The American dream

40 years ago it was the dream of every single American racer to beat the riders from Europe. Names like Joel Robert, Torsten Hallman and Roger DeCoster were the best riders in the world and their domination of the sport was obvious.

It was little surprising when the three visited America to race in the Trans-AMA series that the young locals like Brad Lackey, Bob Hannah and Marty Smith wanted to learn. For Lackey though it was like an obsession.

As a teenager he moved to Europe and lived in the Czech Republic, crying himself to sleep at night he dreamt to one day be a world champion. True enough after a decade of trying Lackey did win the 1982 FIM 500cc World Championship and his countryman Danny Laporte won the FIM 250cc World Championship, it was the start of a love affair American riders would have with the GP scene, although one that only really lasted a decade.

For Laporte the whole feel about racing in America grew from his childhood heroes. He knew straight away the only place for him to race was in Europe.

“When I was young the guys I looked at were guys like Roger DeCoster and Joel Robert and we got all the Cycle News (bigger motorcycle newspaper in USA) and it was always about those guys and we looked at the Europeans to learn more and that is why I wanted to race in Europe. Also the pageantry of the event in Europe, it has so much history. I mean the atmosphere in the 1970’s and 80’s was in my opinion the golden era of motocross in America and Europe. To go to a track and there was a massive crowd, it was really a lot of romance about it, and you had the Belgian fans in Belgium and the French fans in France and the British in England. In America it’s the same everywhere and it doesn’t change anywhere and in Europe everywhere you went it was different.”

Donny Schmit, Trampas Parker and Bobby Moore all won world championships between 1989 and 1994, two each for Schmit and Parker and one for Moore.

“I loved my time racing in Europe, and I still love going back and watching guys like Cairoli, or Paulin or Desalle. It’s a great series and for many America riders in my era it was a great place to race, but some European riders also wanted to race in America.”

That has once again changed, and not for a couple of years now have we seen a motocross world champion head to America. Now the best American rider Ryan Villopoto has moved to the MXGP class and is once again starting up that American dream.

Don’t be surprised to see a major interest from the American public in 2015, and that interest will without doubt see more young American riders wanting to ply their trade in Europe and around the world, just like Lackey did in the 1970s.