There's a new DVD out, "Bob Hurricane Hannah's 1981 Massacre at Saddleback" that shows, explains, and critiques one of motocross' great battles, the two-moto throwdown between Bob Hannah and Kent Howerton. Suzuki's Howerton was the defending champion in this AMA Outdoor Series round two clash, Yamaha's Hannah was the former champ who had been off for a year with a horribly broken leg from a water ski accident. With Howerton's title won in Bob's absence, he had a point to prove that he deserved the number one plate. And Bob, well, he was Bob Hannah, and that dude did not like to lose.
The DVD is mostly home movie footage from 1981 matched with Hannah's modern day commentary. Bob tells fun stories, doesn't pull punches, and does a great job of explaining to the viewer what was going through his mind during the confrontation.
I had a great time watching the video, and decided it would be fun to call Bob Hannah to ask him about it.
Pete Peterson: It's touched on in the video, but you and Howerton were pretty good friends before that Saddleback race, weren't you?
Bob Hannah: I don't know what you call pretty good friends, but we weren't enemies. We did some riding together, I even went to his house one time and spent a couple days there and rode with him down there in his own territory.
(But) things were certainly different after I was gone that year (1980). And rightfully so. He'd beat me prior to that, what, maybe three times in my career. And I'm gone a year, I'm sure he takes a lot of flak that he wins because I'm not there. And when I come back he's got to prove that that's not right. I don't put any blame on him there, you know?
PP: The 1981 season was your return back from your bad broken leg, how were you physically on that day at Saddleback?
BH: Physically, obviously fairly strong if I could ride with Howerton for forty five minutes. Not riding like I used to, but physically strong, yeah.
But the bike was certainly a piece of %#@$. The biggest thing, I hate to blame it on the bike, but McCarty (Keith McCarty, Bob's mechanic at the time and now head of racing at Yamaha) can back me up on that, if I'd have been on that Suzuki there'd have been no race. I mean no doubt about it there would have been no race. I'm sure I was down some (on speed), but I was plenty strong to go the distance, but the bike was just a tub of $*@$. You cannot give someone thirty pounds. They took five pounds off between Hangtown (round one) and there, but I think we were still 25 over. Go put 30 pounds on somebody's bike and see what happens. It won't work.
PP: Did the bike develop more through the '81 season, did you have a decent bike at all?
BH: No, it was too late. And it was partially the riders' blame. We were in Japan when we rode 'em on a test track, and things seemed to be fine.
Obviously we didn't weigh them. When they came over here and we weighed them we were astounded. When I was gone that year they just didn't do any development. They just sat back, they were winning before and they figured they'd be winning again, and then when they brought the bikes over here they were all heavy. Everyone was complaining. The whole team was screwed up, you know?
PP: Back to the DVD, it mentions that the AMA came over and had a talk with you between motos (about the bar-banging and dirty riding back and forth).
Were you willing to risk a penalty to finish the battle with Howerton?
BH: I don't know that I ever thought of a penalty. They basically said 'you've got to knock that off,' and I told them, 'Don't talk to me about it, I didn't start it. You need to go talk to the guy that started it. You know me better than that. I don't start it, but I will finish it. You tell him to quit banging and I'll quit banging.'
PP: How did your team respond to this aggressive riding?
BH: They yelled at McCarty to yell at me, and he told them to go screw themselves, 'you want to talk to him, you go talk to him, there he is.' And I told them to go talk to Howerton. I'm not gonna take a brow beating when that son of a bitch starts it.
PP: How much was it personal ego or pride, how much was it about points in the championship, and how much was it about getting into Howerton's head that you could beat him.
BH: No points, just a particular race, and if Howerton would've never touched me that day, he would have won easily. The only reason I (battled for the win) was because I was extremely pissed. He would've whipped me easy. He had me. I was just having to put out 100%. I was riding over my head the whole day. If you watch that race close, both of us are about to go down quite a few times.
PP: Were you and Howerton ever friends again during your racing careers?
BH: I don't know that we ever said another the word until... Remember when Yamaha was putting on those Race of Champions in California at Glen Helen? I used to go out there and I'd do some commentating with Myers (Larry Myers).
Howerton rode one year and I went over and said hi to him and that was the first time I'd ever said anything to him since the race, I think.
BH: No, we don't socialize.
PP: Did you talk to him about anything for this video?
BH: Oh no, no. And I really don't care what his opinion is on that day. It really doesn't matter, it's old footage that Terri (Bob' wife) wanted to put together and I'm telling my story. If he doesn't like my story he can tell his, and people can make what they want out of it. In my mind I'm fairy clear what happened. I don't T-bone people for laughs. You'll never find a guy who says I T-boned people intentionally for any reason. I'd banged a few people. I banged Roger DeCoster fairy hard, and he banged me fairly hard. But my classic line, and I don't even know that it's in the DVD, if I'm riding with you, Pete, and intentionally I come over there and I ram the $#%@ out of you like I did Howerton, are you not gonna come over and punch me in the face after the race? Are you not going to come over to me and go, 'what's your problem?' My point being, he damn well knew he deserved it, or he wouldn't have taken it. It's plain and simple. If you rammed me like that intentionally, we're gonna be in it.
PP: How does Howerton rank in terms of guys you most wanted to beat during all your racing?
BH: I never really thought much about it prior to that. After that, sure I wanted to beat him. Although the following year I had to ride a 125 for Yamaha so we didn't see each other. But in '83, I believe he was on Kawasaki and I was on Honda, and when I did come up and pass him I used to always yell at him, "Where the hell are you today? Here I am, what are you doing?
You wanna race, I got a bike now." When I was on that Honda, forget it, he wasn't gonna be on the same lap. He caught me on the right day in '81, there's no doubt about that. And that happens. You break your leg, you're down, you're up, you're down, that's motocross. And being on the right bike at the right time is everything. Getting the right break at the right time, too. If Bob Hannah had not have had the right breaks in 1975 and '76 I would have not rode for Yamaha, I wouldn't have been national champion, maybe I never... Maybe it was a totally different ending. And Howerton, being on a Suzuki in '81, was a lucky damn thing for him. He was riding good in 1980. I wasn't there. He's got a fabulous bike, on the weight limit, no one's gonna beat him in '81. Suzuki was on the ball right then. And all the power to him. You gotta have some luck, you gotta have some lucky timing, you've gotta be in shape and not have a twisted knee. I mean, there's some guys right now, Villopoto, top of his game right now. Twist your knee, guess what, he's out. That's the way it goes. It could be worse. I'd say you walk out of this sport on your two legs, you shouldn't gripe. You win the races you do, that's racing. You get lucky some days, you get unlucky some days. I win Daytona in '83. In '84 some kid leans on the fence when I'm leading and catches my brake lever, throws me down, and I break my ankle and screw up my arm. Luck of the draw. I look back and think, 'why was I so close to that fence?' Well, I didn't know those kids were gonna lean on it. Things happen, and hindsight's everything. If hindsight's everything, though, on that day in '81, I'd still ram the $#%@ out of Howerton. The only thing I'd have changed is I'd have hit him harder the first time where I didn't have to hit him again.