WHO’S RIDDEN THE MOST RACES

ÿIf good judgment comes from experience and most experience is the result of poor judgment, then isn’t a long racing career like getting a trophy for casing doubles, missing berms and forgetting to turn the gas on? If that’s true then motocross is not a sport that anyone could engage in for a long time. By the time you learn all the mistakes, you have paid the price for them. The average American motocrossers races for less than five years before family, employment, education and wear-and-tear take their toll.
ÿThe MXA wrecking crew wanted to know why only a handful of pro racers have been able to avoid the pitfalls of a risk sport — and keep on racing? And most importantly, who has raced the most motorcycles races in America?

TIME IN THE SADDLE
ÿWe have no doubt that there are local racers, even pros, who have raced every weekend for the last 20 years, but the basic criteria is that the rider must be a top-flite pro racer, who continues to ply his trade in officially sanctioned races.
ÿWho are the candidates?ÿÿ
ÿJeff Ward: The first name that comes to mind when motocross longevity is discussed is Jeff Ward. Jeff starting racing in the mini ranks in 1970 and continued to race, at the upper ranks of the sport, until 1992. In the ensuing 22 years, Jeff won seven AMA National Championships. Jeff Ward officially turned pro in 1977, which means that he spent 16 years on the AMA National circuit. That is amazing.
ÿRex Staten: Rocket Rex’s racing career has been varied and exciting enough to fill two or three lives. Rex started racing in 1971 and continues to race today. After careers as a factory CZ, Honda and Yamaha rider, Rex moved to South Africa to win their National Championship several times. He returned to America and won the Vet World Championship three times, the Over-40 Mammoth Mountain Motors twice and the Baja 500 and Baja 1000. Rex is still racing at age 42, but no longer engages in the weekly wars.
ÿGary Semis: The Ohio rider was on the Husqvarna motocross team in the days of Mark Blackwell, Brad Lackey, Terry Clark, Bob Grossi and Mike Hartwig. When most of his teammates retired, Gary kept on racing. After spending time at Team Kawasaki and Team Can-Am, Gary moved to Europe to race the 500 World Championships (earning support from the Honda factory). Semics career lasted over 13 years. Upon retiring, he started a motocross school and over the last three years has trained some of the top young riders on the AMA circuit.
ÿBroc Glover: Broc made his National debut in 1975 as a Team DG rider (his teammate was Mike Bell). From 1975 to 1989 Broc raced the AMA circuit (winning two 500 National Championships and three 125 National Championships). After almost 14 years at Team Yamaha, Broc left America and raced for two years in Europe for the KTM team before retiring to take up golf.
ÿRon Turner: You may not recognize the name Ron Turner, but Radical Ron was the premier SoCal test rider of the ’70s. As a Suzuki, Honda and Cagiva test rider, Ron raced three nights a week for 15 years. In the intense California racing scene of the ’70s Ron Turner won over 360 races. Today, Ron is the current Over-40 World Vet Champion.

AND THE WINNER IS…
ÿHave you ever seen the movie “On Any Sunday”. It was filmed in 1970. One of the our favorite parts of the classic film is a sequence shot at the ’70 Trans-AMA series in which factory BSA rider Chuck Feets Minert gets roosted in the face in slo-mo. He ignores the roost and gives his 441 a big handful. When “On Any Sunday” was in the theaters, Feets Minert was a 39-year-old factory racer (that’s five years older than John Dowd is today). He had already been racing since the age of 16. In 2000, Feets Minert is still racing (he competes in almost 50 races at year at Carlsbad, Perris and Glen Helen). His last pro victory was at Saddleback Park in 1983 — when he was 42 years old. Today, at 69 years old, Feets Minert has raced non-stop since 1947 (okay, he did take three years off to fight in the Korean war). How many races had Feets Minert ridden? More than 2500 races over 50 years (1947-2000).