Rider Files

Joe Kopp

Joe Kopp took some time to talk to us about his recent announcement that he’s retiring from full-time competition. Kopp, 41, of Mica, Washington, has been one of the top riders since he came on the AMA Grand National scene in 1993. The 2000 AMA Grand National Champion has been a model of consistency, finishing in the top 10 in the point standings every year since 1996.

This year was one of Kopp’s most memorable. He gave Ducati its first AMA Grand National victory on the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports bike at the Yavapai Downs Mile in Prescott, Arizona on May 2nd. Kopp’s win wasn’t just history-making for Ducati, it also ended Harley-Davidson’s streak of 134 consecutive victories in GNC twins-class racing.

Kopp won at Lake Odessa and then took what he considers one of the hardest-fought victories when he beat out three-time champ Kenny Coolbeth at the Hagerstown (Md.) Half-Mile in August.

After the Labor Day Springfield Mile Kopp held a 10-point lead over Jake Johnson in the series standings with just three rounds to go and looked to have the inside line to win his second Grand National crown. Then disaster struck. A chain broke at the Canterbury Mile in Minnesota causing him to go from 10 up to 10 down to Johnson. Then more trouble – the Knoxville, Iowa, race was rained out meaning with just a single round remaining his chances to gain on Johnson pretty much went out the window.

Joe Kopp en route to his most dominant national victory at Beulah Park in Grove City, Ohio, in 2009. (Larry Lawrence photo)

Kopp eventually finished second in the final overall Grand National standings to Johnson.

Along the way he won three nationals in 2010 and in doing so moved past a bunch of legends in the all-time wins list. His victories this summer moved him from 18 to 21-career Grand National wins, pushing him past luminaries like Carroll Resweber, Gary Nixon, Gary Scott and Rich King, who all had 19-career wins.

Kopp is now 12th on the all-time AMA Grand National wins list and he may not be done just yet, saying he hoped to come back and race select races next year and possibly even beyond.

It’s been a great career and Kopp said he is happy with the decision.

Enjoy The Rider Files interview with one of the greats Joe Kopp. It’s approximately 20 minutes. Click link to listen.
Joe Kopp- On Retiring

Joe Kopp’s Grand National Wins
1997
Peoria TT (Harley-Davidson/Rotax)

1999
Dallas Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2000
Sedalia (Mo.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2001
Joplin (Mo.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2003
Granite City (Ill.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)
Lima Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2004
Lima Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)
Rapid City (S.D.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2005
Greenville (Ohio) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)
Hagerstown (Md.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2006
Greenville (Ohio) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2007
Tucson (Ariz.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2008
Bedford (Pa.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)
Lima Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)
Greenville (Ohio) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)
Topeka (Kans.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2009
Daytona Beach Short Track (Honda CR450F)
Grove City (Ohio) Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

2010
Prescott Valley (Ariz.) Mile (Ducati Hypermotard 1000)
Lake Odessa (Mich.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)
Hagerstown (Md.) Half-Mile (Harley-Davidson XR750)

While electric-powered motorcycle racing really came to the forefront this summer, the idea has apparently been around for a long time and it wasn’t looked upon favorably even then. This is an artist’s concept of an electric road racer called the Voltmaster that appeared in Cycle Guide in August of 1980. Tongue was obviously firmly planted in cheek with this drawing (the seat is referred to as “electric chair”.) It’s pretty amazing how close in this concept 30 years ago the artist came to visualizing what electric racers actually look like today.

The Voltmaster: A humorous look at the concept of an electric-powered road racer from the pages of Cycle Guide magazine in 1980. Surprisingly the artist wasn’t all that far off the mark.

(News Release)

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — Ask any motocross fan to name the greatest American racers of all time, and Bob “Hurricane” Hannah is sure to make the list. Hannah’s immense popularity helped the sport of motocross explode in the late 1970s, and on Friday, Nov. 19, he will be honored as a Motorcycle Hall of Fame Legend at the annual Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, Nev.

When Hannah was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, he had seven AMA National Championships to his credit, and was one of only two riders in the history of AMA racing to win championships in 125 and 250cc motocross and Supercross competition.

His moniker, “Hurricane,” was bestowed on him in 1975 by a track announcer one year before the relatively unknown 19-year-old Californian stormed onto the professional racing scene. Hannah’s victory at the first round of the AMA 125cc National Motocross Championship at the famous Hangtown racetrack near Sacramento was the first of a record 70 that he would earn during his 15-year career.

Hannah was born in 1956 in Lancaster, Calif. He grew up riding in the rugged southern California deserts with his father and got his first bike, a customized Honda 55, when he was 7 years old. By the time he took to the local motocross tracks at age 18, Hannah was more than ready. His amateur debut was so successful that local racing officials told the determined youngster he would have to advance to the expert ranks.

Hannah signed with Yamaha in 1976 and immediately won the AMA 125cc National Motocross Championship. In 1977, he hopped aboard a Yamaha 250 and won the AMA Supercross Championship in impressive fashion. Hannah moved up to the 250cc outdoor Nationals full time in 1978, winning eight consecutive events to take the title, a record that still stood at the time of his Hall of Fame induction. Counting his titles in Supercross and the fall Trans-AMA Series that same year, Hannah’s career was at its zenith.

Hannah dominated Supercross and the 250 outdoor Nationals in 1979, winning both titles. Then, a water skiing accident on the Colorado River left him with a shattered leg and nearly cost him his career.

Though he sat out the entire 1980 season to recover, Hannah was able to return to competition, and he won 20 more Nationals during the 1980s. He also represented the USA three times in the prestigious Motocross des Nations, and was a member of the victorious 1987 team when the event was held in New York.

Hannah’s recognition at the 2010 Hall Fame inductions marks the first time an existing Hall of Famer will be honored alongside new inductees, and his presence is highly anticipated by the hundreds of family members, friends, industry members and fans who will be in attendance at the Nov. 19 ceremony.

AMA Legends and Champions Weekend
The 2010 Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductions kick off the three-day AMA Legends & Champions Weekend. The ceremony, hosted by actor and motorcyclist Perry King, will officially welcome nine deserving men and women to the Hall of Fame: legendary two-stroke engine tuner Eyvind Boyesen, dirt-track racer Don Castro, sidecar roadracing champion Larry Coleman, off-road rights activist Clark Collins, AMA 250cc Roadrace Champion David Emde, off-road gear pioneers John and Rita Gregory, desert racing champion and team manager Bruce Ogilvie, and championship team owner Mitch Payton.

A full slate of activities at the Red Rock follows the induction ceremony.

On Saturday, Nov. 20, the 2010 Motorcycle Hall of Fame Concours d’Elegance will showcase some of the country’s most impressive original and restored classic motorcycles. Also on display will be the world’s fastest motorcycle, the Top 1 Oil Ack Attack streamliner — a twin-engined, streamlined blue bullet that recently set the outright motorcycle land speed record of more than 376 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Then at noon on Saturday, the AMA honors the best of the amateur racing community at the 2010 AMA Racing Championship Banquet, presented by World of Powersports, and co-hosted by announcers Laurette Nicoll and Griff Allen.

Saturday evening marks the Las Vegas début of the movie “Carlsbad USGP: 1980,” a look at an iconic motocross race that some have dubbed “the Woodstock of motorcycling.”

A number of the weekend attendees are also expected to zip across town for the season finale of the AMA GEICO EnduroCross Series on Saturday evening at the Orleans Arena. Ticket information is available at EnduroCross.com.

For a complete schedule of the AMA Legends & Champions Weekend, including information about tickets and substantially reduced-rate accommodations, visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com/LegandsAndChampions.