| October 13, 2024
Cycle News Archives
COLUMN
The Torch Had Been Passed
By Kent Taylor
For Mother Earth, autumn is a season when things begin to slow down. The busyness of spring and the long, hot days of summer are over. A cold, quiet winter will be a time for hibernation, but before the snow falls, Autumn lumbers in like an old dog, circling the floor for a place to lay down and call it a day.
But in the 1970s, this season was all about going fast because autumn motocross meant Trans-AMA time! For many years, this series had brought several of Europe’s Grand Prix stars to America for a few months in the fall to compete against, well, mostly each other. Even though strong American riders would start fast, they weren’t finishing strong, and the foreigners would always walk away with the gold. In 1973, Kawasaki rider Jim Weinert became the first U.S. rider to win an overall at a Trans-AMA event, and soon, other American riders were scoring overall wins in this once-prestigious series. But when the championship points were tallied at the end, USA riders were still playing follow the leader.
“Top American” was the award they would be shooting for, a participation trophy of sorts. Uncle Sam, you woulda won—if it weren’t for all those other good guys!
But as inevitable as the changing of the seasons, so also is the changing of the guard, and moto-know-it-alls predicted that the torch would be passed in 1978. The music may have been lame (Bee Gees and Debby Boone were topping the charts), and the movies depressing (The Deer Hunter, Midnight Express, and Coming Home). Still, American race fans were getting ready to party hard, because one of ours would finally win the Trans-AMA! Who would it be? Brad Lackey? Jim Pomeroy? Anybody!
No “Archives” reader needs to be introduced to Roger DeCoster, the five-time World Champion and four-time Trans-AMA series winner. R.D. was “The Man” (and still is), and he had been the best the sport had ever seen. But no one is faster than time. In 1978, a motocross racer on the other side of 30 was on the other side of the hill and DeCoster was now 32 years old. In 1977, he had his stranglehold on the 500cc World Championship loosened and swiped from him by Heikki Mikkola. But the Belgian star had still managed to secure his fourth Trans-AMA title that fall. In ’78, Mikkola would successfully defend his World Championship. Did DeCoster still have enough pre-mix in the tank to maintain his hold on the Trans-AMA title? It was a series that he had owned, winning from 1974-1977, and it usually wasn’t even close, as he would often have the points race sewn up before the last race was held.
In America, the 1978 AMA motocross season could be summed up in one frightening word: Hurricane. That nickname belonged to Bob Hannah, the Yamaha rider who had ravaged the MX scene that year without mercy. He had won the 250cc National Championship and the Supercross Championship in dominating fashion. Hannah and his works Yamahas were America’s best. The Trans-AMA title was the last championship for Hannah to nab.
The series kicked off at the Mid-Ohio raceway near Lexington and DeCoster was one of just three non-American riders listed in the field that day, the other two were Honda rider Graham Noyce and Montesa pilot Torao Suzuki. Team Honda’s Tommy Croft led the pack into the first turn, but Hannah wasn’t far behind, and the Hurricane whooshed his way past Croft a few laps later. A bevy of Americans, including Gary Semics, Gaylon Mosier, Denny Swartz and Marty Smith were in the mix, though none appeared capable of competing with Hannah.
Like a chess player, DeCoster was making his moves, working his way past his less-skilled opponents. The Man was as poised as ever, with Cycle News calling him “smooth, steady and in control, as always.” But they added that something seemed amiss with the former champ, stating that “the blinding charge he had exhibited in past years wasn’t there. Whether Roger had mellowed out and didn’t want to push himself with risk, or whether the competition had just gotten better can only be judged as the series continues.”
Hannah would cruise to the moto victory and Croft would finish in a strong second. In third was DeCoster. Third isn’t first, but R.D. had many thirds over his career, and he had magically turned them into firsts. Motocross is a smart rider’s game, and DeCoster’s consistent finishes had played well for him. He had once combined moto scores of 5-3 for an overall win. This game wasn’t over.
In moto two, it was another Honda rider, Marty Smith, nailing the holeshot, with both DeCoster and Hannah near the bottom of the top 10. Local rider Denny Swartz brought the crowd to its feet when he took the lead from Smith and held it for nearly the distance. Hannah, however, would not be denied, and he worked his way past the field, including DeCoster, and hunted down Swartz like a hound after a hare. He took the lead and held it to the end. Swartz was a solid second place and second overall on the day, ahead of Marty Smith, who was wrapping up a frustrating year on his Honda.
Roger DeCoster finished eighth in the moto, with Cycle News offering no explanation for the drop-off. His combined scores still netted him fourth overall on the day, good enough to say he still had a chance to compete for the series title.
“An era,” said Cycle News, “apparently came to a close” that day, and it was a prediction that would ultimately be proven accurate. Hannah became the first American to win the Trans-AMA title. DeCoster would have to settle for sixth, not even good enough to claim “First European” in the standings. It was autumn. The season had changed. The torch had been passed. CN