Posts
94
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
US
Edited Date/Time
1/27/2012 2:36pm
was in the garage last weekend and went threw a bunch of old mx stuff and guess what i found? the first high school motocross program from 1974.it has all the schools in it and sum cool photos of all the riders and all there names and what school they go too. ive had that for 30years.corona raceway was the bomb in its day but so was all the long haired no tatoo no earing white people.we had more inches in are pants then we did travel in those days.except for john holmes my uncle.the great white dolemite.
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I remember being at whatever Glen helen used to be & watching Ray bust the tripple clamp of a Bultaco.
I think that my friend Steve Russell's dad James was out there with the old movie camera that day. I need to check with him to see if he got that on Film.
Actually, I think it was Gary Denton who they ran a bounty on out there. Gary was pretty unbeatable for a while. I highly doubt Staten won as much as you thought he did...but if you were a flagger there, you'd better have been paying attention. Rex had a huge lead in one moto and roosted the crap outta me. I may have chucked a couple dirt clods in his direction the next lap around. At the very least I wagged my flag threateningly.
Dolemite, check the program for North High. That's the school I went to, and we were champs from '74-'78...but not due to my speed, that's for sure.
Ron Crandall taught Biology at North, and was also the motocross advisor for a while. We had MX P.E., where we'd do Tibblin exercises, but more importantly, it was on the same period as the football practices. The North football team all had shaved heads, and ran by near-military code on gym gear. By contrast, the MX team was all the long-haired guys, with boxers hanging out from the bottom of gym shorts...enough to really irritate the crap out of the football coaches.
Interesting note...John Gallagher (the FIM rep that follows all the SX races) went to North High, was on the MX team, and was also part of the race crew at Corona.
Another board member here, Scott Wilkinson (msrmx6) also went to North, and now works at MSR.
Oh, and the lighting there may have sucked (okay, it did suck), but we sure almost squished a few guys from North trying to install more lights there on a North High field trip.
What was really funny was trying to sneek in then having people chase you all over the rocky hills.
One time that happend and one of the guy's threw a big rock at a truck a blue or white ford Courier i think it it had a propane tank in the back.He really nailed the crap out of it.
Sorry dolemite if you remember.
The Corona Gp's were really fun, but man did the locals cheat or what.
I remember that the Carerra goggles were the trick setup there, less fogging, and better for the light issues.
On the way to Corona, 91E traffic on a Friday afternoon 1980ish
[img:ec018]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-1/1135267/coronamx1.jpg[/img:ec018]
Practice: 250 Int
[img:ec018]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-1/1135267/coronamx2.jpg[/img:ec018]
Actually, I think it was Gary Denton who they ran a bounty on out there. Gary was pretty unbeatable for a while. I highly doubt Staten won as much as you thought he did...but if you were a flagger there, you'd better have been paying attention. Rex had a huge lead in one moto and roosted the crap outta me. I may have chucked a couple dirt clods in his direction the next lap around. At the very least I wagged my flag threateningly.
Dolemite, check the program for North High. That's the school I went to, and we were champs from '74-'78...but not due to my speed, that's for sure.
Ron Crandall taught Biology at North, and was also the motocross advisor for a while. We had MX P.E., where we'd do Tibblin exercises, but more importantly, it was on the same period as the football practices. The North football team all had shaved heads, and ran by near-military code on gym gear. By contrast, the MX team was all the long-haired guys, with boxers hanging out from the bottom of gym shorts...enough to really irritate the crap out of the football coaches.
Interesting note...John Gallagher (the FIM rep that follows all the SX races) went to North High, was on the MX team, and was also part of the race crew at Corona.
Another board member here, Scott Wilkinson (msrmx6) also went to North, and now works at MSR.
Oh, and the lighting there may have sucked (okay, it did suck), but we sure almost squished a few guys from North trying to install more lights there on a North High field trip.
Hey gibby, your stories rock, damn you've been around for a while eh.
Ever think about having an "Old School Moto" section on MD ?
One of you mentioned running to the starting gate pushing your bike. Damn, I remember that. It was like a race before the race. And you'd usually have a buddy pushing on the rear fender too. It's cool to have memories of Bauer, Staten, McCracken, McMahon, Stout, Greenway, Northrop. When the 100cc class was still around I remember racing against Brian Myerscough! Yeah, he killed me but to even gate with the guy was epic.
