10/30/2009 1:53 PM
Here are some of my memories of Saddleback Park.
I was out there practicing and racing several times a week during the early 80’s, unfortunately I did not take a lot of pictures back then but I remember it well.
I remember Bob Hannah testing a works RC250 before Golden State flying down bonsai hill, passing me in the air, rear wheel kicked out sideways ¾ down the hill lands and gasses it out of trouble. Those works Honda sounded so strong.That was the first time I was on the same track as factory racer and was blown away how fast he was.
Riding during the week on the main track and seeing Billy Liles on a works SR250 and remember thinking he had no chance against Hannah on the Honda.
That day team Honda was out there testing and took the famous photo with Lechien, Bailey, O'mara, Hannah and Magoo. Pretty cool to see all the greats there at once
I remember racing with Sam Storer in the 125 intermediate class, he had this cool weird gear with rats stitched up the seam, and I think it was from Australia. I had just moved up to intermediate class and he was one of the top guys. He was incredible fast on the KX80 in 81/82 and fast on the KX125’s too. He was a pro for a short while and then like a number of the fast mini racers just seemed to quit, similar to Paul Denis. I think once some of the mini stars moved up to the pro ranks the costs just skyrocket to race all the big events across the country. That may be one reason for some of the mini stars quit after they moved up to the pro ranks. Once I turned pro the bike needed to rebuilt much more often and needed many modifications, like suspension, engine etc. I hope he is doing well based on some of other posting here regarding him. He was one to emulate back then.
Watching Paul Denis on the KX80 and Larry Brooks on the R&D Suzuki going at it on 80’s. They were both nice guys but had a big rivalry against each other. I got to know Larry a bit better and my friend was his mechanic in 1987 when he was leading a 125cc national and the bike seized, he was really pissed.
Larry was out there quite a bit and I remember his dad was upset he was play riding in the back of the park all afternoon and made him do some hard laps on the main track before the sun went down. Ralph Brooks was a concerned parent, but not in an overbearing manner.
Watching Willie Surratt beat Larry at the NMA World Mini 1983 I think in the 105 class when Larry was heavily favored to win it.
Scott Brown was out there too. There was a small track in the back of the park cut into the side of a hill and I was with Warren Reid and remember seeing Scott there I think on the R&D Suzuki. That was right before Saddleback closed.
As I mentioned in the Bruce Bunch thread he was riding/racing there frequently. What a sight to see, I feel he may have been at least equal in accomplishments to someone like JM Bayle. There styles were similar too smooth and very fast.
Hanging out with Mike Healey in his motorhome at the world mini grand prix, another nice guy. He was riding CR80 for Honda at the time. Larry Brooks used to call him “Squealey” because he had the highest pitched voice.
The major factories would always be there testing the latest equipment, some memories are the following:
Jeff Wards works 1983/84 SR125’s as well as the 250’s.
R&D Suzuki’s cool semi works RM125 for Rudy Dickinson and that thing was fast, he pulled the hole-shot his first pro against some big name riders.
Dave Miller had some cool minis out there like the KX105 monster.
Seeing Kawasaki’s Todd Campbell’s new 83 KX125 prototype and watching his first pro race where he finished second place to Johnny O’mara and strong field of other pros.
All the handmade Honda works bikes were there and tested frequently by the factory riders, what a sight to see including all the great riders they had.
One day one of the Honda box vans was parked near me and it was Johnny O testing a bunch of bikes, both Jim Felt and Johnny were friendly and so down to earth. Johnny let Larry Brooks test a few Hondas while he was still riding minis for R&D Suzuki, shortly after that he left and went to race 125’s for Honda.
That same day I was practicing starts on my KX125 and Johnny O comes up next to me and wants to drag up the start hill. I was on my beat up practice bike and O’Mara was on a factory stocker for the CMC series and I remember thinking after that about how much of an advantage Ward would have that year on the KX. His CR barely beat my old practice bike.
Someone mentioned about Kehoe and Holland through webco, the fastest person I ever saw through there was Mark Barnett on a works Suzuki RA125 during the Golden State, I think either 82 or 83. He came blasting down bonsai and then would rail the outside of the corner a foot from the edge, going wide open through there, leaving everyone else going around there in the dust. All the others would try square it off (Kehoe) but Barnett was clearly the fastest rider through there and everywhere else for that matter back then.
