Hangtown 1976

dirtbikemike
Edited Date/Time 5/30/2012 5:56pm
Here are some pictures from Hangtown 1976 at Plymouth, California. They have been in an album for 36 years and I finally decided to share. There are 40 pics so it may take awhile to get them all up.



















































































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FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 4/12/2012 11:58am
4/12/2012 11:58am
Great pics man. One of the best races ever. This is an awesome photo. I've told people for years that when Smitty's bike broke and he walked it back through the crowd it was like Moses parting the red sea. Really captures it.

TX24
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TX24 4/12/2012 7:33pm
4/12/2012 7:33pm
Great shots. For someone that broke off a tooth back in the day, photos of no bar pads and open helmets make me nervous.
andymoto
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andymoto 4/12/2012 9:40pm
4/12/2012 9:40pm
Thanks dirtbikemike. Be a treat to see the remainder.

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dirtbikemike 4/13/2012 7:42pm
4/13/2012 7:42pm
That should be all of them. I'll dig out more from other races soon. Enjoy, Dirtbikemike.
Greg-15
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Greg-15 4/14/2012 8:36am
4/14/2012 8:36am
Awesome! Jim Pomeroy on his factory Bultaco Pursang. Thanks for posting.
FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 4/14/2012 9:43am
4/14/2012 9:43am Edited Date/Time 4/14/2012 9:44am
Uhh, no that's Tripes. Pomeroy was in Europe. He was at Plymouth in 77 on the Honda.

Awesome pics.

Helluva soil switch from Plymouth to Prairie City. What an awesome place that was to see pros at and race locally or amateur day. That place whooped up so quickly.
andymoto
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andymoto 4/14/2012 11:34am
4/14/2012 11:34am
Thanks again dirtbikemike for the great photos~! A big slice of motocross heaven there.
TG130
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TG130 4/15/2012 1:38pm
4/15/2012 1:38pm
Great pics DB Mike. Thanks.
GeorgeMcNamara 4/17/2012 3:11pm
4/17/2012 3:11pm
Wow, I think I see myself in the crowd around Marty Smith walking his bike.

Marty Smith came to a dead stop right in front of me and my buddy.
We helped him get his bike over the snow fencing.
For a few seconds I was about a foot away from him and I could see he had tears in his eyes.

I'm sure he was upset that his bike broke...but more upset that he finally had some competition, spelled - Hannah

Thanks for the photos and great memories.

George
DirtDgr
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DirtDgr 4/18/2012 9:42pm
4/18/2012 9:42pm
Wow! Very cool! Before my time with the Dirt Diggers!
CR500AF
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CR500AF 5/4/2012 7:10pm
5/4/2012 7:10pm
DirtbikeMIke - thanks a lot for posting the pictures. Brings back great memories for me as my one and only time riding this track was at the '79 AMA Amateur Nationals.

I was 17 and my dad wouldn't let me do the drive by myself, or with a friend, from upstate NY. So we crated up my bike and flew into Reno, rented a truck and drove over the mountains. Camped in the truck all weekend.

I raced the 100 expert class and had a terrible day, but fun at the same time. 40th pick for the gate put me outside left on the line so a terrible start - came back up to around 22. Second moto I fell in the first corner (with some help). Came back from last to 18th & finished 22nd on the day. Funny thing was one of the guys from my district, that I routinely beat, got a 6th in the 2nd moto. Oh well. Woulda, coulda, shoulda...

Just as Fresh Top End mentioned, I was amazed at how rough the track got during the day. 40 + 2 on that track and my legs were smoked at the end of moto 2.
TG130
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TG130 5/4/2012 10:52pm
5/4/2012 10:52pm
CR500AF wrote:
DirtbikeMIke - thanks a lot for posting the pictures. Brings back great memories for me as my one and only time riding this track was at...
DirtbikeMIke - thanks a lot for posting the pictures. Brings back great memories for me as my one and only time riding this track was at the '79 AMA Amateur Nationals.

I was 17 and my dad wouldn't let me do the drive by myself, or with a friend, from upstate NY. So we crated up my bike and flew into Reno, rented a truck and drove over the mountains. Camped in the truck all weekend.

I raced the 100 expert class and had a terrible day, but fun at the same time. 40th pick for the gate put me outside left on the line so a terrible start - came back up to around 22. Second moto I fell in the first corner (with some help). Came back from last to 18th & finished 22nd on the day. Funny thing was one of the guys from my district, that I routinely beat, got a 6th in the 2nd moto. Oh well. Woulda, coulda, shoulda...

Just as Fresh Top End mentioned, I was amazed at how rough the track got during the day. 40 + 2 on that track and my legs were smoked at the end of moto 2.
Do you remember who won the championship in the 100cc class that day ? The only guys I remember were the Scanapeicio (sp) brothers - who I think were from upstate New York also. I had never seen much racing in the 100cc class before and were amazed at how fast you guys were.
CR500AF
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CR500AF 5/25/2012 10:04am
5/25/2012 10:04am Edited Date/Time 5/25/2012 10:18am
TG130 wrote:
Do you remember who won the championship in the 100cc class that day ? The only guys I remember were the Scanapeicio (sp) brothers - who...
Do you remember who won the championship in the 100cc class that day ? The only guys I remember were the Scanapeicio (sp) brothers - who I think were from upstate New York also. I had never seen much racing in the 100cc class before and were amazed at how fast you guys were.
I don't remember who won the 100 expert class that October day at Hangtown. I didn't think that Frank or Ralph Scanapeico raced that day. From your post, it sounds like you remember them being there so I must be mistaken. I thought the lone representatives from D34 in the 100 class were me and Chucky Hicks. I was fortunate to be racing at all because part of the CDI wiring bundle melted against the pipe during practice and my bike was cutting out. I was lucky to be able to borrow the black box unit from Mark Murphy (thanks Mark!).

The 100 expert class in D34 was a fast group. The core group (that I can remember) was Frank & Ralph Scanapieco, Kurt McMillan (AMA pro for years), Carlo Coen (AMA pro for years), Damon Baehrel (raced some pro events in the early 80s), Chucky Hicks, Bruce Winters, and me although there were generally another 8 - 10 guys on any given day. Races were always a knock down, drag out battle but we all seemed to get along afterwards. I had a lot of fun and made some great memories.
Fred Boss Mx Dion 5/25/2012 2:27pm
5/25/2012 2:27pm
dirtbikemike wrote:
Here are some pictures from Hangtown 1976 at Plymouth, California. They have been in an album for 36 years and I finally decided to share. There...
Here are some pictures from Hangtown 1976 at Plymouth, California. They have been in an album for 36 years and I finally decided to share. There are 40 pics so it may take awhile to get them all up.



















































































Good job Mike....Those that weren't around in those days should look at the Pics again and notice how close the spectators were to the action. It was GREAT.
jimmie
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jimmie 5/30/2012 5:56pm
5/30/2012 5:56pm Edited Date/Time 5/31/2012 5:28am
WOW!

This thread is like 7 weeks old, where have I been?

Sweet sweet pics. Really enjoyed checkin' out all those images!

Thank you.

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