TRAVELLIN’

MAN

T

hough nominallyaworldchampionship contest

since 1957, the 500cc international MX series

wasprimarilycontested in Europe until 1973.

The Carlsbad circuit in the USAgainedaround

and the contestwent to another continent.

Once the American riders got the idea of MXracing,

things stepped up another leveland the spectacle

of racingwasinstantlycolourful, or shouldwe say

‘colorful’. Not that therewas anyshortage of US riders

in the competition in its earlyyears, it’sjust the

logistics gotalittl eeasier.

It still meantabig commitment for US riders of

course and Honda team man GarySemicswasaway

for so long during the 1982 season his folks made the

trip to the Canada GP inJuly to seehim –and caught

him achieving his best GPresult.

Reported in theMotorCycleof July 1982, the Semics

familymade the trip to St Gabriel, north of Montreal,

whereGarymixedit with the best in theworld

and took home second place inaGPclassed as a

‘European’ style circuit.

Our photo of him is takenaweek later at the

British GP atFarleigh Castle wherehis 9thinthe

first race and 6th in the second brought hima7th

placeoverall and he left the British circuit 7th in

the world championship.Ashistoryrecords, itwas

to be another Americanracer’syear for theworld

crownbut Semics certainlymade his mark and the

travellingwasworth it.

MOTO MEMORIES

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AUTUMN 2019 | 83