by Davey Coombs
The List: Ten Moto Gestures
Thursday, June 28, 2012 | 3:00 PM
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A gesture can be something as small as the late Jim Pomeroy's Bultaco-styled “thumbs-up” or as deep and permanent as the Sharky tattoo Chad Reed wears in honor of his late friend and fellow Aussie legend Andrew McFarlane. With this being another off-weekend, we got to thinking about some other famous gestures from motocross’ past. This is not a complete or ordered list; if you have some to add, please share them in the comments below!
1.) Jeremy McGrath's signature move in supercross was the nac-nac, and he uncorked it at the end of many of his seventy-two main-event wins. But in 2006 he came out of retirement to race a Honda CR250 at the Phoenix Supercross. He somehow snagged the holeshot ahead of Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Chad Reed, Kevin Windham, and everyone else on 450s, and then he did something incredible: Jeremy did a nac-nac off the first triple!
Jeff Kardas snapped this cover photo of Jeremy McGrath doing a nac-nac at the 2006 Phoenix SX—he pulled another one off while leading the start of the main event!
2.) More notorious than Jeremy's gesture was Brian Deegan's infamous ghost-ride off the finish-line jump at the Los Angeles SX when the Moto XXX Suzuki rider, future high overlord of the Metal Mulisha, won the 125cc main event over all the factory riders. Deegan literally blasted his bike off the finish-line double and went across on his feet. He was fined $500, but he should have been handed a bonus instead—the footage became a staple for TV commercials!
3.) At the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix, the final round of the FIM series, KTM rider Mike Healey was battling with Honda-mounted Trampas Parker for the world title when U.S.-based superstar Jeff Stanton showed up to race. He tangled with Healey, and Mike was none too pleased, as his one-fingered salute showed....
Mike Healey let's Jeff Stanton know what he thinks of him at the 1991 Japanese GP...
4.) An oldie but a goodie: At the end of his last Grand Prix at Namur, Swedish motocross legend Hakan Carlqvist was running away with the win when he stopped on the last lap along the road that was part of the track, was handed a beer, and chugged it! Here’s the video.
Carlqvist's gesture was respectfully repeated by Stefan Everts, the favorite son of Belgian motocross, when he raced at Namur years later, just before the most epic track in the history of our sport was shut down.5.) Team USA's David Bailey and Rick Johnson rode across the finish line arm-in-arm at the '86 MXoN, the day Team USA laid down the law at Maggiora, Italy. The move was replayed twenty-five years later when Ryan Villopoto slowed down on the last lap of the 2011 Motocross of Nations and waited for his teammate Ryan Dungey, who was holding down second place in the decisive final moto, so they could cross the finish line together.
Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey celebrated Team USA's seventh straight win in the MXoN the same way David Bailey and Rick Johnson did back in 1986.
Steve Lamson lets the rest of the world know that downhill quadruple jumps are no big deal on the first lap of practice at the 1996 Motocross of Nations in Jerez, Spain.
Thom Veety of Action Photos snapped this gem of Danny “Magoo” Chandler letting the AMA know how he felt about the fine for riding backwards on the track at Unadilla.
9.) Top riders in the eighties used to wear the name "PAT" on their Camel bibs or across the tops of their helmets at big races in Europe, in honor of Pat Boulland, the charismatic photographer who helped make the U.S. stars bigger than life to young European fans with his brilliant images. In fact, Jean-Michel Bayle wore “Pat” on his helmet when he won the '89 Gainseville 250 National, and David Bailey even wore it on his Camel bib at the game-changing 1986 Motocross of Nations at Maggiora. Sadly, Boulland lost his life a few years later while swimming in the ocean off the coast of Africa.
You can see "PAT" on the Camel bid of David Bailey at the 1986 MXoN, in this brilliant painting by Rob Kinsey.
That's American motocross legends Jeff Stanton and Guy Cooper sharing a moment at Unadilla's recent Rewind Weekend.
Heather Collis photo
BONUS: Valentino Rossi vs. Max Biaggi: While this particular gesture didn't take place on the dirt, it's still one of the most famous in the history of two-wheeled motorsports. When the MotoGP series stopped at Suzuka Circuit in 2001, Rossi found himself being pushed wide and off the edge of the track at triple-digit speeds by fierce rival Max Biaggi. Rossi responded by coming right back and putting a very aggressive pass on Biaggi and flipping him the bird in the ensuing corner. Although Biaggi no longer races MotoGP and it's been quite some time since Rossi has won a race, it's a move that is still talked about to this day. To see for yourself, go here.
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Not that it matters now...but in terms of Deegan's win....I always thought you had to cross the finish line with your bike....of course, no one was wanting to protest...but according to the rules....I had wondered if he technically "won" that race.
