On the last day of 2011, we remember some of the people–some friends, some strangers—our sport has lost in the past year. They are in no particular order, and we apologize in advance for the many others we did not include. Godspeed to all.
Adolf Weil
Dan Sadowski
Jeff "OX" Kargola
Swiam Zanoni
Dane Leimbach
Josh Lichtle
David Redmond (middle)
It's somewhat comforting to think a person died while doing what they love. Sadly, we have to think that too often in motor sports racing. But it was certainly true to David Redmond. He was a motocross rider and enthusiast for much of his life, hitting such far-off vet events as the MTA World Vet Championships in California. Redmond also raced locally as much as life would allow; he worked in the ship yards on warships and was raising two-year-old David with his wife Estelle. He could also handle any type of heavy machinery at a motocross track and even helped build Stone County in Louisiana and the old club track Skip's near Gulfport, Mississippi. Redmond passed away after suffering a massive heart attack while riding one night at CCR MX in Lorranger, Louisiana. David Redmond was 51 years old. He was also #28.
“He loved motocross,” wrote his good friend and fellow racer Glenn McGovern. “He was very religious and did not fear death. I am sure he is in heaven.”
Jon Zonin
Nick Varner
“Nick was rolling with Jesus so I know he is up in heaven working on the tracks up there,” his father wrote soon afterwards. ”We miss him so much and our hearts are ripped out but with the Lord's help and comfort we will stay involved in the sport and make Nick proud.”
Nick Varner was 11 years old.
Lynn Nickerson
Lynn Nickerson probably saw and announced more amateur motocross races than anyone else. He was an enthusiast from the day he first drove into a local Texas track, and a race announcer soon after. Lynn was a man who seemingly knew everyone on a first-name basis, and the ones he didn't know were simply new, not overlooked. When he first became sick with cancer, motocross people all over the country reached into their hearts and pockets to give him all the support and prayer they could in his time of need. He was soon back in the press box, back to making every rider out there feel like he was capable of winning the Dallas Supercross. But then the sickness came back, this time with a vengeance. His wonderful voice wavered, his frame grew weak, his race was soon run. But for two generations of amateur motocrossers, and maybe every U.S.-born pro out there right now, it's Lynn Nickerson's voice they hear when they think back on the soundtracks of their youth.
Darwin Huckabee (near)
Francesco Quinn
Francesco Quinn was a member of one Hollywood's most venerable families. His father Anthony Quinn was a standout actor in the days when such highly respected fellow actors as Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, John Wayne and Sir Richard Burton were with him on the A List. Francesco did some fine work himself, most notably in Oliver Stone's “Platoon,” but his true love was motorcycling. He was more about the ride and his tool box than the roles and the box office. Any chance he got, he would rather talk motorcycling maps than cinematic scripts. He did as much acting as he needed to support his time away from the set and on the road or trail. But then he died, not on a movie set or on a motorcycle ride but rather just jogging down a road in Malibu with the youngest of his three children, apparently from a heart attack. He was 48 years old.
Nancy Cernic
Edith Bellora and Nancy Cernic were two women that few riders may have recognized, yet they were quietly connected to Pennsylvania motocross in ways that helped racing in the area grow over the years. It was on Mrs. Bellora's farm in Delmont that Steel City Raceway was born in 1983. She was a regular presence there at the concession stand for many years. Mrs. Cernic was the matriarch of the Cernic's Racing family, from which the Cernic's motorcycle dealerships and Pleasure Valley Raceway outside Johnstown grew. Both women lived very long and rich lives, with motorcycle racing only a small part of their experiences.
Calvin Kalicki was a professional racer from the Buffalo area who went to Highland High School in the seventies but really wanted to be a pro motocross racer. Once he graduated he went out to join the pro circuit, racing as a privateer. If you look in the Racer X Vault, you will see him with a modest 24th place finish at the 1979 Southwick National, but he was a regular in the support class at Trans-AMA races and made a few main events in those difficult years of Supercross—there was no 125cc class so everyone raced together. Somewhere along the way, unfortunately, he was involved in a car crash that left him in a terrible state. For many years thereafter, he resided at the Echoing Ridge Home near Medina, Ohio, and then the Apostolic Christian Home in nearby Rittman. He died on August 22, at the age of 53 years.“The family would like to thank those people who touched his life so positively,” his death announcement read. “Their kindness and dedication will never be forgotten, with special thanks to all the wonderful and caring people who lovingly cared for Cal.”
Jim McNeil
Known to his friends and fans as "Jumpin' Jimmy" and "McNeil The Real Deal," McNeil made his X Games debut in 2005. From there he gravitated toward the Nuclear Cowboyz tour and enjoyed standout parts in videos like On The Pipe 5.