I turned pro in 84 and was working with Warren Reid trying to qualify for the saddleback national. I was out there the week before the national with Warren and he introduces me to George Holland. We all hung out in my pro-trac trailer and chatted for a while. He was very cordial and mentioned he recognized me from riding on the practice track, for me at that point I felt like I made it in a small way. I was riding well that week and I think I finished 2nd or 3rd in the qualifying race and was really excited to race the national that year. I did not do that well at the national but just being a part of it was special. Going up Suicide Mountain during the national was pretty radical; it seemed so steep coming down too. The Magoo doubles were cool to clear too. It was very dusty as shown in the video for the1984 national.
Toward the end of my racing days I became friends with Jeff Ward after saddleback closed. We lived near each other and we ride together at nearby practice tracks. I met him through a friend and I remember when he called my house to ask me to go riding with him, I could not believe that Jeff Ward actually called me to go riding with him! I learned about how dedicated he was to racing by personally experiencing the rigorous schedule he would maintain, riding-training-preparation. I also rode bicycles with him at the end of my motocross days, he was in incredible physical condition and I actually got in better shape after I quit racing, by cycling hundreds of miles per week to fill the void of not racing motocross anymore. I still use the lessons learned from him today.
Thanks to webcokid for starting the thread and to everyone else for adding comments and photos!
I was out there practicing and racing several times a week during the early 80’s, unfortunately I did not take a lot of pictures back then but I remember it well.
I remember Bob Hannah testing a works RC250 before Golden State flying down bonsai hill, passing me in the air, rear wheel kicked out sideways ¾ down the hill lands and gasses it out of trouble. Those works Honda sounded so strong.That was the first time I was on the same track as factory racer and was blown away how fast he was.
Riding during the week on the main track and seeing Billy Liles on a works SR250 and remember thinking he had no chance against Hannah on the Honda.
That day team Honda was out there testing and took the famous photo with Lechien, Bailey, O'mara, Hannah and Magoo. Pretty cool to see all the greats there at once
I remember racing with Sam Storer in the 125 intermediate class, he had this cool weird gear with rats stitched up the seam, and I think it was from Australia. I had just moved up to intermediate class and he was one of the top guys. He was incredible fast on the KX80 in 81/82 and fast on the KX125’s too. He was a pro for a short while and then like a number of the fast mini racers just seemed to quit, similar to Paul Denis. I think once some of the mini stars moved up to the pro ranks the costs just skyrocket to race all the big events across the country. That may be one reason for some of the mini stars quit after they moved up to the pro ranks. Once I turned pro the bike needed to rebuilt much more often and needed many modifications, like suspension, engine etc. I hope he is doing well based on some of other posting here regarding him. He was one to emulate back then.
Watching Paul Denis on the KX80 and Larry Brooks on the R&D Suzuki going at it on 80’s. They were both nice guys but had a big rivalry against each other. I got to know Larry a bit better and my friend was his mechanic in 1987 when he was leading a 125cc national and the bike seized, he was really pissed.
Larry was out there quite a bit and I remember his dad was upset he was play riding in the back of the park all afternoon and made him do some hard laps on the main track before the sun went down. Ralph Brooks was a concerned parent, but not in an overbearing manner.
Watching Willie Surratt beat Larry at the NMA World Mini 1983 I think in the 105 class when Larry was heavily favored to win it.
Scott Brown was out there too. There was a small track in the back of the park cut into the side of a hill and I was with Warren Reid and remember seeing Scott there I think on the R&D Suzuki. That was right before Saddleback closed.
As I mentioned in the Bruce Bunch thread he was riding/racing there frequently. What a sight to see, I feel he may have been at least equal in accomplishments to someone like JM Bayle. There styles were similar too smooth and very fast.
Hanging out with Mike Healey in his motorhome at the world mini grand prix, another nice guy. He was riding CR80 for Honda at the time. Larry Brooks used to call him “Squealey” because he had the highest pitched voice.
The major factories would always be there testing the latest equipment, some memories are the following:
Jeff Wards works 1983/84 SR125’s as well as the 250’s.
R&D Suzuki’s cool semi works RM125 for Rudy Dickinson and that thing was fast, he pulled the hole-shot his first pro against some big name riders.
Dave Miller had some cool minis out there like the KX105 monster.
