 The
first motorcycle races in this area were done with motorcycles
that were pretty close to stock, just like what you could
buy from your favorite dealer. When the many District 36
clubs were putting on scrambles racing in the mid-60's,
some of the riders were intent on the 'NEW' thing that was
called motocross. However, motocross was not much of a motor-sport
until Edison Dye imported some Husqvarnas', a bunch of European
racers, and the West was won.
The
Bailey Brothers brought that sport to Ascot Park in about
1968 in what could be referred to now as Supercross or Arenacross.
Just a few years prior, the Dirt Diggers of Southern California
were putting on the Hopetown GP. Honorary member, Bill Dawson,
traveled from Folsom to attend the race. He reminisces,
"All the people were just so nice, I used to drive down
to Hopetown, or wherever, and met the folks from WEBCO ...
Maureen Lee, editor of Cycle News. Don Kemp announced Hopetown
and the stories and the good times were just what I thought
was needed in Northern California. I would come back and
talk about the stuff we did with guys like Bill Onga and
Ed Clark, who really pushed me to try and get a group together,
and Bill Groom, Carl Cranke, Don Falloon and Kurt McKimmey
... it was just great in those days."
In 1967,
a group of eight local motorcycle enthusiasts met at Marion
Pyle's bike shop in Orangevale, the Orangevale Motorcycle
Center, to discuss a dream they shared of bringing a big-time
motorcycle racing event to Northern California. The meeting
set the stage for the creation of the Dirt Diggers North
Motorcycle Club.
The
Dirt Diggers North wouldn't be content to just ride together.
From the beginning they wanted to stage their  own
race -- a big one. After two small, local events, a scrambles
in Lincoln and a motocross at West Sacramento's Helvetia
Park, they set their sights on Hangtown. Knowing that Dirt
Diggers South had been running their annual Hopetown cross
country race for quite awhile, Dirt Diggers North wanted
to put something together on that scale up here.
The
stuff of all the Hangtown Classic events are the memories,
and that of course, is why Hangtown became such a classic
event. Each one of the members has their own special remembrance,
but here are a few of the great years that make this a real
CLASSIC.
The
first Dirt Diggers North MC race was held at Murray's Ranch
in Placerville, CA, in 1969. The race took its name from
Placerville, which was known as "Hangtown" in the gold rush
days. Charter member Dave Duarte relates, "You had to drive
down Diamond Bar Road, and I remember how we had to drag
out just about every single car afterward because of all
the mud."
 But despite the poor weather and a mediocre turnout
of about 150 sportsmen riders and 30 pros, the event with
the $600 purse set the stage for Hangtown's future. The
day ended with Larry Mulock, Gary Bailey, and Dick Mann
sharing the winners podium. Starting with those riders (now
some very famous names in motorcycle history), the list
of HANGTOWN WINNERS goes on to read like the Who's Who of
motocross racing: Bobby Grossi, Tom Rapp, Marty Smith, Bob
Hannah, Broc Glover, David Bailey, John DeSoto, Jeff Ward,
honorary Dirt Diggers Brad Lackey and Jimmy Weinert, and
continuing on the with Lamson, Emig, Cooper,
Stanton, LaRocco, Bradshaw, McGrath, Johnson, Carmichael, and Stewart.
1970
was the first race at the Plymouth sand track. El Dorado
County had roadblocked use of the original track in Placerville.
A month away from the scheduled race date, the club was
desperate for a new site. Someone mentioned that the track
at Plymouth was being used by a lot of riders. The Dirt
Diggers took a look, liked it, and for eight years after
that, they called Plymouth home. The second annual Hangtown
drew 2,000 spectators, twice the amount of the first race.
The purse was slightly fatter, too, at $1,000. Bobby Grossi
was the big winner.
The
third year in 1971 saw the purse grow to $1,500. More than
5,000 spectators traveled to the picturesque little town
in Amador County. Billy Urban won the 125cc class while
European Hans Hanson topped the 250cc class and Grossi again
won the Open.
As time
passed the race grew. The 1972 event attracted a whopping
15,000 fans who lounged in the California sunshine and watched
three professional divisions go at it for the fourth year,
this time for a $5,000 purse. It was that race that put
Hangtown on the motocross map. Tom "Rappster" Rapp dominated
the 125cc class on a Bultaco, Grossi won the 250cc again
and Brad Lackey on his Kawasaki was on his way to a National
and a World title, still the only American to have won the
500cc GP World Championship.
