Bob Hannah, 1980

I bought a HRP Flak Jacket when it first came out!

LOL. So did I!! But in a couple of the pics I have, Hannah appears to still be using a JT Racing chest protecter. Apparantly the Flak Jak wasn't developed yet.



Hannah98 by Wandell Asbell, on Flickr

If Bob raced any of the 1980 Supercross rounds, he didn't score any points, because he's not listed with the 63 riders in RacerX's Vault (they don't have Trans AMA/Trans USA results):

http://vault.racerxonline.com/1980/sx/points

The race I saw may have been the last round of the series. I remember he was not running up front and I seem to remember the announcers saying it may have been his first race back from the broken leg. Hannah may have even had a DNF in that race. Remember, back then the Supercross and Nationals were really spread out. I guess Supercross wasn't as specialized so maybe no one thought it was a big deal to race a National MX round one weekend and a SX the next. I wish the RX Vault listed the Trans AMA series!

Wandell wrote:

The race I saw may have been the last round of the series. I remember he was not running up front and I seem to remember the announcers saying it may have been his first race back from the broken leg. Hannah may have even had a DNF in that race. Remember, back then the Supercross and Nationals were really spread out. I guess Supercross wasn't as specialized so maybe no one thought it was a big deal to race a National MX round one weekend and a SX the next. I wish the RX Vault listed the Trans AMA series!

The last SX race of the 1980 season was San Diego in late October. I was there, but I don't remember if Hannah raced or not (I was only 8). A DNF would definitely explain him not scoring any points though. I just can't see a healthy (or even semi-healthy) Hannah not even scoring a single point.

What was the DVD you rented? I'd love to try and find it.

Just got done watching the 1980 San Diego SX. Hannah did race this event and finished 2nd in his heat race behind Chuck Sun. He was never a factor in the main and he either DNF'd or finished outside the top 20.

The announcer did mention that this was his first race of the year. They also mentioned that there were 25 riders in the main event.

Great! Well the 1980 SX question is answered. While googling this, I discovered that in 1980 the Trans AMA series was apparently renamed the Trans USA series. I also found a You Tube video by a guy named David Lack who apparently was a photographer who attended the event. Basically he posted a slide show of some pics he took at the 1980 Trans USA Road Atlanta round. There are a few pics of Hannah that are similar to the ones I posted in regards to riding gear.

Here are some more pics apparently taken during the 1980 Trans USA series. Note that his Yamaha is still using the original Monoshock suspension with the triangle shaped swingarm. When the 1981 Supercross season started, the OW works Yamaha's were using a linkage setup similar the the 1982 production YZ's.


Hannah95 by Wandell Asbell, on Flickr


Hannah3 by Wandell Asbell, on Flickr

Wandell wrote:

The race I saw may have been the last round of the series. I remember he was not running up front and I seem to remember the announcers saying it may have been his first race back from the broken leg. Hannah may have even had a DNF in that race. Remember, back then the Supercross and Nationals were really spread out. I guess Supercross wasn't as specialized so maybe no one thought it was a big deal to race a National MX round one weekend and a SX the next. I wish the RX Vault listed the Trans AMA series!

Sully wrote:

The last SX race of the 1980 season was San Diego in late October. I was there, but I don't remember if Hannah raced or not (I was only 8). A DNF would definitely explain him not scoring any points though. I just can't see a healthy (or even semi-healthy) Hannah not even scoring a single point.

What was the DVD you rented? I'd love to try and find it.

My copy was originally a VHS tape set called "On Two Wheels" which was sold by Motovideo over 20 years ago. I transferred to DVD several years ago.

TG130 wrote:

My copy was originally a VHS tape set called "On Two Wheels" which was sold by Motovideo over 20 years ago. I transferred to DVD several years ago.

I think I've seen that. Guess I need to do some YouTube checking tonight to try and find it again.

This is why I like this part of the forum so much. It's like a trip through history.

Great information. I guess this is also when Hannah had left JT Racing and was starting his own company. You can see the HRP logo on his helmet but the jersey only says Yamaha as far as I can see. By the time the 1981 Supercross season rolled around, the HRP gear was ready to go.


Hannah31 by Wandell Asbell, on Flickr


Hannah127 by Wandell Asbell, on Flickr

I also seem to remember a magazine add that featured Hannah in a full leg cast. Does anyone have a picture of that or remember it. I know his broken leg was pretty severe, and with the medical care at the time his comeback is even more amazing.

From July 1981.....

Notice in that HRP ad that Hannah is riding what appears to be a 1980 YZ250 with his new gear. But in the pics I posted from the 1980 SX and Trans USA races his factory OW250 has 1981 graphics (all but 1) so apparently the 81 YZ's had already been released. Just odd that they didn't take the HRP ad pics with a factory bike or a 1981 YZ.