On The Pegs May 2020 - Volume 5 - Issue 5 | Page 52
On The Pegs
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First Amateur class win
I started trials in the fall of 1976 on a RL250 Suzuki. Back
then, in So. Cal., there were 4 classes ā Beginner, Novice,
Amateur and Expert. You could self-promote out of begin-
ner but after that you had to earn transfer points to move
up. I rode 3 events in Beginner class, winning two, before
moving up to Novice. At the time I was not taking the sport
too seriously and it seemed like it took forever to earn my
transfer points out of Novice. In reality it was only about a year but I never
won a Novice event before moving up to Amateur. I rode a couple of Ama-
teur events finishing mid pack. Then at Reche Canyon in Jan of 78, my third
Amateur event, something just clicked (Iām sure moving to a 1978 Bultaco
helped) and I won. It was a total shock and I suddenly realized that if I ap-
plied myself, I might get pretty good. It was a key win that set me on a path
of focus and dedication. I won every Amateur event before transferring to
Expert.
Sweeping the 1981 So Cal Weekend Triple Header -
Stadium Trial, Schrieber Cup, El Trial de Espana
I had a high school buddy who raced motocross and we
would compare weekend results on Monday mornings at
school. I had steadily worked my way up to where I was get-
ting 3rds behind Marland and Bernie. My buddy was get-
ting some wins in local moto so he thought that gave him
bragging rights. I would argue, to no avail, that because I
was third behind a 5-time National Champ and a World Champ that I should
have the bragging rights.
I like to joke that by the end of 1980 I could finally get an Expert win be-
cause Marland had quit and Bernie was staying in Europe most of the time.
In 1980 I won the So Cal ATA Expert title and finished second to Marland
in the US National series. That made me the guy to beat going into 1981
season. I was riding a Bultaco but I had signed a deal with Italjet and was
waiting to get a bike. In January of ā81 the ATA sponsored a triple header