McNeil's death was the second in two years of a top FMX riders involving the back-flip, the prerequisite trick of the last decade. Last year Jeremy Lusk perished attempting to land a variation of the trick in Costa Rica.
Norman Barrow
The British Motocross community lost one it's favorite sons when former CCM factory rider Norman Barrow died from a head injury, sustained whilst out mountain biking. Out riding with friend John Leece, Norman slipped off at slow speed but caught a rock with his forehead just under the helmet's edge.
Norman Barrow was a stalwart of the British & World Championship scene for many years. He rose to prominence in the Northern centre winning the regional championship several times on his trusty Greeves Griffon 380cc. A short spell on a Suzuki 400cc for local dealer Eddie Crooks was a scary time for Barrow; the TM400 he described as a bike with a light-switch power band and a permanent hinge in the frame! Norman was signed up along with other stars such as Bob Wright and Jimmy Aird to race the new CCM four-strokes. He took to the Alan Clews-designed machine like a "duck to water" and was a serious threat to win whenever he lined up.
His debut on the CCM at Doddington Park 500cc Grand Prix in 1976 ended in near disaster when the headstock parted company with the rest of the frame as he came down the jumps behind the paddock. Bike and body somersaulted down the track and to add insult to injury the flip top fuel cap opened, dumping fuel all over a non-pleased Barrow. Years later I asked him if they scrapped the frame; Norman laughed and said it was just re-jigged and brazed up for the following weekend!
Daniel Tyler Reynolds
Hailing from Summerville, Georgia, Daniel was a senior at Chattooga High School. He was set to graduate in 2012, but he was already employed with Southern Engineering and Surveying. He was also an active member of Four Mile Baptist Church, from where prayers went out en masse for Daniel, who wore #316 as a nod to one of his favorite biblical passages. He was 17 years old.
Monte McCoy
In the obituary for McCoy in the Tampa Bay Times, his longtime friend and racing buddy Jeff Peters said, "A few weeks ago Monte said, 'I am going to ride motorcycles until the day I die. They'll have to peel me off.' "
Joey Gratton had also gotten away from motocross, migrating over to a much faster type of racing: speed boats. The 59-year-old professional throttle man, a three-time world champion, was killed when his boat flipped during a race in the sea below Miami, making him the third man to die that week in the Key West World Championship race.
It's hard to make sense out of what happened to Ryan Patterson and his mother Dianna. They were found stabbed to death in their home in Hammonton, New Jersey. Patterson, 29 years old, was a well-known local amateur motocross racer with one goal in mind: to ride in the Red Bull AMA Amateur Motocross Nationals at Loretta Lynn's Ranch. His mother Dianna, 64 years old, was supportive of her son's racing. Both were stabbed multiple times, yet Ryan was able to reach a telephone and call 911 before he succumbed to his injuries. By the time police got to the house, according to a local newspaper report, both were dead.That night, an unplanned memorial took place for them at Atco Raceway, Ryan's home track, with flowers placed at the starting gate.
"He loved to race, this is where he was home," said Jennifer Hatch, who helped organize the memorial. “The kid loved to be at the track, and if he could race 24/7, believe me he would.”
Within a few weeks police announced that they believed the double homicide was not a random act of violence. And then they arrested one of Ryan's friends. Patrick Latko, 32, was charged with both murders. Police were able to help identify him by photos Latko placed of himself and Ryan Patterson on his Facebook page, posted on the suspect's Facebook page the day after the Pattersons were murdered.
Patrick Latko's bail was set at $2,000,000 cash.
Isabell Koob
Here’s to Isabell Koob: The Angel Riding On
7/30/2011
My angel muttered in my ear today
As I read the news before me
So hurt and sad and shocked with pain
And I didn’t even know her
The gate has been dropped once again
And a soul has gassed on through it
Never thinking the surface would change
From dirt to Heavenly clouds above
I look at the calendar on my wall
Looking at the crossed-out days of past
Counting down the day to my birthday coming
As my stomach’s knot tightens from selfishness
This soul will no longer see another birthday
Instead, she will be gazing at the Earth below
Smiling, she will send a gust of wind
To blow out her 15 birthday candles
My angel whispered in my ear
And told me her angelic spirit’s on Earth
One wing wrapped around loved ones
And the other wrapped around her passion
She can still ride forth to continue her dreams
She can ride over any mountain and sea
She can ride over any ocean or desert
Flying eternally free
My angel assures me in a serious tone,
“Isabell Koob is not gone.
Hear the throttle in the distance?
She’s just starting to have her fun.”
I gaze into the sun dipping into the ocean
And a lineup of faces appear at a gate
Isabell is determined and hungry to race
As she blasts off with the league of angels
- Carly Rauba
We know there are many others who left us this year, and we invite you to pay tribute to them