52 Facts About Bob Hannah

Robert William Hannah was born on September 26,1956 and is an American former professional motocross racer.

Bob Hannah competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1975 to 1989, most notably as a member of the Yamaha factory racing team.

Bob Hannah was one of the most successful motocross racers in AMA history, with 70 AMA race victories and seven championships.

Bob 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 Bob Hannah".

Bob Hannah 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.

Bob Hannah was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000.

Bob Hannah was born in Lancaster, California on the edge of the Mojave Desert.

Bob Hannah 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.

Mick McKee, whom Bob Hannah credited for starting his professional career, took the young rider as a student and put him through a system of daily muscle and stamina-building workouts along with weekend trips to area motocross tracks to analyze, evaluate and improve Bob Hannah's evolving technique.

Bob Hannah worked as a welder, saving his money for six months before he could afford to purchase the Husqvarna.

Remarkably, just 13 months removed from his amateur debut, Bob Hannah entered his first AMA National event in San Antonio, Texas, at the 125cc Cycle-Rama on August 25,1975, finishing in sixth place.

Bob Hannah took the unsigned $1,000-a-month offer to Suzuki hoping that they would match it.

Suzuki declined and Yamaha, in December 1975, announced that the virtually unknown Bob Hannah would be joining the team for the 1976 season.

Bob Hannah began his rookie year by dominating the 500cc Florida Winter-AMA series, which was one of the most prestigious American motocross series of the era.

Bob Hannah had an equally impressive start to the 1976 AMA 125cc motocross season by winning the first race at Hangtown against Honda's defending National Champion, Marty Smith.

Bob Hannah won five of the eight 125cc Nationals that year en route to his first national championship.

Bob Hannah participated in his first Trans-AMA series winning the final event of the series in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bob Hannah was a member of the American team at both the Motocross des Nations and Trophee des Nations.

But, in 1977, Bob Hannah was determined to fully compete in them all.

Bob Hannah won the AMA Supercross Championship in impressive fashion, taking six of the 10 rounds.

The move by the AMA combined with the enormity of competing in so many races contributed to Bob Hannah being a non-factor in the 250cc series, finishing overall in seventh place.

However, Bob Hannah became the first AMA competitor to win races in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc classes in just one season.

Bob Hannah capped off the year by giving Roger De Coster his strongest American challenge to date in the 1977 Trans-AMA series.

Bob Hannah won more motos than any other competitor in the series including De Coster he didn't score points in two rounds due to mechanical failures allowing De Coster to win his fourth consecutive Trans-AMA title.

Bob Hannah chose to race in the 250cc class for which he would mostly compete for the remainder of his professional career.

Bob Hannah continued to dominate his competition by winning eight consecutive 250cc outdoor Nationals, at that time a record.

At the 1978 Motocross des Nations in Gaildorf, West Germany, Bob Hannah had the rare opportunity to compete against reigning 500cc World Champion Heikki Mikkola, who was then near the peak of his racing career.

Bob Hannah let Mikkola know that he was going to win the event.

Bob Hannah won his third consecutive AMA Supercross series title and successfully defended his outdoor 250cc National title by earning victories in six of the 10 events.

Bob Hannah was the best motocross rider in the United States and arguably in the world.

Bob Hannah was forced to sit out the entire 1980 Supercross and outdoor series while recuperating.

Bob Hannah returned to motocross in September 1980 at Silver Sands Cycle Park in Anderson, South Carolina where he placed third and first in the two motos of a 250cc pro event, battling a young up-and-coming David Bailey.

Bob Hannah raced in the Trans-USA series and finished a respectable third place despite admitting that he had poor timing with the motorcycle and was out of shape from the layoff.

The year 1981 would not be the comeback for which Bob Hannah would have hoped.

Bob Hannah took three rounds and made it close, but Howerton was the eventual winner of the series.

In explaining his mixed results that year, Bob Hannah later blamed the motorcycle saying that it was 35 pounds too heavy and not as good as his YZ250 from two years earlier.

Again, voicing displeasure over his motorcycle, Bob Hannah struggled the entire season and did not win a single National for the first time and finished seventh for the series.

Bob Hannah blamed the motorcycles, and Yamaha blamed Bob Hannah for not winning.

Bob Hannah was back on 250cc machines and wasted no time making a statement that he was still on his game.

Bob Hannah started the season by winning the CMC Golden State series over David Bailey, Broc Glover and Ricky Johnson.

The injury to his wrist proved to be significant and Bob Hannah was forced to abandon competing in the remaining Supercross events, during which he was surpassed by both David Bailey and Mark Barnett for the Supercross title.

Bob Hannah determinedly raced the remaining National events, but was unable to effectively compete with his injured wrist and ended up third for the title.

Bob Hannah finished the season in tenth place for both Supercross and Nationals, his worst showing as a full-time competitor.

Just a few events into the 1985 Supercross series, Bob Hannah was telling the press that it was going to be his last season for that circuit.

Bob Hannah finished 11th overall although he did become the first three-time winner of the Daytona Supercross, the last of his 27 stadium wins.

However, Bob Hannah still had the speed, ability, and desire to compete with the younger riders in the outdoor Nationals.

Bob Hannah left his factory ride with Honda and signed with Suzuki to be a development rider and part-time racer in 1986.

In 1987, Bob Hannah was selected to Team USA at the Motocross Des Nations, held for the first time in the US It was a controversial pick for team manager Roger DeCoster.

DeCoster had passed over two-time 125cc National Champion Micky Dymond in favor of Bob Hannah who was well past his prime and had not competitively raced a 125cc displacement bike since 1982.

In nearly last place early in the race, Bob Hannah conjured up one of his come-from-behind charges, his feet off the pegs to maintain balance in the ruts.

Bob Hannah finished ninth overall having battled back in both motos from the rear of the pack.

When inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, Bob Hannah was living near Boise, Idaho, running a sport aviation sales company and winery.