MXdN 1987, Unadilla

sandtrack315 wrote:

Were any of you there? What was it like? I was born that year, and paid too much for this shirt on eBay:  

Were any of you there? What was it like? I was born that year, and paid too much for this shirt on eBay:

 

Motoxdoc wrote:

Micky should’ve been there.

maicocd wrote:

I was there... and Yes- it was awesome!! I went with my family. I had just graduated from high school that year and lived at the...

I was there... and Yes- it was awesome!!

I went with my family. I had just graduated from high school that year and lived at the beach partying/having fun for the summer. My Dad sent me a copy of the AMA magazine with an ad in it for the race and a little sticky note attached in the magazine with an ad for the race that read something to the effect of "Let's go!!!" (obviously - this was pre-internet and cell phone / texting days- so hence the old forms of even knowing about the race and making plans to attend... those were the good old days for sure...LOL!!).

So my party days and summer at the beach end and September rolls around. We had been to Unadilla numerous times in the past and my memories of the track date back to being a little kid and seeing names Lackey, Pomeroy, Marty Smith and a host of crazy European names that were so unique and mysterious sounding to me as a young kid. And the racers with the odd names were fast too!! DeCoster on the Suzuki with #104... battling it out with Hannah on the #2 Yamaha in 1978 was epic...I related it here elsewhere- but I was actually right where DeCoster and Hannah ultimately collided into each other at the 1978 Trans-Am race... That is a race I'll never forget.

So back to the MXdN race in 1987... First-off, when you arrived at the gate the line to get in was insane! Where there really that many people?? Well- yes- sort of... But the New York State Police were doing actual vehicle searches of everyone entering the property. They were confiscating any weed, drugs, beer and alcohol that you had with you. I saw police walking around with confiscated bags of weed but not arresting the person they took it from- which in those days was completely unimaginable alone. Maybe others have a different story about this, but I remember being shocked at this other then the fact that there was no way they had enough cop cars or jail cells to really enforce anything other then taking it. This topic has been talked about here on Vital before and in actuality would be an interesting read alone some day. The basic premise was that the Unadilla could get pretty crazy- especially the night before a race. I think the goal- and something I think was also emphasized in ads for the event- was that this was going to be a family and fan-friendly event.

Now if the race could have been held on Saturday, then it would have been absolutely perfect conditions. It was overcast and cool and the Unadilla track was its typical planting soil blackish soil with freshly shredded grass mixed in from everyone's new knobbies. Practice was a blast to watch and you could tell Johnson and Ward were dialed. Hannah of course was the wild-card on the 125 and at the time, I thought it was a really bad idea. I had never seen Mickey Diamond in person at that point and I had remembered watching him on Motoworld and blowing my mind at how fast and smooth he was... I loved Hannah- but I though Mickey Diamond got a raw deal. However- Hannah was still Hannah and made that RM125 scream around that track.

I think there was maybe some qualifying races possibly Saturday afternoon. At some point after that it rained, ....and rained, ...and rained. On Sunday morning the rack was an absolute quagmire. It was hard to tell who was who- even if you had any idea who half the Euro guys were as it was hard to follow them back then. Everyone was brown on a brown bike!

Of course- we know how the race ended up... Hannah was absolutely amazing considering that he basically came out of retirement to race a 125 against the best in the world. Johnson was totally in his prime and sliced the track up. I also distinctly remember how crisp that CR250 sounded. And of course Jeff Ward on a KX500... always smooth and perfect.

It was a blast and an unforgettable race.... and to the OP- there's no way you could spend too much on that t-shirt! Its awesome that you were interested enough in the race to want a piece of its history.. that's so cool! And by the way- 1987 was a good year... I graduated high school, spent a fun carefree summer at the beach, and met and dated a beautiful girl that is now my wife as well as seeing that historic race...!!

 

Motoxdoc wrote:

Micky should’ve been there.

motomike137 wrote:

Should have but I can't imagine him getting a better result than Bob pulled off and it made it more of a legendary day for me...

