October 11
1981
Team Yamaha's Broc Glover continued his hot streak in the Trans-USA Series, winning round four at Rio Bravo near Houston. Glover, a three-time AMA 125cc National Champ, went 1-1 on his YZ250 to top Suzuki riders Darrell Shultz (3-2), Mark Barnett (4-4), and Marty Smith (2-7).
In the 500cc Support class, LOP Honda rider Danny "Magoo" Chandler also kept a hot streak going, posting 1-1 moto finishes to give him seven wins in the first eight motos of the series. His fellow Honda riders would take up the next five spots: Jimmy Ellis (2-2), Rich Coon (4-3), Mike Brown (3-5), Larry Wosick (5-4), and Ron Sun (6-10).
Also on this day in '81, the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship were held at RedBud under mostly wet conditions, and local riders dominated the four classes. Illinois' Mike Roth won the 100cc class with 2-1-1-2 finishes in the four-moto weekend format; Indiana's Connie Feist topped the 125cc class with unlikely 5-9-7-3 scores (the moto winners were Billy Liles, Keith Bowen, and David Hand); Michigan's own Jeff Spreeman won the 250cc class (1-3-2-4); and Mark Hinkle repeated as 500cc champion (1-1-2-7).
Among the other standouts were Lisa Akin (now Akin-Wagner), who finished sixth and fifth in a couple of 100cc motos but DNF’d another, Maryland's Glenn Taylor, who took two 500cc motos, and Kentucky's Tommy Watts, who won the last 250cc moto.
This was the last AMA Amateur National held around the country before the start of the Loretta Lynn's era, as the AMA would award it to what would become MX Sports (our sister company) and give the new format a five-year deal. Next year will mark the 38th year of Loretta Lynn's AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship.
1970
If you're looking for the very first AMA Motocross ever sanctioned by the association as part of a series, this is it: the opening round of the brand new Trans-AMA Series, held in LaRue, Ohio. At the time Edison Dye's Inter-Am Series was already well-established, but Dye did not have an AMA sanction so he could have full control of the series he founded. The AMA finally decided to start doing its own series, and the Trans-AMA tour was born. Unlike the Husqvarna-dominated Inter-Am Series, the Trans-AMAs brought out 500cc stars like former world champ Jeff Smith of Great Britain and his BSA teammates John Banks and Dave Nicoll. Smith who turned out to be the overall winner, followed by Swedish transplant Gunnar Lindstrom, Nicoll, and Bickers. The top American was fifth-place Bob Thompson.
For some reason the fastest American at that time, CZ rider Brad Lackey, was relegated to the Support class race, which he dominated. He did however get the cover of Cycle News.
That same day, back at Peppereli, Massachusetts, the Inter-Am Series was running and the winners would be Swedish Husqvarna riders Arne Kring and Bengt Aberg, with Maico rider Ake Jonsson third. The top Americans were ninth- and tenth-place finishers John DeSoto and Barry Higgins.