The
media experienced a change of heart from that point on.
What before was just machines in grease and dirt became
"news". People are news and a crowd of 15,000 was simply
too large for even the most traditional sportswriter to
ignore.
1974
was when the club got a sanction from AMA. The purse hit
the $10,000 mark. Marty Smith won the 125cc class for the
second time while Tom "Rappster" Rapp won the 250cc class
and Dutchman Pierre Karsmaker (who was winning all the Open
class battles) also prevailed.
Who
can forget the beautiful Saturday in April of '75 when the
amateur event went so well, followed by Sunday's professional
event which had snow, sleet, hail, rain and wind, all on
the same day. They had to work for the $12,000 purse.
 1976 saw some new names along with the old timers. It
was to be the first time that each moto would count for
points toward the National title and the kid who won the
125 class was to become a real dominator. Bob Hannah won
both motos over the likes of Sacramento's own Dan Turner,
Bruce McDougal and John Savitsky, who now spends most of
his time building tracks. Hannah was just beginning to build
a name that would be the "Big Time" for a while.
The
250cc National class was beginning to suffer from the 'indoor'
or Supercross series with lots of bad feelings about bump-and-run
tactics, and the outdoor series was felt to be the real
equalizer.
By 1977
the pot had swelled to $17,000. More than 30,000 spectators
jammed into Plymouth for that race and afterwards the Dirt
Diggers North proudly proclaimed that they had "the largest
club-promoted motocross in the world." Saturday's Sportsman
day had 450 riders doing battle, while Sunday's National
had Danny LaPote win both 125cc motos, Jim "Bimbo" Pomeroy
swapped moto wins with Tony D'DeStefano, and Marty Smith
was the overall winner with a pair of deuces
And
who can forget 1984 when David Bailey and Broc Glover were
fighting for the 500cc win and took each other out, right
in front of the announcers box.
DDNMC
has hosted some of the wildest and most successful motorcycle
events since the word motocross came into being. However,
the old days at Plymouth's Hangtown sand pit are now long
gone, as are the hangovers, the all night parties, Brad
Lackey hopping on the bulldozer to help build the track,
the Saturday Night's mechanics races with 250cc Bultaco
motors stuffed into mini bike frames, etc.
All
this changed when the race outgrew the sleepy hillsides
of Plymouth with the two-lane roads, and old-fashioned thinking
of some local residents who didn't like the changes brought
by the races with it's 30,000 spectators. Therefore, in
1979, the club and the Sacramento Country Department of
Parks and Recreation put together a permanent facility at
Prairie City OHV Park. Eventually the State OHV Department
took control of the park, and in conjunction with DDNMC
have provided permanent sprinklers, fencing, rest rooms,
running water, gazebos, announcing tower, and other facilities.
In 1991
it seemed that the DDNMC could sell itself for a lot of
money to the State of California in the quest for rainfall.
The best comment, as ever, came from announcer Bruce Flanders(The
Voice of Hangtown) when he welcomed the few thousand brave
souls who came to watch the Classic as it rained from 9
am until 6 pm. The race track had to be 'rearranged' ...
isn't that a nice word ... a few times to accommodate the
new "South fork of the American river." As usual, when times
are tough, the tough come to the top, and privateers Doug
Henry and John Down were the winners. The best part had
to be when all the factory heroes wanted to cancel out of
the event, until local Vet Pro's Eric McKenna and Dave Coupe
volunteered to ride a lap for a test and when they fired
their machines and rode the lap, the fans went nuts and
the National Pro's couldn't ignore them and had to give
the fans the show they came to see.
In 2004, DDNMC stepped up and became the title sponsor of former National Champion, Steve
Lamson. This marked the first time that a national promoter sponsored a national pro. Although Lamson's season didn't go as planned, as he suffered several injuries, DDNMC was proud to be a part of his racing efforts.
In 2005, rookie Mike Alessi appeared to have the overall wrapped up in the 125 class, but veteran Grant Langston had other ideas. On the final corner of the final lap of the second
moto, 2nd place Langston charged into the leading Alessi, putting them both on the ground just 25 feet short of the finish line. With a dislocated ankle, Langston picked up his bike first and rode up the finish line jump to secure the win and the overall.
