MOTOCROSS ACTION PHOTO OF THE DAY: IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY

There is little doubt that the motocross bug runs in the family. The list of racing brothers is long and illustrious. Here is a quick sampling: John and Ron DeSoto, Jim and Ron Pomeroy, James and Malcolm Stewart, Chuck and Ron Sun, Wil and Tommy Hahn, Ryan and Justin Sipes, Gary and Dewayne Jones, Mike and Jeff Alessi, Tyson and Tallon Vohland, Alex and Jeremy Martin. The list goes on and would include the Hills, Tedescos, Pourcels, Villopotos, Tripes’, Gillmans, Kings, Medaglias, Gosselaars, Moss’s, Whartons, Marmonts, Larsons, Geboers, Bigelows, Benolkins, Grossis, Staceys and the five Karsmakers brothers. And it would also have the Wankets on the list.

Tony (left) and Pete Wanket (right) fall in the brothers category and the twins category. They also were so evenly matched that at AMA Nationals they often finished no more than one place apart .

Pete Wanket had two top tens and 14 top 20s in a AMA career that only spanned from 1977 to 1980. His brother Tony had 9 top 20s and finished 11th at the 1980 Lakewood Nationals. When the weren’t on the National circuit they wreaked havoc on the SoCal scene?especially at Carlsbad Raceway

Sponsored by FMF, Yamaha and Fox, or the then Fox-distributed Yoko, the Wanket family, Tony (left), Pete (center) and Dad (right), was a fixture at Saddleback, Carlsbad and Indian  Dunes.