Stewart slowing down to let reed pass him and then repassing him after Reed was blaming bad starts could be on the list. What was the gesture Deegan was making?
"Oh Magoo, you've done it again!!!!!" A timeless classic......the man and the ride.
I wonder what would have come of Mike Healey with a G.P. title?
In all those years of riding those crappy (air cooled) YZ's behind the Team Honda steamroller that they were throughout the 1980's, Carla's ride at Namur was SWEEET!
I wonder, what kind of statement was "Rocket" Rex Staten making when he introduced himself to Vic Allen at the U.S.G.P. all those years ago?
man was i fooled mr Coombs...i thought the article was about hand signals and the like...?! my mind started racing!!
1. The Bird!...the all time classic.
2. The double Bird!..that means your really pis ed!!!
3. wrist bent...elbow pointing to the ground...streaching the Cable!! Give it some gas Man!!!
4. finger pointing to the head gesture...[ use your head a hole!! ]
5. thumb pointing down..[ you suck! ]
6. both palms raised to the sky [wtf!!!]...wrinkle nose
7. the rolling of both hands..[ cart wheel..!!....lawn dart...ugly!!!...down goes Stewert! down goes Stewert! down goes Stewert! ] sorry james...couldnt resist..love you man.
8. throw your gloves after the moto gesture..!..[ mother trucker took me out!!! ]
9. you get the idea... does anyone have any more???
A short time after the Healy-Stanton incident the FIM changed the rules and did not allow last minute entries for team tactics. Another note from that day. If Stanton wasn't there Healey would have won a world title on a KTM (Austrian) at the Honda track in Japan. Instead Parker gave Honda the title at their track.
Classic Magoo. Only he could pull that off. Fearless and funny.
I really liked this article. So many good memories you guys find to share. Leave it to Magoo. I know a guy that taught himself to ride his bicycle backwards, as a kid. He can still hop on today and do it with confidence. And he is almost fifty. But to ride a motrcycle backwards? That seems really difficult. Anyone else out there try it? With the stuff they do in the extreme competition, I guess it sounds lame, or easy, but I'm thinkin' it's not. Maybe TP 199 could build on this. I can see it now. "Ten story building to building backflip, while riding the bike backwards." Hey, almost all of the stuff they do today seemed impossible ten or so years ago.
Riding a bicycle backwards is easy, I did it on my BMX bike all the time. Remember Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy. Singing in the rain. My friend used to ride his MX bike backwards and he told me he could do a wheelie, but I never saw him wheelie.
Notice that Lamson is doing the quad on a 125 ! Think he was the only rider on a 125 doing the quad.
@ mxjoe99, I have a TON of respect for Jeff Stanton. His G.P. & MXdN record speaks for itself and his service to team U.S.A. is greatly appreciated & revered.
I do however, think he should have stayed out of that battle for the G.P. title.
After 21 (?) years of hindsight, I have concluded three things. 1) Stanton was (is) a Honda employee and as such, is contractually obligated to do what he was told to do (contract stipulations notwithstanding). 2) In '91 Stanton was among the fastest the world could muster and why shouldn't he win a race that was clearly in his ability to win. 3) Jeff Stanton probably doesn't give this race a whole lot of thought while Mike Healey probably thinks about it A LOT.
This situation reminds me of "Let Broc bye" and some of us know that there was a lot of hard feelings remaining (racers, teams, fans, etc) after that incident.
I liked Mike "Gunner" Healey as well and he was my pick for the 250 G.P. title because, I had NO CLUE who Trampas "Chad" Parker was. Plus, Honda was doing so much winning back then, I didn't think they would miss one G.P. title.
For a period of time, Mike was a threat to win any race he entered and was very much a journeyman Motocrosser in the Marty Moates mold and I wish him well.
There's a great pic of Emig jumping his 500 over a guy on that same jump Lamey is doing in this great Racerx article: http://www.racerxonline.com/2011/09/08/proof-jeff-emig-talks-mxon
Lamson was also fired up for that race because the last time Tortelli and Everts beat him and some people made a big deal out of it.
Check out this video of Lamson passing Emig at Jerez at the '96 MXdN where Lamson was on his way to winning the first 125/500 race.
At about the 10 min mark - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66ouxdYYYZE
Tortelli also got around Emig for 2nd and Emig would go on to finish 3rd, behind 2 125s. Classic
http://mxofnations.blogspot.com/2011/09/1996.html
Yeah, but Emig claimed he let them go by because he didn't want to mess up Lamson's race with Tortelli.
#800 at the @2:00min mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeGtyaWx1bY&feature=related