|
In November of 1969 I watched my first real motocross race at the Elkhorn, Wisconsin, track. It was an Inter-Am with all the stars from Sweden and I desperately wanted a real motocross bike, as I had been riding a Honda sport 50cc.
My dad made a deal that if I worked and saved up money, he would match it. There must have been a strong winter season then, because I shoveled snow and in the spring/summer mowed lawns and scraped together $200. Knowing we had a $400 budget, we started scouring the bike shops looking for a bike. After passing on both a Hodaka and Bultaco Sherpa S 100, we found a used 1969 Sachs 125cc for $400. I raced it for first time at Motosports Park in Byron, Illinois, in October of 1970. It was a three-moto format, and after the second moto the promoter, Joe Vincer, said to my dad, "I think your boy might want to sit out the third moto - he needs to get faster." My dad argued and said, "Let him stay out there for the experience, he's a quick learner ... you'll see." My dad won the argument and I went to the line for moto three!
The rest is history
