Throwback Thursday: Chuck Sun Holeshots at Atlanta International Raceway (1980)
Larry Lawrence | September 14, 2023
Factory Honda Rider Went on to Win the National over Rick Burgett and Danny LaPorte
In this week’s Throwback we flip the calendar back to June of 1980 and the AMA National Motocross event held at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia, on the southern outskirts of Atlanta. This photo shows factory Honda rider Chuck Sun (No. 63) nailing the holeshot at the start of the second 500cc moto. Sun went on to win the moto and the overall with a 2-1 over Yamaha’s Rick Burgett (No. 22), who’d won the first moto. Suzuki rider Danny LaPorte took third overall. Riders had to overcome temperatures in the 90s and high humidity. Besides Sun and Burgett, in the photo you can also see Jim Gibson (No. 29), Gaylon Mosier (No. 14), Jimmy Weinert (No. 6), Ross Williams (No. 75) and Rick Sidle (No. 944). Today the facility is known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, which hosted an AMA Supercross round this past season.
You can read about this race and much more by subscribing to the Cycle News Archives at: https://www.cyclenews.com/cycle-news-archives/