by Davey Coombs
This Week in Yamaha History: Hannah in '76
Friday, May 18, 2012 | 3:00 PM
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PrintIn the history of motocross, there have been a few extraordinary races that were truly “game-changers,” races that marked a major shift in the balance of power. The late Jim Pomeroy exploded onto the Grand Prix scene as “First American” when he won the 1973 Spanish 250cc GP. Team USA shocked the world when they dominated the 1981 Motocross and Trophee des Nations. And Jeremy McGrath's breakthrough Anaheim Supercross win in 1993 marked the beginning of a whole new era in AMA Supercross.
And then there was the 1976 Hangtown 125cc National opener. Everyone expected two-time series champion Marty Smith to once again dominate, just as he did in 1974 and '75. But Team Yamaha had a longshot entry in a young man named Bob Hannah. A SoCal local hero, Yamaha had hired the man from Whittier, California to take on the Honda-backed Smith. Signs of a coming storm were on the horizon as Hannah beat everyone at the Florida Winter-AMA races on a 250, where the team had gone to train all winter. He also fared well in the early Supercross races.
Bob Hannah would win the 1976 AMA 125cc National Motocross Championship.
Dick Miller Archives photo
Still, no one thought he might be a match for Marty Smith on 125s, but then Hangtown happened, at the old, sandy Plymouth track, and the wild-riding Hannah absolutely shocked everyone with a pair of moto wins on the #39 Yamaha. Hannah was soon being hailed a “Hurricane,” and he would go on to win the 1976 AMA 125cc National Motocross Championship. He would also dominate much of the next three years of racing, working off his Hangtown win to build a record-shattering volume of work.
To know more—a lot more! —about Hangtown '76 and the works Yamaha that Hannah raced into the spotlight upon, check out this epic feature.
And here are the race results from that afternoon, courtesy of Racer X's The Vault.
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I saw Hannah race a few nationals in TX, and I remember in one at Lake Whitney, on a 125, where he was FLYING, and absolutely annihilated the competition (I have no idea who was second! :^).
Man the OW125 was THE trickest bike ever for it's time- I was drooling over it in the pits- Remember anyone could go in the pits back then. But those red engine honda were pretty cool too at first.
I wonder if Bob would be surprised if he knew how many 125, 250 & 500yz sales deals he made a,"Cake Walk" for the sales staff during that era.
Myself included...
PS Great teaser Davey, on what is the equivalent to, "Christmas Eve" for the 2012 Hangtown opener.
Boy Howdy! I still need to cut a tree...
What an ass kicker.
...Took no prisoners...
For those of us of age at the time and attending/following the events, this story, as told above, is pretty unsatisfying.
Smith was racing the GP series AND the Nationals, jetting back and forth each week. And then riding different bikes home and abroad, very different.
In the GPs he had a factory bike, in the USA, because of the "Claiming Rule," Honda would not run the full factory bike. Smith was on a hybrid stocker laced with 1975 factory parts. And some FMF stuff, if I remember. It was not only not "factory," it wasn't even sorted (he would show up at the track from Europe and they would point at the parts-combo-of-the-week) and Smith had numerous mechanical DNFs.
Meanwhile, Hannah was on the full-factory Yamaha. When Smith DID have the full factory RC-2-125 (at the USGP and I think a couple events at the end) he spanked Hannah.
Not taking from Hannah, but if we are gonna tell the story, let's tell the story. In 1976, it was still true that Marty Smith was doing things on a 125 that nobody else was doing. And was smooth and effortless doing it. It's too bad all this was just before consumer video and broadcast MX was common, because his style was very much what we would later call Bailey- or JMB-like. Smooth, tidy, and with impossible cornering speed.
My theory was/is that a lot of people resented Smith because he was too fast, too good-looking, too well-paid, and too overexposed. I think a lot of folks found it satisfying to see him taken down.
For those who just care about the riding we witnessed and the actual history, as opposed to the legend, we know what we saw.
The sport needs a modern day Hannah. Everybody is too nice nowadays.
@Elsinore, Of course you are correct, and so is DC. There is always two side of the story.