Seeing Kawasaki’s Todd Campbell’s new 83 KX125 prototype and watching his first pro race where he finished second place to Johnny O’mara and strong field of other pros.
All the handmade Honda works bikes were there and tested frequently by the factory riders, what a sight to see including all the great riders they had.
One day one of the Honda box vans was parked near me and it was Johnny O testing a bunch of bikes, both Jim Felt and Johnny were friendly and so down to earth. Johnny let Larry Brooks test a few Hondas while he was still riding minis for R&D Suzuki, shortly after that he left and went to race 125’s for Honda.
That same day I was practicing starts on my KX125 and Johnny O comes up next to me and wants to drag up the start hill. I was on my beat up practice bike and O’Mara was on a factory stocker for the CMC series and I remember thinking after that about how much of an advantage Ward would have that year on the KX. His CR barely beat my old practice bike.
Someone mentioned about Kehoe and Holland through webco, the fastest person I ever saw through there was Mark Barnett on a works Suzuki RA125 during the Golden State, I think either 82 or 83. He came blasting down bonsai and then would rail the outside of the corner a foot from the edge, going wide open through there, leaving everyone else going around there in the dust. All the others would try square it off (Kehoe) but Barnett was clearly the fastest rider through there and everywhere else for that matter back then.
I turned pro in 84 and was working with Warren Reid trying to qualify for the saddleback national. I was out there the week before the national with Warren and he introduces me to George Holland. We all hung out in my pro-trac trailer and chatted for a while. He was very cordial and mentioned he recognized me from riding on the practice track, for me at that point I felt like I made it in a small way. I was riding well that week and I think I finished 2nd or 3rd in the qualifying race and was really excited to race the national that year. I did not do that well at the national but just being a part of it was special. Going up Suicide Mountain during the national was pretty radical; it seemed so steep coming down too. The Magoo doubles were cool to clear too. It was very dusty as shown in the video for the1984 national.
Toward the end of my racing days I became friends with Jeff Ward after saddleback closed. We lived near each other and we ride together at nearby practice tracks. I met him through a friend and I remember when he called my house to ask me to go riding with him, I could not believe that Jeff Ward actually called me to go riding with him! I learned about how dedicated he was to racing by personally experiencing the rigorous schedule he would maintain, riding-training-preparation. I also rode bicycles with him at the end of my motocross days, he was in incredible physical condition and I actually got in better shape after I quit racing, by cycling hundreds of miles per week to fill the void of not racing motocross anymore. I still use the lessons learned from him today.
Thanks to webcokid for starting the thread and to everyone else for adding comments and photos!
Webcokid wrote: This topic is broad and pertains to the birthplace of California motocross. Well, Carlsbad should be mentioned, but Saddleback was the premier location. I was never that fast, nor was I a former mini star, but I still take great pride in my accomplishments as an 80cc Novice class racer. For example, the Saturday CRC 45 minute motos were radical.
We showed up one sat. in 79 and they decided to run Banzai that day. Banzai on an 80 was pretty treacherous. Not to mention, the 80's always ran after the 250 class, so the track wasn't always in the best of shape. I won the novice class this day, since I was a local and had practiced the starting line and banzai the previous wed. after school. I took the holeshot on both motos and checked out. This was my day, my bike ran perfect, I did not get tired, no arm pump, and no hand"claw" from hanging on to a mono shock swapper for 45 minutes; oh and no get offs. I was also really stoked for a 11 year old, as I was so far in front, that I could hear the announcer talking about my lap times as I made the downhill trun after the webco corner. Remember, that was a hard left and took you down by the back track. I still remember hitting the Banzai dropoff, telling myself not to get squirly when I landed at about 70mph and can see it like yesterday. I often wonder how I would feel now after running a 45 minute moto on a 1979 YZ 80. I ran a luft shock, and the frames on these bike use to break from the pressure. To this day, I had never seen anyone run a YZ harder and faster than Eric Kehoe. Man, thoes 80 expert battles between Holland and Kehoe are forever engraved in my memory. Those were awesome times. I use to copy Kehoe on the start. He would start at the far right and make a sweeping cut off left turn to the corner at the top. Enough said, Kehoe and Holland, and Burnworth were the premier guys this year of 79. This is just one of my many recolections of Saddleback and cherish all.