His rivalries with Marty Smith, Kent Howerton and Broc Glover were epic. Tony DiStefano: While leading the 1974 500 National Championship on a privateer CZ, Tony DiStefano decided to race a Friday-night race at SoCals now-defunct Indian Dunes Raceway. He had presence, and still does.. Tragic news in the motocross community . Hi folks, a heads up: this is NOT an Official Bob Hannah FB.. created it to "Like" and post some cool pix frm back in the day. [25] Hannah was back on 250cc machines and wasted no time making a statement that he was still on his game. Hannah put himself in a hole with a poor start, but he made up for it by being the fastest rider on the track, in spite of doing it in heavy traffic as he made his way up to the leaders. Bob Hannah. [13] As defending 125cc national champion, he won three of the six rounds. That is sad. Typical Hannah, he put in a heroic ride. Ill bet Johnson will tell you it was hard to get what he got. But his charge was legendary, fanning his clutch like the Who's Pete Townsend and in one of the best come from behind races ever to grace the sport- Hannah caught and passed Marty Smith and went on to kill the class. Bob Hurricane Hannah was born on September 26, 1956, in Lancaster, California. I am disgusted. All rights reserved. Hannah blamed the motorcycles, and Yamaha blamed Hannah for not winning. It is a joke.. [13] He was the best motocross rider in the United States and arguably in the world. Email. I was playing it smart, trying to stay clear and not battle those guys too closely, so everything was going good. And that was it, Hannahs day was done. [13] He won five of the eight 125cc Nationals that year en route to his first National Championship. See more ideas about vintage motocross, motocross, motocross riders. Hannah had not raced 125s in four years. The MXA wrecking crew decided to chronicle some of the most famous injuries. He was one of the most successful motocross racers in AMA history, with 70 AMA national . When Wardy and I pulled up on Lechien, you could hear the roar of the crowd and that really gets your adrenaline pumping.. And not some meaningless 125 East or 125 West Championship.. He started the season by winning the CMC Golden State series over David Bailey, Broc Glover and Ricky Johnson. He was hired by Suzuki as a motorcycle test rider but, when there was no place available for him on the Suzuki motocross team, he was contracted to race for the Yamaha factory racing team in 1976. [9] Name. Dig a little deeper and youll find that Hannah was battling up front in both motos on an underdog Suzuki, and had it not been for a mistake by Jeff Ward that took Hannah out in the second moto, at the very least Hannah would have finished on the podium and with a little luck he might have even scored the national win! His career almost came to an end when he was in a water skiing accident in 1979. At one point, he won 18 straight races in ten days by competing in two classes at each event. He is a member of famous Racer with the age 66 years old group. They dont even want a piece of him. Bob Hannah was running an underdog Suzuki, but he got the most out of the RM250 in his final national at Southwick in 1989 and was battling up front. The rewards were significant. . Many hours of Hannah's childhood were spent riding in the desert of California, but he never raced. Hannah had completely dominated the 250 class in '78 and '79 and was told by doctors that his career was over. Mark Barnett didnt have half the talent that some of these kids have in one hand, but look what he did with what he had. You can learn more interesting insights about this date, as well as your own birthday, at BirthdayDetails. However, Team USA fared poorly with Hannah himself remarking later that I don't remember a single damn thing about those two races.[14][note 2], In 1976, Hannah had sporadically raced both 250cc and 500cc displacement classes, even winning his first 250cc National at Appalachian Highlands Motorsports Park. And thats exactly what Hannah did. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By Tony Blazier. 2023 - Dirt Bike Magazine. bob hannah lightning bolt reproduction decals graphics. Copyright 2023 CycleNews. Im not as hostile on any other issue, but this gets to me. yellow with black trim. Well dispel the controversy, and simply move it over to the Most Exciting MX Race of All Time list! In negotiating a jump, he fell and injured both his left wrist and leg. But when I saw the track, I told [promoter] Ward Robinson that he screwed me, Hannah said. He once bought and re-sold a very rare Mitsubishi Zero that had been salvaged from a WWII PNG crash site. He won five of the eight 125cc nationals that year en route to the national championship. He was an actor, known for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) and Fried Green Tomatoes (1991). While his memory of the second moto chasing leader Lechien was correct (Stanton made a late come-from-behind charge to win that moto), Hannah had completely forgotten that Stanton won the first moto. His best results in the 1980s were a second-place finish in the 250 MX series in 1981 and third in the same series in 1983, after switching from Yamaha to Honda. And there were still the occasional magical moments. Remarkably, just 13 months removed from his amateur debut, Hannah entered his first AMA National event in San Antonio, Texas, at the 125cc Cycle-Rama on August 25, 1975, finishing in sixth place. It is embarrassing to me to see these guys ride. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Lechien quickly got by Ward and opened up a small lead. His physical fitness, fierce determination on the race track and a hatred of losing, reshaped American motocross by boosting the speed and competition to higher levels. Bob Hannah was born on 26 September, 1956 in Lancaster, CA, is an American motorcycle racer. