Bob Hannah

Robert William Hannah (born September 26, 1956) is an American former professional motocross racer.[1] He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1976 to 1989, most notably as a member of the Yamaha factory racing team. He was one of the most successful motocross racers in AMA history, with 70 AMA national championship race victories and 7 motocross national championships.[1][2]

Bob Hannah
NationalityAmerican
BornSeptember 26, 1956 (1956-09-26) (age 63)
Lancaster, California, U.S.
Motocross career
Years active1976 - 1989
TeamsYamaha, Honda, Suzuki
ChampionshipsAMA 125cc - 1976
AMA 250cc - 1978, 1979
Wins70

Hannah was a brash and outspoken personality whose wild riding style, seemingly on the verge of losing control and often with his feet off the foot pegs, earned him the nickname, "Hurricane Hannah".[3][4] His physical fitness, fierce determination on the race track and a hatred of losing, reshaped American motocross by boosting the speed and competition to higher levels.[4] He was at the forefront of a surge in American motocross competition in the late 1970s and early 1980s that saw American riders overtake and surpass the previously dominant European motocross riders.[4] Hannah was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000.[1][3]

Motorcycle racing career

Hannah was born in Lancaster, California on the edge of the Mojave Desert.[1] He grew up riding in the rugged Southern California deserts with his father but, because his father thought motocross was too dangerous, he didn't begin to compete in motocross racing until he was 18 years old and living on his own.[1] Hannah won his first and only amateur motocross race, after which race officials told him he would have to move up to the expert class.[1] He was hired by Suzuki as a motorcycle test rider but, when there was no place available for him on the Suzuki motocross team, he was contracted to race for the Yamaha factory racing team in 1976.[1][3]

Hannah began the 1976 season by dominating the 500cc Florida Winter-AMA Series, which was one of the most prestigious American motocross series of the era.[1] He had an equally impressive start to the 1976 AMA 125cc motocross national championship by winning the first race of the season against Honda's defending national champion, Marty Smith.[4] He won five of the eight 125cc nationals that year en route to the national championship.[2]

In 1977, Hannah moved up to the 250cc class and won the AMA Supercross Championship in impressive fashion, taking six of the 10 rounds.[2] He would go on to win the AMA Supercross title for three straight years.[1][2] He also became the first AMA competitor to win races in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc classes in just one season.[1]

Hannah continued to dominate his competition in the 1978 250cc motocross national championship by winning a record eight consecutive 250 outdoor nationals, a record that still stood at the time of Hannah's 1999 Motorcycle Hall of Fame induction.[1] He successfully defended his title in 1979 by earning victories in six of the 10 events.[1]

At the height of his career, Hannah suffered a water skiing accident at the end of 1979 that left him sidelined for more than a year.[1][4] Doctors initially told Hannah he would never be able to race again however, Hannah was determined to return to motocross racing.[1] During his recovery, Hannah developed an interest in flying airplanes, and earned his pilot license.[1]

After his accident, Hannah never was quite able to regain the successful form he had during the 1970s.[1] While he won 20 nationals during the 1980s, he never was able to capture another championship.[1] His best results in the 1980s were a second-place finish in the 250 MX series in 1981 and third in the same series in 1983, after switching from Yamaha to Honda.[1] At the age of 28, Hannah won his final national win at the 250 outdoor national held in Millville, Minnesota, on August 11, 1985.[1] He continued to race full-time until 1987 and then raced occasionally in nationals until retiring in 1989.[1]

In his fifteen-year professional motocross career, Hannah had become the all-time win leader in AMA motocross/Supercross history, having won 70 AMA nationals during his career.[1] That record would stand until Jeremy McGrath broke Hannah's overall win record in 1999.[1]

Later career

After leaving motocross, Hannah took up the sport of airplane racing in the unlimited class flying airplanes such as the P-51 Mustang.[1] When inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, Hannah was living near Boise, Idaho, running a sport aviation sales company and winery.[1] In 2000, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.[3]

Career Highlights[1]
  • 1976 125cc National Champion
  • 1977 250cc Supercross Champion
  • 1978 250cc Supercross Champion
  • 1978 250cc National Champion
  • 1978 Trans-AMA Champion
  • 1979 250cc Supercross Champion
  • 1979 250cc National Champion
  • 1987 Motocross des Nations Champion
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References
  1. "Bob Hannah at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  2. "Bob Hannah career statistics". racerxonline.com. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  3. "Bob Hannah at the Motorsports Hall of Fame". mshf.com. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  4. "30 Greatest American Motocrossers". racerxonline.com. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
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