I'll never forget the night I got bumped to pro there. I spanked the Int class in moto one and Crandall said "thats it, Wilkinson...you're getting bumped up for moto two". It was a small pro turnout and I just remember gating with John Greenway. It was like a dream for me. I gave him some heat but I think he got me that night. To this day me and Greenway have battles in the Vet class. So cool.
Corona also ruled to me because I got in the gate and raced for free. I was tight with Crandall. I would draw the race flyers for events and design the Grand Prix finisher pins. I would cruise around the 909 delivering the flyers to bike dealers on his tank of a street bike. Spent many days at Crandalls pad flirting with his girlfriend-lol. We all did.
We'd got to Glamis almost yearly and Crandall and Gloria would cook up a pit baked ham and Ron would eat all the fat. Gross.
The Grand Prix's were a blast. It was like slow motion when Crandall would wave the start flag standing on the back of his flat bed truck. All of us straddling the front wheel. Dead motor. Complete silence. That shit was nerve racking. I remember one pro race at a GP there on the line with Rex. I was excited..but then I holeshotted the start and I was crapping my pants because I knew he was back there stalking me. He got me in the first lap and thats all I remember.
Some of us moto guys ( like my two brothers) would hit Corona on TT night. We had some mad flat track skills from spending hours doing laps on Saddlebacks flat track. So we would hit Corona and spank the regular TT guys. They would get so pissed at us. I remember this kids dad yelling at him after I won. We'd even crank wheelies down the straight.
Hey, does anyone remember the early days starting gate that was on the flat track straight that was large rubber bands and it flipped upward out of your way? What a contraption.
Man, that gate sucked..so many cheaters. Then you'd hit the right hand first track corner. That ruled and it was safer than todays first corners. The hills were a blast and making sure you didn't hit the wall exiting the hills was on everyones mind.
MSR's building is exactly on the other side of the 91 freeway from where Corona Raceway was. There's even a small park where I eat lunch some times that sits at the top of Corona's biggest up hill. So you can imagine that I have flash backs almost daily of that place.
Godspeed Ron Crandall and thanks to you and Gloria for your efforts and memories!!!
brap
Man, there's some names there I haven't heard in a while. I'm still in contact with the Callaways, Rosenberry, and of crouse the Wilkinson brothers.
Pit Row
When they put in the "new" backword falling gate, the had to move the start to the infield.
Glad to hear the Pro class riders were just as nervous as us "lower" class guys on the GP dead engine starts.
Still have a Corona GP trophy in my garage:
3rd Quad Annual Leap Year GP - 1st Place 250cc Intermediate
For the Team Race - in 1984.
yeah, I knew Stout real well. I heard about his crash on a street bike hitting a train I think?
Stout was a cool guy. I haven't seen him in eons. Tell that boy Scott Wilkinson says hi!
When they put in the "new" backword falling gate, the had to move the start to the infield.
Glad to hear the Pro class riders were just as nervous as us "lower" class guys on the GP dead engine starts.
Still have a Corona GP trophy in my garage:
3rd Quad Annual Leap Year GP - 1st Place 250cc Intermediate
For the Team Race - in 1984.[/quote:a1a62]
Correctomondo on the moved gate lcoation, OW. Once I holeshotted Vince McMahon on my 500 and swapped out on the TT hill right after the new first corner. My open face helmet/ jofa did nothing to keep me from getting stitches and 2 black eyes.
Yeah, rarely missed doing the team race..the best was coming down that downhill with the ski jump half way down right before switching riders....hitting that thing pinned to see how far you could land it,,,I remember McMahon clearing this other GP hill that was flat on top. Nobody else even considered making it a table top..it was that big. Anybody else witness that?
What happened to Ron Crandall?
What happened to Ron Crandall?[/quote:78a16]
Heart Attack..while teaching his science class at North
Hey Dwight, had video been invented yet?
I hadn't seen Marty Miller in ages, and ran into him when I went out to Riverside to do a story on DMC. He was one of the original Miller Mano riders...it was a trip to see him again.
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