Most talented racer?

[quote="pje92":62847]David Thorpe, England, 3 World champs, How many?[/quote:62847]
Poor Thorpy, no one will ever forget O'Show blowing by him on a 125.

This is what I'm talking about.

[img:6726b]http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofimages/Marty_Tripes27.jpg…]

[quote="BobbyM":451e9]fte..remember when he went by hannah and wienert and howerton like they were going backwards at searspoint? hannah wasn't passed and pulled on by very many people...tripes made him look silly.[/quote:451e9]

That was among the most impressive things I have seen in motocross.

To begin, the battle in the lead group, which was Hannah, Weinert, Howerton, Sun and Ellis I think, was viscious -- Hannah and Weinert especially. The track was gnarly NorCal baked clay natural terrain.

Tripes looked slow, came up to them and sliced through them guys like a hot knife through butter and won by 20 seconds or something. And he never looked fast.

But I don't recall him making it through the other moto. Pretty typical.

[quote="FreshTopEnd":1275f]

That was among the most impressive things I have seen in motocross.

To begin, the battle in the lead group, which was Hannah, Weinert, Howerton, Sun and Ellis I think, was viscious -- Hannah and Weinert especially. The track was gnarly NorCal baked clay natural terrain.

Tripes looked slow, came up to them and sliced through them guys like a hot knife through butter and won by 20 seconds or something. And he never looked fast.

But I don't recall him making it through the other moto. Pretty typical.[/quote:1275f]
The wet grassy hills in practice, all the off-cambers, that track was wicked, they just don't build em like that these days.

Remember it like it was yesterday, also recall Magoo wrapping his Maico up in Snow Fence trying to pull off a typically impossible move.

[quote="mikey":b5172]Hes got to be very comfortable at that pace........just makes me wonder how much more Carmichael really has? I'm thinking he has more speed than he admits.[/quote:b5172]
Your not alone on that thought. He wasn't seriously challenged at all outdoors in 05'

[quote="KTM93":209cf]
Your not alone on that thought. He wasn't seriously challenged at all outdoors in 05'[/quote:209cf]
Unless you count exhausted 250-class rookies trying to jump on his back.....

199!!!

Joel Robert, perhaps? 6 time world 250 champ. 5 in a row.
Who else could smoke, drink and stay out all night, and come in the next day and smoke everybody? (no pun intended)
[img:5a26e]http://www.ama-admin.com/upl/u6TZ2401DI_1089915848.jpg[/img:5a26e]
Skimming the front wheel....

[quote="CR250Rider":f5db8]Joel Robert, perhaps? 6 time world 250 champ. 5 in a row.
Who else could smoke, drink and stay out all night, and come in the next day and smoke everybody? (no pun intended)
http://www.ama-admin.com/upl/u6TZ2401DI_1089915848.jpg[/url]
Skimming the front wheel....[/quote:f5db8]

Definitely on the very short list!

I think i saw Tripes win Atlanta in 76? I remember Johnny Borders was there and didn't qualify. Still BobbyM will always be the fastest in my heart... " title="Smile">

Reynard is another one very talented.

and Rob Herring- on his day he was untouchable- I remember Everts saying after a race Herring won (and beat Stefan) If he rode like that all the time he would have been world Champion -later Rob admiotted maybe riding came to easy for him, so he didnt have the work ethic, insaying that he was still a multi time British Champion, GP winner and MXDN winner lol

[quote="mccread":fffba]Reynard is another one very talented.[/quote:fffba]
And sadly, very fragile.

[quote="mccread":a846f]and Rob Herring- on his day he was untouchable- I remember Everts saying after a race Herring won (and beat Stefan) If he rode like that all the time he would have been world Champion -later Rob admiotted maybe riding came to easy for him, so he didnt have the work ethic, insaying that he was still a multi time British Champion, GP winner and MXDN winner lol[/quote:a846f]

Herring wouldn't nmake it into the 100 most talented riders

[quote="CR250Rider":2b7be]Joel Robert, perhaps? 6 time world 250 champ. 5 in a row.
Who else could smoke, drink and stay out all night, and come in the next day and smoke everybody? (no pun intended)
http://www.ama-admin.com/upl/u6TZ2401DI_1089915848.jpg[/url]
Skimming the front wheel....[/quote:2b7be]

He has my vote. Hell I was named after him, I better vote for him.

[quote="ktm boy 137":5da2d]I've gotta ask, how many people could go out and win on a stock machine like Lechien did?


I think windham is pure grace/style/natural ability & talent... he's the epitomy of it.




And Bruce Buhr is pretty fucking good too.[/quote:5da2d]

Hannah won a couple of Winter-am rounds in 78 on a production YZ250E. Watched them raffle it of at Sunshine when he was done with it.

What part of the word GOAT do people not understand?

[quote="BMSOB":829b9]For all around rider I would have to say Dick Mann. He won at the pro level in every discipline he tried. Flat track, TT, Scrambles, Desert, Road Racing & Motocross. Guess that puts a date on me.[/quote:829b9]

I agree. And he hasn't stopped.

If you're talking pure talent then you need to weed out the hard workers and trainers. Ex - As GOAT as he is, RC works harder than everyone else. So how much of that is talent? Take away his training and work habits and throw in some party ways ... would he still lap the field? Could he still pull off those saves and moves if he was out of shape?

We'll never know but for pure talent the list should probably feature the slackers of the sport that were still very fast. Since they didn't train and weren't afraid to party then they were mostly running on pure talent.

M. Tripes, J. Robert, R. Lechien ... maybe Bayle ...

The majority of the other names mentioned trained and worked really hard at the sport.

[quote="Ringer":14b3c]Rich Cain[/quote:14b3c] I think the landing he found was more natural.

[quote="BMSOB":2d82e]For all around rider I would have to say Dick Mann. He won at the pro level in every discipline he tried. Flat track, TT, Scrambles, Desert, Road Racing & Motocross. Guess that puts a date on me.[/quote:2d82e]

I'm #3 to vote for Bugsy. First rider to do the Grand Slam and rode the ISDT on several occasions. One year he rode for BSA on the Grand National circuit then rode a 500 four stroke for them in the Trans-AM that Fall. He did what TP is trying to do and with a lot less drama.

Windham, Pastrana, or Stewart get my vote

Lechien was the man when it comes to pure talent and mx.

Lechien's corner speed was extraordinary,... causally bent over in that hunched posture and wfo.

Bugs just really transcends the whole question.

I think a lot of great riders could do what he did, but you'd have to love motorcycles as much as he does, and I don't think anyone does.

Bubba.

Marty "Typhoon" Tripes.

Won more motos than anyone............without winning a championship.


Brian Myerscough a close second.

I say it's a tie between Lechien & Tripes, Because when either of them really wanted it, No one was even in the same league.....Period!!!!!

My dad likes to tell the story of the time he rode with Marty Tripes in the desert back in the early 70s. Tripes was 16 at the time, and smoked everyone. And he did it with one foot peg, too. At some point on the first day, he broke off his left peg and spent the rest of the weekend riding with his foot on the case.