In 1980, Chip Howell, a San Diego-area motocrosser decided on a new goal, representing the USA in the ISDT.
“I was working for Husqvarna and tried to qualify with a brand new 390OR and couldn’t get it to finish a race, it was breaking gearboxes.
“Fellow racer Larry Roeseler went ‘Yamaha’ and suggested I try a 465 as they were really good.
“Well, I rode his bike and ended up buying one to ride the qualifiers in 1981. I ran Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon and Washington… they take your best three and I believe there were six qualifiers.”
Read more in the Sopring edition of CDB