Should have but I can't imagine him getting a better result than Bob pulled off and it made it more of a legendary day for me

Bluelion wrote:

The 1987 motocross of nations race in  Unadilla.  So let's turn back the clock to 1987 when I was a much younger man. Just got married. Was...

The 1987 motocross of nations race in  Unadilla.

 So let's turn back the clock to 1987 when I was a much younger man. Just got married. Was heavily into racing at the time. And working my day job to try to start a family.

 I have been racing motocross since I was a 12-year-old. Not only was I a racer but a huge motorcross fan as well. I had learned that the 1987 motocross of Nations would be in Unadilla New York. And at that time the race had never been held in United States for something like 40 years? In the team was going to be Rick Johnson, Jeff ward, and of all things Bob Hannah riding a Suzuki 125!!

Well like I said I was a young man freshly married working a day job on a tight budget trying to start a family. So I didn't think I was going to have the money to go. Also I really didn't have a dependable vehicle to drive that far from my home in Indiana to the race.

Plus I had to work at my job on Saturday the weekend of the race.

But I ended up only having to work a half day that day. So I was off work by 10 AM with the rest of the weekend clear. So as I do so many times I made a last-minute decision to borrow my father's truck with a camper on it and loaded up my new wife at the time and made the 16 hour trip to Unadilla Valley New York. I said to myself I cannot miss this event especially with Bob Hannah at the end of his career riding a 125 for the US team.

 My new wife at the time thought I was nuts but I agreed to go with me.

When we left my home in central Indiana it was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. But as we drove farther North east the clouds started to roll in and the weather turned ominous and by the time night fell during our travels it started to rain. To my dismay and disappointment the rain kept getting harder and harder as we got closer and closer to New York. Hoping for the best we kept pushing forward to the track. Finally around 2 AM in the morning. We arrived at the front gate of the famous Unadilla Valley Raceway. We paid our money to enter the track in camp. Got directions on where to drive to get to the camping area of the track Little did we know that the hard partying fans of Unadilla were so aggressive and ready for us. So basically we had to travel through a gauntlet of hard parting New York fans. Huge crowds of them forcing us to go through the muddiest areas like it was a mud bog race. And raining mud balls on us for good measure. It was all in good fun though. And we finally made it to a place to set up camp. Which meant just crawling in the back of the truck to pass out from exhaustion.. As the heavy rain continue to fall. 

 After being in an exhausted coma for three or four hours we were awoken by noise of revving two stroke motorcycles. As we crawled out of the back of our makeshift bed in the back of my father's truck we were shocked to see what the rain had done to the track. It was probably the muddiest track and race I'd had ever been to in my life. But I was still in awe of the size of the crowd and the beauty of the facility. The natural track still had grass growing on it.

 As we tried to walk slipping and sliding in the mud to the edge of the course we could hear the sound of the two stroke motorcycles begin to make their way around the track for their practice sessions. By the time the riders made it by where we were at it was hard to distinguish who is who because they were all the same color of mud Brown. 

 But if anybody knows the story of the 1987 motocross of nations. You already know that the American team pulled out a tremendous last-minute victory supported by a magnificent ride by Bob Hannah on his Suzuki 125 against the best in the world at the end of his career at the muddiest race I had ever seen. I was truly in awe watching him ride that screaming 125 that day.

 As soon as the race completed we ran to my fathers awaiting Truck to try to beat the crowd out of the facility to make the long drive back home. Little did we know that we had to go through the mud bog gauntlet to get out of the track as well. But we made it and I was on the road back home to Indiana. Got back to my hometown by 5 AM on Monday morning. Took a shower and went to work one of the longest days of my life. Came home from work and went straight to bed with dreams of screaming two stroke motorcycles in my head. 

 A last-minute decision made for a great memory of a history making event that I was actually there to witness it in person. I wouldn't trade that experience and memory for anything.

Motoxdoc wrote:

Micky should’ve been there.

motomike137 wrote:

Should have but I can't imagine him getting a better result than Bob pulled off and it made it more of a legendary day for me...

Should have but I can't imagine him getting a better result than Bob pulled off and it made it more of a legendary day for me

Motoxdoc wrote:

In my mind, without a doubt, Micky and his factory Honda had Bob covered on his factory Suzuki.  With that being said, Bob came through with...

