The flying MX trio: Can you name them?

Here's another example of brain fade: A great MX shot, three riders holding great form in tight formation...but who are they?  I have a guess for the Honda rider, but I'll leave it up to Retro Motocross readers.  If you know, drop a comment.

Name these Supercross riders

I'm at a loss when writing a cutline for this photo...this must have been practice at an early 80's Supercross...but who are these revvin' it up riders?

One of the reasons I enjoyed Supercross so much is that I loved all the competitors.  Worked to build relationships with them all...two digit, three digit and factory guys. Didn't matter, they were all writing the history of the sport.

Can you name the trio blasting over this stadium jump?  Please drop a comment if you can ID #77, #321 and #351.

Name this ultra fast sand rider from the south...

Here's a racer from the south who had a great personality and a strong throttle hand to match.  Good guy who fought his way through the regional events and when it was time for the Nationals, could make it happen.  He is known for one great National MX win...some of his success could be attributed to his ability as a master sand rider.  Who is it?

Joe Rogers and Chuck Sun like Retro Motocross

Here's two high profile Retro Motocross blog fans (you have to look very closely at the iPad in the photo).  Joe Rogers, an old friend and pro MXer from the Georgia racing scene, ran into Chuck Sun at the Indy Motorcycle Show.  We're still not 100% sure that Sun was the #17 rider in my previous post...maybe someday he'll let us know!

Thanks to all of you who are spreading the word on Retro Motocross. It's something fun and rewarding to share and the more who enjoy it, the better.

Mark Barnett is off the front...who's #17?

I love it when my photos are tack-sharp.  Here's the "Bomber" himself, Mark Barnett, making a quick trip around the course at a Supercross in the early '80's.

For some of you moto-historians, why not drop a comment onto the blog.  What year did Barnett run number 5 in Supercross?  That's Mike Bell (1) trying to close the gap from behind...but who is #17? Looks like he's checking out Bell's line.

Good stuff and great form from these top riders. Was racing in Supercross closer in those days?  I think so, but I observed the sport from a true front row seat - about 12 inches behind any berm I chose to call my own.

Lorenz Offner was...well...Lorenz Offner

There are many individuals and events that are hazy in my mind when I look back on MX yesteryear.

But here's one character I can't and won't ever forget:  Lorenz Offner, who was the brainchild of MX satellite team LOP (Lorenz Offner Products), based out of Waukegan, Illinois. The team was deeply funded through Offner's family wealth and it was a rather amazing operation. Riders like Kippy Pierce, Jeff Surwall and Marty Moates rode for LOP. One amazing performance was Moate's big victory at the 500cc USGP in Carlsbad...both then and now, privateers don't usually find their way to winner's circle.

It was the early 80's and the national motocross scene was still a wild time. Let's just state that Offner held a colorful personality and was the essence of many forever-to-remain-untold stories.

Johnny O' was ripped

On a 1-10 scale for cool, here's Johnny O' pegging a 10, looking very 80's, and essentially fit for duty.  O'Mara was one of the instigators of getting very in shape as part of motocross performance.  He was a runner and cyclist extraordinaire.

I remember a time when a bunch of people were hanging out in Simi Valley - where Bailey and O'Mara were living at the time.  The day had seen hard workouts and hill runs.  Everyone was showering and getting ready for a night out and dinner when the question was raised, "where's Johnny?"

Johnny was long gone.  He snuck out the back way to claim yet another run on the day.  Think O'Mara was a pioneer of the 2-workouts-a-day model.

Have to say that some of the bleed off from access to O'Mara and Bailey led to my own resurrection of sorts.  I saw these guys hammer relentlessly, so I tried to jump on the bandwagon by dropping from 214 to 165 in the fall of 1983.  Never really turned back from there.  These guys were a positive influence both on and off the race track. It was all good and a transformational time for American motocross. Glad I was there to watch it unfold.

Andre Malherbe was world MX champ

Here's a photo of 500cc World Champion MXer Andre Malherbe, taken at his home in south Belgium sometime in the early '80's.

