1997 AMA 250 OUTDOOR MOTOCROSS - FULL SEASON REVIEW

Jeff EMIG had all of the confidence he needed to defend the #1 plate which he took from McGrath the previous summer, whilst Jeremy was still on his Honda.
He won seven of the 13 rounds, including the scorching hot Kenworthy’s round in Troy, Ohio. Emig’s Kawasaki teammate Damon Huffman also won that day in the 125 class.
Behind him there was plenty of good racing as Greg Albertyn added a first national win (Hangtown) to the first SX he won earlier in the year. Manchester Honda’s Damon Bradshaw shocked everyone with a very popular win in the mud at High Point, his first success since 1993. Yamaha’s Lusk won at Budds Creek, and home favorite John Dowd raced his Yamaha to the win at Southwick, as well as Broome-Tioga in New York. But in the end it was Emig’s mid-season sweep of Unadilla, Kenworthy’s, Spring Creek and Washougal that put the title out of reach for the others.

[@Davido50]

Best 2 commentators for SX/MX ever here folks. Remember them.

[@unclejessiesrodshop8432]

Art wasn't it for me, but Bailey, yeah he was awesome.

[@pixelfodder]

Man this is so good. I had this tape back in the day and it was my only ama racing video for years. Thanks for the upload 👍🙏

[@ofitstime]

LOL. I nearly wore this video out back in the day

[@HWG-wm8ld]

These were my favorite years. I lost interest in watching the races around 2006, or whenever they stopped showing both motos, doing the redundant rider interviews, art left, the girl doing track facts… I retired from riding/racing few years ago; these videos are awesome!!

[@EarthSurferUSA]

I am riding again at 60, and good thing I know how to modify a bike, got the silly tall YZ250 2-stroke, modified everything. I missed that fun too. I raced for a decade and rode for 2, but I dropped out when RC was retiring (last pro raced the 2007 MXofN at Buds Creek), the 4-strokes took over totally, and my new little business took off, (porting 2-strokes of course.). It is not the same sport. I really don't like it that much anymore, sans the riders efforts.

[@scottackerman8981]

Great video! Greg Albertyn's 1st US National win was in 1996 at Unadilla though.

[@MotocrossRacingOnline]

This Emig look was so sick, great stuff

[@ofitstime]

It was!

[@achimlohsepodcast]

my favorite was the fox gear...lol... great times!

[@LarryLinton]

Emig had one of the greatest riding techniques

[@achimlohsepodcast]

@@LarryLinton ohh, there were so many brilliant riders, Stefan Everts, David Baily, Eric Geboers, Rayon Dumgey, James Stewart, Joan Michelle Bayle, Jeremy MC Grath, David Thorpe, Ricky Johnsen... this list is soooo long and every of them got hes own unique style.... i wouldn't never say this or that is the best.... but, anyway. Everyone could have hes own opinion

[@SOLDOZER]

This is the race Jeff always talks about.

[@pauliewalnuts240]

Really looks like the 80s. The style of their riding gear and especially the camera quality make this look alot older.

[@peanutjellyman]

These are awesome, thanks

[@ofitstime]

This is a new channel, so all comments, likes & shares greatly appreciated ;)

[@peanutjellyman]

@@ofitstime yeah I've had a look through your channel and there's lots to watch. That's me set for xmas🤙

[@ofitstime]

Haha, Happy Christmas Keep your notifications on as I upload one each day ;). (Takes a while transferring from Video to hard drive etc.)

[@peanutjellyman]

@@ofitstime will do, Merry Christmas to you too

[@italianfranca]

Thank you very, very much!!

[@ofitstime]

No worries!

[@ふまこと-j4l]

John Dowd so good

[@zackk695]

How many races did Doug Henry race till he won the Supercross on his 4 stroke? Why didn’t they have him race a 250cc 4 stroke and allowed him a much larger engine to race the 2 strokes?

[@jeffa.8976]

The KX 250s were so good back then, it was almost like cheating.

[@EarthSurferUSA]

I had the 97 250. The end of my MX racing, but I never went faster in whooped out sand trails. I think I was at some pretty decent pro speed. Never felt that good on a MX track. It was an amazing feeling. I am getting into riding again made the YZ have that great low end and mid range power.

[@JokersWild70]

I was at Glen Helen, right by the big double in the back. The four stroke looked cool, and it had so many exotic handmade parts on it, but I sure didn't like how it sounded. Still don't like them. Too bad Doug got seriously injured at Budds Creek, because to see a full on works bike at that time was nonexistent. It had a magnesium carb, titanium everywhere, a handmade aluminum gas tank and a bunch more that I cant remember. Glen Helen usually was not that loamy. I rode open practices and amateur races there, and it was nothing but hardpack and slick. Looks much better today from what I've seen in videos.

[@HWG-wm8ld]

He broke his back one year and both arms another year at Budds. I did a broken pelvis and wrist there, that’s mx.

[@EarthSurferUSA]

"Like a bunch of fat ladies farting all around the track." Quote from a famous man. :)

[@SOFTAILX]

Just fininshed 1996 4 minutes ago

[@ofitstime]

You're Ready for 1997 now then, LOL

[@SirHung69]

He even says in 97 we are gonna have to get use to the sound of a four stroke lol

[@EarthSurferUSA]

He should have said get used to the price. These were the last of the $5,000 days, and that price was tripled because of the 1986 production rule, (tripled by 1992) . Yea, with out the 1986 and EPA intervention, the sport today would be a lot bigger with these bikes at about $4000.00. Nobody has the right to tell what to make and buy.

[@MichaelNoll-do4tu]

Fro Daddy looked great when we saw him at Steel City MX

[@zackk695]

A 4 stroke bike out there with 200cc’s more than the 2 strokes and still not winning. Does this tell anyone anything about these 4 strokes?

[@zackk695]

I love how the 450 4 stroke got smoked and it’s 200cc larger than the 2 strokes. In what world or who decided this was even fair in the first place? These 4 strokes are not meant for racing this type of racing. It’s clear to see here the bikes can not handle it even from the beginning. If Doug Henry was in a 2 stroke it still would have done very well or better. They need to go back to race bikes.

[@sambuvca22]

Alby was so fast but man, did he crash alot!

[@ofitstime]

All or nothing for him. It worked ok in '99 though ;)

[@JokersWild70]

Those Suzukis were absolute junk. I think in '99 they finally started getting a bit better. The fact that Greg won an overall and was usually near the front showed how determined he was. The motors were way down on power compared to the other bikes, and those conventional forks were absolute crap. At least Suzuki finally gave in and went to inverted forks for the Nationals. LaRocco talked about always breaking linkage bolts on them....just junk

[@SOLDOZER]

@@JokersWild70 It was not the bike. Greg was always just wadding himself.

[@JokersWild70]

@@SOLDOZER He wasn't constantly crashing in the GP's before coming to the US, especially when he was on Honda

[@SOLDOZER]

@@JokersWild70 Well he was always wadding himself in the US on Suzuki.

[@jaywinters2483]

This announcer sucked. That's a big reason why I didn't watch MX back then.