Motocross Superstars of the 1970's 1980's And 1990's
Updated: May 15, 2020
In the 1980’s the sport of motocross was Rockin! The pro classes at that time where 125cc, 250cc and 500cc two strokes ahhh that smell! it would remain this way until the early 1990’s when they dropped the big bore 500cc two stroke class after that it was
just 125 and 250 two strokes in the supercross series and outdoor pro national series.
The guys that dominated the pro classes were considered the superstars of the sport, they are like rock stars. A lot of people say having some superstars also helps the popularity of the sport. There are too many to name but here are some examples.
Marty Smith the First American 125cc champ, a lot of people say he was the first american motocross superstar.
Bob Hurricane Hannah, was Force to be reckoned with on and off the track, and a fan favorite, I think of him like I think of Dale Earnhardt sr THE INTIMIDATOR!
The Man Roger Decoster. DeCoster's name is almost synonymous with the sport of motocross, winning five Motocross World Championships during the 1970s and tallying a record 36 500cc Grand Prix victories. He is truly a living legend.
David Bailey He was a Team Honda superstar, and a prodigy through the seventies, and a champion in the eighties, charismatic, cool, and deeply competitive. He was a champion both outdoors and inside the stadiums.
Ricky Johnson, I Started Watching Sx in the late 80’s And my first Hero in SX Was RJ The Bad Boy.
For any younger guys that didn’t live that era, For a generation of motocross fans, Johnson is the man we think of most when we think of the eighties, he would be comparable to how Jeremy Mcgrath was thought of in the 90's. A lot of younger MX fans maybe don't know how big of a star RJ Was, He had The style the talk and the riding to back it up, He was dominant and you could see a lot of wins in his future Before a wrist injury that ultimately ended his career early. He was as popular in the sport in the late 80’s as Mcgrath was in the 90’s.
I Think Jeff Stanton deserves a mention, he took over where RJ Left off as the next Honda superstar And multi time SX champion, which was interesting because he had been training with RJ He was almost like RJ’s understudy. He was A Bulldog on the bike, he was really strong he grew up working on the farm and it looked like he just put his bike where he wanted it to go, But he was very quiet off the track, I would relate him to like an Eli Tomac, he Lets his riding do the talking. But not as outgoing and flamboyant as RJ Was.
For me the Next Super Star Was Damon Bradshaw.
Damon Was supposed to be the next big thing He was a superstar on MINI’s before he even got to the pro ranks. And he delivered! He also made AXO gear Cool. He was badass on and off the bike and won a lot of races. He had that Checkers or wreckers attitude put all out there and go for it type rider! And 2nd place wasn't good enough. He was there to win.Even though he didn't get the championships, he was still a superstar and a fan favorite.He won a Lot of Races and even more peoples hearts.
Then came Showtime!
The King of Supercross, We Probably Should Have seen it coming because He absolutely killed it in 125 class in Supercross in 91 and 92 on his bad ass peak Honda 125’s he was Totally Dominant.
But in a way people were still surprised when he started peeling off wins in the premier class. Jeremy was super stylish and is still the winning est supercross rider He is The poster boy for Supercross in the 90’s and won 72 races and 7 premier class SX championships.
Next Came
Jeff Emig He Managed to win a couple championships in a tough era with a lot of competition.
He was Very Stylish and a 125 Champion as well.
The Next Three Superstars where all three Child prodigies winning national