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Information on this site is preliminary information relating to motor vehicle injury and fatal crashes investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Josh took a job at Mosnter Energy, dabbled in videos, did a few races and even came back to the 250 Supercross class in 2020. No-one was fitter. That was McGrath. If that is all they have to offer, they need to go home. For almost a decade, he raced a highly modified P-51 Mustang at speeds close to 500 mph, 30-50 feet of the ground, in the Unlimited Gold Class at the Reno Air Races. Honda won all the 250cc Nationals except for one, Troy, Ohio, where Lechien won on a factory Kawasaki. The only reason Hannah was even at Southwick that day, he now admits all these year later, was because the promoter paid me to be there.. Salary in 2020. Paramedics took her to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, where she died . At the height of his career, Hannah suffered a water skiing accident at the end of 1979 that left him sidelined for more than a year. When inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, Hannah was living near Boise, Idaho, running a sport aviation sales company and winery. What he said 18 years agoshocked everyone. I see these guys congratulating themselves for taking fourth or second. [18] The July 1981 issue of Motocross Action magazine included the coverline, Hannah: Over the Hill?. Gary Jones: Four-time 250 National Champion Gary Jones never had a chance to win five consecutive championships. These cookies do not store any personal information. He would go on to win the AMA Supercross title for three straight years. Have you ever wondered why to this day, the Hannah vs- Howerton 1981 Massacre at Saddleback is still considered one of the most controversial motocross races of all time? Above, Corrado Maddii liis carried off the track as his 1984 FIM 125 World Championship slips away to Michele Rinaldi. Jeremys 7 AMA Supercross Championships and 72 victories provide him with solace for his 1997 loss. Nov 12, 2022 Bob Hannah is a true legend of the sport. Required fields are marked *. Did you see the Daytona Supercross? [29], While Hannah continued to be among, if not the fastest competitor in motocross, injury and age were catching up. We have included it for those who want to hear Bob Hannahs unvarnished truth. That record would stand until Jeremy McGrath broke Hannah's overall win record in 1999. [8] It wasn't long before Hannah caught the attention of Suzuki who brought a $700-a-month offer to test and race small displacement works-bikes. Ill bet $10 grand nobody can beat his record in the next ten years. I wanted to beat him for pure ego. Quote online. Well now, youll finally see for yourself!\r \rOne of the nastiest, hard fought races in motocross history can be seen for the first time right now. Mammoth Motocross | June 18-27 | Dirt Bike Racing - mammothmotocross.com. All Rights Reserved. Such was Hannahs dominance in the late 70s and early 80s that many American observers considered him a better rider than the great Roger De Coster. Jeremy lost the 1997 title by 15 points. LaRocco. Just a few events into the 1985 Supercross series, Hannah was telling the press that it was going to be his last season for that circuit. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. He successfully defended his title in 1979 by earning victories in six of the 10 events. The AMA - fearing a Hannah sweep of every championship - stopped holding single class Nationals, combining them on the same day causing Yamaha to defer Hannah to the 125cc class when the two conflicted. Hannah Seymour, 14, and . Most Popular #176775. Funny, scathing and absolutely trueonly the names have changed to protect the innocent. Bob Hannah is a true legend of the sport. Bob Hannah: In 1979 Bob Hannah went water-skiing at Lake Havasu with Marty Tripes. Show More; Open Computing Facility at UC Berkeley - berkeley.edu. It stepped up when Bob Hannah hit the pro ranks a year after Smith. The worlds leading publication about motocross and supercross. Mike Craig: After winning his first and only 250 Supercross at Tampa in 1994, Mike Craig claimed to have tripped over his shoes in his hotel room while making a late-night pit stop. I screwed myself by mixing it up with Wardy and Lechien early on in the second moto. Smith yanked a big holeshot while Hannah was caught up in a big crash on lap one, but re-entered the race nearly last in the field. Bob getting his Lifetime Achievement Award from Tom White in 2007. He broke his back and retired to the life of a TV commentator. Robert William Hannah (born September 26, 1956) is an American former professional motocross racer. Johnson, Stanton, Bailey and myself on our best day couldnt beat Jeremy in Supercross. [13] Yamaha team manager Kenny Clark moved Broc Glover to the 250cc class in the Nationals and Hannah to the 125cc class. Bob "Hurricane" Hannah", "The Vault. The proof is in the video!\r\r\rDVD Features:\r\r 50-minute never before seen racing footage with play-by-play commentary from Bob \"Hurricane\" Hannah!\r\r New and expanded interviews with Bob Hannah and Keith McCarty from the TV show \"The Motocross Files\".\r\r Bonus Features:\r\r- Bob Hannah's Roast from \"One Chance to Win\" Premiere.\r\r- \"2008 Monsters of Motocross\" promo with Bob Hannah as MC.\r\r Over 90 minutes of content!\r\rDVD Price: $24.95 CN. Hannah broke his femur and missed the entire 1980 season. Hannah was born and bred in Lancaster, a town on the western edge of the Mojave Desert. Hannah continued to seek the adrenalin rush even after his motorcycle-racing career ended. He raced the next five 500 Nationals with his hand in a cast and lost the title to Jimmy Weinert. [23], If 1981 was a difficult year for Hannah, 1982 may have been the lowest point his career. Insiders at Team Yamaha professed that they never believed that Craig was seriously injured and the team dropped him in mid-season. Currently, he is 66 years old, and his 67th birthday is in . Im really hard nosed and I feel sick about it. He started out racing in 1976, winning all five of his races. This story was written back in 2000. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Wayne, PA 19087. They take their money and finish fourth. Technically, this wouldnt be his final race, he ran the USGP at Unadilla a couple of weeks later, but most fans knew this would be their final chance to see the Hurricane at The Wick. Today Bob admits he made a strategic mistake at that point. 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