I think this photo and associated shoot racks up as one of my best MX stories ever. I was hanging around in Brussels with long-time Cycle News contributor Henny Ray Abrams. Somehow, I got Malherbe's phone number and called him, asking if he would do an interview.  He agreed, so I got on a train and went down to the city where he lived.

Was able to spend most of the day there, hanging out with him and his (at that time) wife Sabine.  Made a bunch of shots and the story ran in an early issue of Cycle News the following year.

After we concluded the interview and photos, Malherbe asked me how I was getting back to Brussels...I told him the train, he said no worries I'll drive you back in my car! I'm a kid from nowhere Wisconsin and now the world MX champ is driving me around in Belgium.  Dreams can come true.

Tragically, Malherbe was paralyzed in a Paris-Dakar crash several years later. I recently saw a short news report on his state of affairs today.  He is making the best of it and still resides in Belgium.

Bob Hannah liked to make faces

Inquiring minds want to know...and if my mind wasn't so foggy from memories now 30 years old, I'd be able to tell you what Bob Hannah was thinking when I made this shot.

Supercross access was great in those days.  I was able to roam both pits and the entire floor of the stadium; as long as I didn't get mowed down by a bike, I was good to go.

The sport and its riders were gold currency.  I'll say it again, I'm glad I had my time at Cycle News East when I did. The dream job for a kid fresh out of college, in an era where print journalism still carried a lot of horsepower.

Jeff Spencer started the trainer craze in motocross

Back in the day, when factories were spending the big $$$ on motocross, teams brought all the fringe benefits into the program.  One early player in sport training was Jeff Spencer, the man who built and healed broken racers for Team Honda.

I remember one time I chatted with Spencer and Chuck Sun...seems that Chuck was mixing something that looked like bird seed in a blender. It was one of Spencer's concoctions; top racers were starting to look for the edge both on and off the race track.

Jeff was big in the formation of diet, training, and rehab.  He went on to be a key player on Lance Armstrong's traveling crew at Tour de France events.

As always, it was important to frame the characters who were pivotal in the sport, then bring them to Cycle News readers.  It was an essential part of my job.

Rick Johnson has good form

I have a theory on why I liked motocross in the early 1980's.  Riders were off the charts cool in every way...and at that time in sport, everyone stayed closer to the ground.  Easier to observe total perfection when it's right in front of you, not 40 feet in the air!

I'm pretty sure this is Rick Johnson, someone drop a comment and correct me if I'm wrong.  Guess at this stage of life it's more about the images than what I remember about them. Check out the overall style, I'd say 9.5 on a 10 scale.  Perfect position on the bike and in addition to that, all the decals are right where they need to be.

Cantaloupi, Smith and Glover: When box trucks were cool

There was a time in American motocross when riders were mostly accessible throughout the race day.  Team transporters, much less custom motorhomes, didn't yet exist.

Instead, most everyone congregated outside their box trucks - one rider, one mechanic, one truck.

It was simple and by today's standards, crude.

But we didn't know any better and that was the MX life.  We embraced it.  I think the box van era promoted a stronger sense of community. I'm glad I was there to be part of it.

Jeff Ward backs it into a turn

Here's an image that goes fast-forward from my Retro Motocross years at Cycle News East.  This is a shot of Jeff Ward threading it into a turn at the downtown Columbus, Ohio, supermoto race.  Must have been in the late 1990's.

Supermoto came on with a roar and died with a whisper.  Seems that the sport was pushed forward at an accelerated rate never got the traction is needed.  Financials were tough; infrastructure and costs in metro markets were daunting.

But for this moment, let's step away from the politics and agree on one thing: Jeff Ward was one very fine motorcycle racer who knew how to twist the throttle, and that's the end of that story.

David Bailey was a comic character

I don't know what to comment on here...except the fact that motocross used to be silly and fun.  I'm long removed from the sport today, so I can't speak on what happens in the pits and off the racetrack.  But in the Retro Motocross era, there seemed to be a goofy gag and practical joke going on 24/7.

I believed my job while at Cycle News was to bring out the personalities of the riders and mechanics, to tell the behind-the-scenes story. Either there is nothing left to tell, or modern day journalists don't see it as necessary.

Was there more personality in the sport back then?  Leave a comment, I'd like to get your opinion.