In my mind, without a doubt, Micky and his factory Honda had Bob covered on his factory Suzuki.  With that being said, Bob came through with a stellar performance.

Bluelion wrote:

The 1987 motocross of nations race in  Unadilla.  So let's turn back the clock to 1987 when I was a much younger man. Just got married. Was...

The 1987 motocross of nations race in  Unadilla.

 So let's turn back the clock to 1987 when I was a much younger man. Just got married. Was heavily into racing at the time. And working my day job to try to start a family.

 I have been racing motocross since I was a 12-year-old. Not only was I a racer but a huge motorcross fan as well. I had learned that the 1987 motocross of Nations would be in Unadilla New York. And at that time the race had never been held in United States for something like 40 years? In the team was going to be Rick Johnson, Jeff ward, and of all things Bob Hannah riding a Suzuki 125!!

Well like I said I was a young man freshly married working a day job on a tight budget trying to start a family. So I didn't think I was going to have the money to go. Also I really didn't have a dependable vehicle to drive that far from my home in Indiana to the race.

Plus I had to work at my job on Saturday the weekend of the race.

But I ended up only having to work a half day that day. So I was off work by 10 AM with the rest of the weekend clear. So as I do so many times I made a last-minute decision to borrow my father's truck with a camper on it and loaded up my new wife at the time and made the 16 hour trip to Unadilla Valley New York. I said to myself I cannot miss this event especially with Bob Hannah at the end of his career riding a 125 for the US team.

 My new wife at the time thought I was nuts but I agreed to go with me.

When we left my home in central Indiana it was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. But as we drove farther North east the clouds started to roll in and the weather turned ominous and by the time night fell during our travels it started to rain. To my dismay and disappointment the rain kept getting harder and harder as we got closer and closer to New York. Hoping for the best we kept pushing forward to the track. Finally around 2 AM in the morning. We arrived at the front gate of the famous Unadilla Valley Raceway. We paid our money to enter the track in camp. Got directions on where to drive to get to the camping area of the track Little did we know that the hard partying fans of Unadilla were so aggressive and ready for us. So basically we had to travel through a gauntlet of hard parting New York fans. Huge crowds of them forcing us to go through the muddiest areas like it was a mud bog race. And raining mud balls on us for good measure. It was all in good fun though. And we finally made it to a place to set up camp. Which meant just crawling in the back of the truck to pass out from exhaustion.. As the heavy rain continue to fall. 

 After being in an exhausted coma for three or four hours we were awoken by noise of revving two stroke motorcycles. As we crawled out of the back of our makeshift bed in the back of my father's truck we were shocked to see what the rain had done to the track. It was probably the muddiest track and race I'd had ever been to in my life. But I was still in awe of the size of the crowd and the beauty of the facility. The natural track still had grass growing on it.

 As we tried to walk slipping and sliding in the mud to the edge of the course we could hear the sound of the two stroke motorcycles begin to make their way around the track for their practice sessions. By the time the riders made it by where we were at it was hard to distinguish who is who because they were all the same color of mud Brown. 

 But if anybody knows the story of the 1987 motocross of nations. You already know that the American team pulled out a tremendous last-minute victory supported by a magnificent ride by Bob Hannah on his Suzuki 125 against the best in the world at the end of his career at the muddiest race I had ever seen. I was truly in awe watching him ride that screaming 125 that day.

 As soon as the race completed we ran to my fathers awaiting Truck to try to beat the crowd out of the facility to make the long drive back home. Little did we know that we had to go through the mud bog gauntlet to get out of the track as well. But we made it and I was on the road back home to Indiana. Got back to my hometown by 5 AM on Monday morning. Took a shower and went to work one of the longest days of my life. Came home from work and went straight to bed with dreams of screaming two stroke motorcycles in my head. 

 A last-minute decision made for a great memory of a history making event that I was actually there to witness it in person. I wouldn't trade that experience and memory for anything.

vet323 wrote:

That is a great story but, "motorcross"?!?!