Bob Hurricane Hannah
Bob (Robert) “Hurricane” Hannah was born on September 26, 1956, in Lancaster, California. His father was a motocross rider, and often took Bob along for rides as a child. When he was seven years old, his father got him his first bike. Many hours of Hannah’s childhood were spent riding in the desert of California, but he never raced. His father didn’t want him to race, for fear of his son getting hurt.
Once Hannah was 18-years-old and living out on his own, he entered his first race. Hannah won this first amateur race, and that would be the only race he would ever race as an amateur. He raced so much better than the other racers that the racing officials told him he would have to race further races in the expert class.
1975 was Hannah’s first complete year as an “expert” racer. He raced in two AMA Nationals events, with his best finish in sixth place. Considering he had only been racing for about a year, this was an exceptional feat. The next year, Yamaha decided to give Hannah a chance, even though he wasn’t really known but in the Southern California circuit. The then 19-year-old Hannah was signed up to race the 125cc Motocross Nationals. He won five of the eight races that season, leading to his first Championship. Read the rest of this entry »