Alessi, out of energy, could not get his bike started. He finally tried to push his bike up the finish line jump, but could not do it. The bike fell over and he toppled to the ground. He got up again and pushed his bike off the side of the jump, just past the AMA transponder. Thinking that he was officially across the finish line, he fell down again in exhaustion. Much to his disbelief, the AMA refused to give him the checkered flag until he crossed the "finish line," which was another 5 feet up the jump face. He finally got his bike started and crossed the jump face, but not until being passed by 7 more riders. Langston was unavailable for comment regarding the "incident."
In 2006, DDNMC undertook the huge task of leveling the pits to accommodate the ever increasing number of pros using
NASCAR-style big rig transporters. The Club spent alot of money and alot of time to improve the facilities at Prairie City
SVRA. In addition to the level pits, new spectator areas were formed, new hose bibs installed in the pits, new speaker towers installed, and a new pedestrian bridge installed over the new pit access to the starting line. With the new improvements, the Hangtown Motocross Classic arguably had one of the finest pits in the National series.
The 2006 race was another one of the "wet" years, but thankfully nothing like '91. The '06 Classic became another "classic," as Ricky Carmichael took the holeshot before throwing it away in turn two in a wild highside that put him in the dirt directly in front of 39 other pros. Robbie Reynard led for a few laps, to the wild cheers of the crowd under umbrellas, until Chad Reed overtook him. A short time later, Chad overshot a turn and went down the backside of a steep
berm, narrowely escaping a potential endo. Toward the back of the pack, Ricky was coming from dead last where he encountered James Stewart, who had fallen early as well. The pair went on a blistering pace, slashing their way through traffic on a rainy track. The two swapped leads numerous times before Stewart pulled away, and catching Reed on the last lap to take the checkered flag. Ricky took third behind Reed after goggle problems slowed his charge.
In the second moto, Carmichael twisted the throttle to the stops on his RMZ 450 and took a wire to wire win. But Stewart, showing some savvy in his maturing years, kept a safe pace in second, and captured his first overall outdoor win.
The year 2006 marked the first time that the Governor of the State of California issued a citation to DDNMC for the improvements it has made to Prairie City
SVRA, and the economic benefit it has provided to the surrounding areas.
Also in 2006, DDNMC held an auction for injured Honda rider, Ernesto Fonseca. The inspiration came from DDNMC member David Harvey, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury while racing, one week before Fonseca suffered his career ending injury. His brush with a wheel chair inspired him to help Fonseca, who wasn't so lucky.
The Club went to work shortly before Hangtown '06 and began collecting rider gear, photos, bike parts, and race tickets for an auction to be held following the race. Unfortunately, Hangtown '06 was a wet one and the decision was made to move the auction online. At the conclusion of the online auction, the DDNMC members raised almost $15,000 for Ernesto Fonseca's mounting medical bills. DDNMC members were proud to present a check to Ernesto Fonseca at the Lakewood National in July '06. As a result of the Hangtown Fonseca Auction, the American Motorcyclist Association bestowed upon the Club the "AMA MVP" award for coming to the aid of a fellow rider. DDNMC members are proud of what they have done, and hope that Fonseca makes a full recovery and can come to a future
Hangtown.
For 2007, the Hangtown Motocross Classic will receive another monumental makeover when the State completes its multi million dollar improvement to the Prairie City facilities. Included in the makover will be new stadium-style grandstands for the race track.
Currently
we have 34 active members, plus one probate, ranging
in ages from 21 to just-how-old-is-Dean-anyway? The oldest
member is Roy Tinker McGill who opened McGill Cycle Park,
which would later become Prairie City SVRA (the current
home of Hangtown). Members are required to attend weekly
meetings and to actively compete in a minimum of six competitive
motorcycle racing events per year. In addition to Hangtown,
DDNMC also hosts a cross-country race at Prairie City SVRA
in November called The Lilliputian Hare Scrambles, a round of the AMA D-36 Cross Country Series. The club
promotes these races to further our sport and to join the
other clubs and private promoters in providing continual
racing pleasure for all.
Hangtown
has matured into one of the largest and most prestigious
motocross events in the United States. The original Dirt Diggers could never have dreamed
of what the race has become today. Whatever happens to the
event in the future, one can always remember that just by
being a part of the Hangtown Classic makes you a part of
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