Blast from the past, ‘80 USGP 500

downard254
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4054
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Location
Bremen, OH US
1/2/2019 4:29am Edited Date/Time 1/2/2019 4:36am
Just stumbled across the 1980 USGP at Carlsbad. I remember watching this race live as a kid. It’s amazing how rough the tracks were back then. Constant braking and acceleration bumps. Dry, hardpacked and slick. And on 500’s to boot. I used to love riding rough track like this. I can post the link, but for some reason, I can’t embed on my iPad anymore. Don’t know why. Maybe someone and embed this for me as it’s worth the watch.
https://youtu.be/pywBDBd-plE
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mumbles
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553
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11/15/2006
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Perry, GA US
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676th
1/2/2019 9:11am
I was there also. I was waving one of those American flags they passed out at the gate. I still have my ticket stub, the flag, the program and I ripped off one of the little Bel-Rey track markers. That day was one of my best moments in MX.
2
SCR
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12/10/2009
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CA US
1/2/2019 10:02am
I was 18. About 10:00 the night before, after a few beers me and my buddy decided to load up the rest of the beer, jump in his 1971 Honda Civic clown car and drive 3 hrs to Carlsbad. Parked at the beach and got a couple hrs sleep sitting in the front seats.
Spent the last couple dollars we had on donuts and ice for the beer.
They had sherrif on horseback patrolling the hills for fence jumpers. We went full camando through the brush with the ice chest. Just when we thought we were gonna make it we got spotted so we had to make a run for it with two sherrif on horses chasing us. Jumped the fence and got lost in a crow of a couple hundred people.

One of the few foolish decisions I don't regret.
I've been to about 35 or more Nationals and USGPS going back to the 70s. 1980 Carlsbad is the best motocross race I ever went to. The race, the crowd, the atmosphere, Marty beating the best in the world on a production bike. It was the motocross version of Rocky in real life.
2
1/2/2019 10:33am
This race was huge for a lot of people and for the whole sport in the USA. I caught it on Wide World of Sports, was only 10 yrs old and had an XR 80 for about 4 mos. You couldn't have scripted it any better, Moates the underdog goes 1-1, first Amercan winner, etc. This was a great year for us, Olympic hockey gold, etc. Seeing this race seriously plotted the course of my life, after seeing it I had to race motocross.
SCR
Posts
1090
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12/10/2009
Location
CA US
1/2/2019 12:15pm
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Back when fans participated and track prep was flooding the track with the water truck once or twice a day. But it worked out because every practice track we had up in the local hills looked exactly like that picture. Good times.

1

The Shop

SCR
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1090
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12/10/2009
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CA US
1/2/2019 12:19pm
SCR wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2019/01/02/315144/s1200_151545_moates_carlsbad.jp g[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2019/01/02/315145/s1200_16058646686_87b2e61a53_ b.jpg[/img] Back when fans participated and track prep was flooding the track with the water truck once or twice a day. But it...
g" class="img-fluid" />

b.jpg" class="img-fluid" />

Back when fans participated and track prep was flooding the track with the water truck once or twice a day. But it worked out because every practice track we had up in the local hills looked exactly like that picture. Good times.

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Well shit pictures don't work ?

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