For a couple of generations of aspiring racers and their future fans, the best way to maybe catch a glimpse of up-and-coming talent was in the middle pages of Cycle News, the weekly bible of motorcycle racing.
National and international events covered the first third of each issue, and schedules, results and miscellaneous classified ads filled out the back. The middle sections were the place for local racing coverage. (And it wasn't just the racers as plenty of moto journalists got their first bylines in those local reports!) Sure, it may have been a small, sometimes grainy black-and-white photo, but if you were the subject and made it into print, it was a very big deal.
Here are just a few we recently spotted while doing research for an entirely different feature--"Brand Exchange"--in the brand-new issue.
The April 2021 Issue of Racer X Illustrated
Brand Exchange
When GasGas rolled up on the starting line at the opening round of the 2021 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, it became the latest in a long list of motorcycle brands to participate on the AMA circuit. (Read or listen)
![1979_Erik_Kehoe]()
1979_Erik_Kehoe Kellen Brauer ![1980_Erik_Kehoe]()
1980_Erik_Kehoe Kellen Brauer
JOHNNY O’MARA
![1979_Johnny_OMara]()
1979_Johnny_OMara Kellen Brauer ![1979_OMara_2]()
1979_OMara_2 Kellen Brauer
CHRIS CARR
MIKE FISHER
TONY ALESSI
1985 HALL OF CHAMPIONS
MIke CRAIG
