The best place to start any project is at the beginning, so let’s kick-start this review of veteran photographer and moto-journalist David Dewhurst’s new book Motocross The Golden Era with Chapter 1’s opening sentence: “Almost 100 years ago, on a grassy hillside near Camberley in Surrey, England, what we know today as motocross was born.” What follows in Dewhurst’s lead chapter is a 20-page (of 480 total pages) recap on how motocross racing grew to be one of the most popular forms of motorsport competition on our planet.
But Dewhurst (an expatriated Englishman who competed in motocross racing in England before moving to America with wife Anne in 1980 to join America’s motorcycle magazine press corps) doesn’t sugarcoat any of the sport’s early history. He reminds us that the sport was originally termed Scrambles, and that most early scrambles bikes were simply road bikes piloted by riders who ventured onto those rutty scrambles courses because they wanted to compete and … win! Golden Era readers are also reminded that, in the beginning, Husqvarna really wasn’t interested in selling off-road motorcycles at all, or even competing against other brands for market shares. Instead, selling everyday commodities such as chain saws, cooking stoves, rifles and sewing machines spurred the Swedish company’s business acumen during the early part of the 20th Century.
Yet, by the early 1960s two things became apparent, even common knowledge: Scrambles had simultaneously morphed in name and in the manner of its racing into Motocross, and Husqvarna had a lock on the competition. Other makers of 2-stroke MX bikes shared the limelight with Husky, among them Greeves, CZ, Jawa and Maico to name a few. The Golden Era of Motocross was born, soon to be joined by Supercross, a similar form of racing that marched into the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1972 when a wild and somewhat reckless promoter named Mike Goodwin realized that a gladiator persona among the racers would be just the thing to bring even more people trackside to feast their eyes up close on famous riders named Gary Jones, Brad Lackey, Jim Weinert and others.
Indeed, Motocross The Golden Era was written with that same basic goal — to put readers up close and personal with those early heroes who helped make Motocross and Supercross the popular forms of motorsport competition that they are today.
Packed within 480 pages of the large coffee-table book format are 600 images devoted to Motocross and Supercross racing. Many of the photos (most taken by Dewhurst over the years, some gathered from other photographers of the era, still others culled from personal photo collections) fill the book’s 12-1/4-inch x 10-1/4-inch pages with life. Color and black and white images compose the mix, all presented in clean layouts for an up-close and personal feel. My favorite photo: Page 275 showing a spirited Hakan Carlqvist seemingly leaping off a cliff and onto the distant racecourse far below. Thank goodness for long-travel suspension, and for the record practically every photo in the book has a purpose and meaningful impact on the story that it supports.
As expected, a majority of interviews focus on racers (Chapter 2 starts with a bang, featuring The Man, Roger DeCoster). However, later chapters also focus on insiders such as team managers, promoters, sponsors, engineers, plus up-close looks at some of the key bikes that helped form the era. Most of all, though, readers are treated to more than “this is how I won that race” tales by the featured celebrity racers. Dewhurst dug deeper than that.
Among my favorite rider chapters was that of Bob “Hurricane” Hannah, who always gave us reporters from that era colorful quotes to put in our race reports. Oddly, though, the takeaway quote from Hannah’s chapter was from an insightful David Bailey about Hannah, and it deserves repeating here: “He [Hannah] set the bar for all of us to follow. He lifted and carried the whole sport on his back for a while. He taught us how to be tough, how to interact with fans, how to train, how to win.” That’s top-shelf stuff, and a rather stoic reminder of how and why American motocross racers, starting in 1981, dominated the Motocross de Nations competition for 13 years straight during the Golden Era’s zenith.
But Motocross The Golden Era is more than a history about an unforgettable time because it addresses the core of how and why the racing panned out in America and Europe. Fittingly, Dewhurst goes full circle, returning to his English schoolboy roots for the final chapter that’s dedicated to Britain’s 500cc world champion David Thorpe. Then Dewhurst, perhaps influenced by a photographer’s background, closes out with a section simply labeled “Magic Moments,” a 30-plus page ensemble of truly remarkable and classic photos that showcase the Golden Era.
With a price tag of $199.99, the book ain’t cheap, but if you’re truly a fan of Motocross and/or Supercross, this book certainly is for you. You get more for your money, though, than a top-rate coffee table tome. Dewhurst has set up his website for readers to join in the conversation, or to purchase Golden Era merchandise and souvenirs. Foremost, he invites Golden Era readers to submit their comments, questions and other thoughts and ideas to a link for continued conversation. I suspect the truly enthusiastic readers might even share some of their own Golden Era experiences and memories. Who knows, some of those very comments might make it into future print; rumor has it that Dewhurst is already contemplating a follow-up book to Motocross The Golden Era. And you can bet that it, too, will be a golden read.
Read more about the golden era of Motocross
Motocross The Golden Era
By David Dewhurst
Hardbound, 480 pages, 12 1/4-inch x 10 1/4-inch
Published by: Dewhurst Photography
$199.99, available through Dewhurst Photography website, also at Motorcycle Classics store, or by calling 800-880-7567.
