Mark Barnett was the dominant AMA 125cc motocross racer of the early 1980s. "The
Bomber" won three AMA 125cc National Motocross Championships from 1980 to 1982
and proved his versatility by winning the AMA Supercross Series in 1981. When he
retired from racing in 1985, he was the all-time win leader in AMA 125cc Motocross
history with 25 national wins in the class and was second to Bob Hannah on the all
time AMA Supercross wins list with 17 stadium victories.
In addition to his four AMA championships, Barnett also had success on the
international stage as a member of the winning 1983 Team U.S.A. Motocross and
Trophee des Nations squad. He twice won the 125cc U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross.
Barnett, born in 1960, grew up in Bridgeview, Illinois. He learned to ride on a pull-start
minibike as a kid and began racing motocross by the age 10 in Illinois and Indiana. He
rapidly became the dominant rider in whatever class he competed. As a boy, Barnett
was a big fan of Belgium motocross star Sylvain Geboers. He saw first saw Geboers
race a factory Suzuki in a Trans-AMA race in Wisconsin.
At 15, Barnett earned national recognition by winning an AMA amateur championship.
After he turned 16, Barnett hit the national circuit on a privateer Suzuki.
In his 1977 rookie pro season, the Midwesterner turned some heads by scoring three
top-10 finishes in the 125cc nationals and finishing sixth in the final standings. In 1978,
Barnett signed his first factory contract with Suzuki, paying him $1,000 per month.
Later, at the height of his career, Barnett would sign a three-year, one million dollar
contract with the company.
Barnett was one of the few riders from the Midwest to earn a factory ride at the
time. "It was tough to get recognition if you didn’t grow up racing in California,"
Barnett said. "I won some key amateur races at the right time and then went out and
raced a season in the nationals on my own to prove myself. I think growing up racing
in the Midwest gave me an advantage when the nationals came back East. I was used
to the mud, ruts and roots."
On April 23, 1978, Barnett won his first AMA 125cc National riding the factory
Suzuki in Houston, Texas. A shoulder injury put an early end to his 1978
campaign and hampered his return early in 1979, but by the end of the year
Barnett was fully healed and closed out the season with a string of
consecutive victories in the 125 nationals and finished runner up to Broc
Glover in the series. Perhaps his biggest confidence booster that year was
winning the 125cc U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross at Mid-Ohio against the world’s
best.
He also scored his first AMA Supercross victory in July of 1979 at the Los
Angeles Memorial Coliseum in front of 79,000 fans. Barnett called the LA
Supercross victory one of the most memorable in his career. In the race, Jeff
Ward led early before losing the lead to Gaylon Mosier. Barnett worked his
way to the front and passed Mosier late in the race, as did Mike Bell. For the
final two laps, Barnett and Bell battled feverishly, with Barnett taking the checkered flag by a bike length over Bell with the throng of fans cheering
enthusiastically.
By then, Barnett had moved to his grandmother’s 400-acre ranch in Alabama.
He quickly became known as perhaps the strongest rider on the circuit, not
only from weight training, but also from hauling hay in the hot Alabama
summer sun. Unlike many of his peers, Barnett, who had a quiet and polite
demeanor, avoided fast cars and high living and lived a uncomplicated life on
the farm eating fresh vegetables he grew in his garden and riding countless
hours on the practice track and surrounding woods of the ranch.
After chasing Glover for three years, Barnett dethroned the reigning 125
motocross king in 1980. But Glover didn’t go down without a fight. The 1980
125 national championship was a battle all the way to the final moto. In the
searing August heat of St. Petersburg, Florida, Barnett finally took home the
victory and with it the trophy that Glover had a stranglehold on for years. He
had just turned 20 when he won the championship. full story here
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