raced. Just as one could argue that Jeff Ward is from Scotland -- he was born there but his family moved to California when he was very young -- we consider him to be a Californian!
DC
Hey Yeah ok I will go with that, I guess Glad you had Brd Lackey Nbr1. Most of us old timers can drop a few names. I even remember racing against your own Wallenburg guy and the originall Mighigan Mafia guys gee someone just walked in and I had a Perry moment cant say thier names now.
Got a question for CZmark when I catch him on chat?
LETS RACE!!!
Billy was not the fastest of the Grossi brothers, it was Bob. I remember Bob beating Lackey at local races consistently. The problem Bob had was he got hurt in his prime. I am surprised no one mentioned Pat Richter who was also hurt and would have been the first privateer to win a 125 championship. Bobby Moore did grow up and race in Northern California. Now the most popular rider ever from N.C. was the "Magoo", Danny was the best crowd pleaser of all time.
Oh also about Bob Moore, I was living in Pheonix in 93 and 94 there was a practice place east of Dear Valley road past Interstate 17 north I think? Anyhooo, this guy was flying out there and we all were watching him. found out he was on his way to euroupe and we know the rest of the story!
Thanks Davey for reconizing the Nor Cal riders. Back in the late 70s and early 80s Nor Cal had as many Great riders as So Cal did. When you went to Golden State at Praire City it was a full on National. Pat Richter was awsome! I think he was the first rider to potium on a KTM indoors at the LA Colusium in the 70s. Lots of Great memories as a kid...Like Shultz said, maybe some day we will get to do all over again!