Bob Hannah will go down in history as one of the greatest American
motocross racers of all time. He won a total of seven AMA national
championships and when inducted in 1999, Hannah was one of only
two riders in the history of AMA motocross racing to win
championships in 125cc motocross, 250cc motocross and Supercross.
Hannah easily ranks as the most versatile motocross racer of his era
and perhaps of all time. During his 15-year racing career, Hannah
won nationals in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc categories as well as
Supercross and Trans-AMA. When he retired from racing, Hannah
held the record for the most career wins in both the AMA Supercross
and AMA 250cc national motocross.
Hannah was born on September 26, 1956 in the rugged Mojave
Desert town of Lancaster, California. His father was a motorcyclist and
Hannah grew up riding on the handlebars of his dad’s bikes. When he
was 7, Hannah got his own bike and rode countless hours in the high
desert surrounding his hometown. The one thing Hannah did not do in
those early years was race. He explains:
"My father was against racing. He did not mind me riding, but at the
same time he didn’t want me getting hurt. So I never raced until I
was 18 years old and living on my own."
By the time Hannah hit the motocross tracks of Southern California,
he was more than ready. Even though he didn’t have racing
experience, he had practically lived on a motorcycle since grade
school and likely had more hours on a bike than any of his fellow
competitors. Hannah won his first and only race in the amateur ranks.
After his dominating debut, local racing officials told the young
Hannah he would have to move up to the expert ranks.
In 1975, his first full year as an expert, Hannah rode in just two
AMA nationals. His best finish was sixth overall in the AMA 125cc
National in San Antonio, Texas. Not bad for a rider with less than
a year’s racing experience under his belt.
In 1976, Yamaha took a chance on the 19-year-old Hannah, who
was largely unknown outside of the local Southern California
motocross circles. Yamaha signed Hannah to race the 125cc
outdoor nationals. He started out the year with some success on a
250cc machine in the AMA Supercross Series, but his real strength
was on the 125cc bikes at the outdoor motocross circuits.
The AMA 125cc National Motocross Championships were only two
years old when Hannah launched into his first full season in the
series. Honda and its rider, Marty Smith, dominated the 125cc
nationals for the first two years. Smith was gunning for his third-
straight title and he was the heavy favorite coming into the ’76
season. At the first round of the 125 MX series, the famous
Hangtown Nationals in Plymouth, California, Smith made the early
laps of the first moto look like a replay of 1974 and ‘75. Eight laps
into the relatively dull race the crowd came to its feet when
Hannah, on his No. 39... full story on motorcyclemuseum.org
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