I appreciate the little rides down memory lane, even if it is tempting to correct the version of history to fit your perspective. Don't feel like there is a conspiracy, just us old people with failing memories telling tales losely based upon fact and tightly based upon those elements that we think we remember. It is all bench racing.
DC's story is just a "racing incident". Just smile politely when someone "races" up their favorite story, and they will do the same for you.
@Kilroy - Barcia is every bit of Hannah in the agression department. He just doesn't have the Hanna mouth, which was mistakenly bolted onto J-Law's face.
Barcia has a looooooong way to go before he compares to Hannah. BTW, DC, the "Hurricane" label had already been applied during that dominant Florida series performance. I remember it well. Elsinore, you bring up some good points. Marty Smith was my first MX hero (bought a CR125 and all the Smith-replica gear), and my first live event was the following year at Unadilla (first year I could drive - semi-legally, only had a permit). Marty took it to Bob on the 500s. Nonetheless, in time "Buckwheat" (another Hannah nickname) would rewrite the record books and eclipse Smith as the top rider of the era. And what an era it was!
1976....i graduated that year from high school...all my buddies went to polkadots for the national....we borrowed my buddies mom and dads pop up to camp.....parked my dodge van {red curtians and all} 12 inches from the track.....side door open...along a sweeping rt straight that developed 4 ft rolling whoops....dirt flying in the van...dude on a yamaha doing things in those whoops that was totaly impossible!!! that was my intro to the Hurricane...Damn!!! those where the days!
@elsinore ...just your name convinced me your not biased.....signed BOB. Kilroy i'm afraid Bam might be the last a dying breed ...though Wilson and Tomac gave me hope.....
Just remember Hannah's bike was water cooled.That was a hugh advantage over an air cooled Honda 125.The motos were 40 plus 2 back then.I remember everone flipping out when Hannah won.Not many people knew who he was.
wow i was 5 days from turning 12 and yes bob and my 2 older brother is why i still ride yamahas today, went from racing B.M.X. to M.X. brother had a steel tank MX 125, spring rear shocks with about i dont know 4 inches of travel, then they got the monoshocks, still aircooled with the yellow tank and the black and white yamaha logo that fell off the first time a little gas hit it. Then i started with there first production 1981 125 watercooled, then 1982, then 1985, then 1989, 1991, 1994, 1998 and so on, the only time i ever rode a different brand were my friends bike, also saw him at lake whitney, we were always were they dropped into the creek came out right hander then left horse shoed then a long whooped out sandy sweeper towards the bridge you could walk from the outside of the track to the center awesome times. what was it 30+ years before they ever changed that track.
"Let Brock bye" Can't forget that one.
I remember 1976 very well. I was out most of the year with a broken back. The productiion YZ125 with the canister forks was not as good as my 75, The 75 I got may have been a bit special though. I had to run the 75 frame and 75 topend. had a hard time with the Canister forks but finally figured out a trick using both springs and gas. I had modified my 75 the using nitogen and double fork seals and the fork springs from dt125.
Yes I followed every thing in 76 and with Smith going overseas it made it more interesting. IT was a great year!
Yes I drooled all over the OW27 whenever I made it to the races!
The difference between Hannah and everyone else today is on the podium, Of course there are guys that ride just as hard (ok, nearly as hard), but they get to the podium we hear something inane like "my kx 450 and Dunlop tires were really hooking.."
When Hannah got on the podium you heard stuff like "The other guys stink, I hate their guts, they can't beat me and they know it."
Then he would go out and lay waste to them. It was awesome to hear and watch this.
@ elsinoreracer
"To know more-a lot more-about 1976 check out this feature (mxworksbike.com)."
I recommened rereading the above article and clicking on link to know more-a lot more.
Great read!
Make sure you read the comments after the article also. Way cool stuff.
I wish the rider's would hold a sign up with their sponsor names/decals on them so they could actually talk about the race and not sound like programed robots.As far as Bob Hannah goes "it's not bragging Mother#@@# if you can back it up" aka Kid Rock.
james852- were the same age I was there too. Hannah was on it- and I got some on old 8mm video of him and Marty Smith duking it out. I was standing against the snowfence (remember those?) in the first turn.