A day with Johnny O'mara

A day with Johnny O'Mara. At his home in his private track, a movie made for Italian Broadcaster by Mauro Valentinuzzi in 1990 his last season
Johnny O’Mara was the 1983 AMA 125cc National Motocross and 1984 AMA Supercross Series Champion. In addition to his AMA titles, the O’Show, as his fans like to call him, was part of four American teams that won the prestigious Motocross des Nations, including the first U.S. team ever to win the international competition in 1981. He first came to prominence by winning the 1980 United States 125cc Grand Prix in Lexington, Ohio, and went on to win the 250cc USGP in 1985 in New Berlin, New York. O’Mara was a pioneer in bringing world-class fitness to motocross. He was equally at home competing in triathlons and national-level bicycling competition as he was on a motocross track.
O’Mara was named to the U.S. Motocross des Nations team three more times (1982, 1984 and 1986) and each year the U.S. won. Many considered the 1986 squad of O’Mara, Rick Johnson and David Bailey to be the best American team ever assembled.
O’Mara retired from pro racing after the 1990 season
Interview Martino Bianchi

[@franciscolopez3229]

If you haven't known it yet, it was Johnny O who discovered and applied braking the rear wheel during a jump to change the bikes angle while in the air bringing the front end down. FYI, I just read this way back in the day in either Dirtbike or Motocross Action magazine on one of their trivia topics.

[@23MikeJ22]

Which is why I love this sport and in my eyes it will never die

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

@@23MikeJ22 Thanks, if you haven't done so yet subscribe to the channel and you will be notified about upcoming releases www.youtube.com/@maurovalentinuzzi

[@derrickanderson2783]

Bring it back!! Bring it all back!!!

[@garyperry8376]

The 1986 Motocross de Nations with Jonnny O'Mara, David Baily and Rick Johnson was epic. Johnny O'Mara's results on a CR125 was even more epic. He beat world champion riders and every entered rider in the world on every 125, 250 and 500 with the exception of Baily and Johnson.

[@brianwills4398]

Damn.. the O show. Supercross was more fun back then in my opinion.

[@brentcarr8365]

So was the riding gear

[@scottandtammylewis532]

The one and only O' Show! Worked at Suzuki Van Nuys when Johnny rode Suzuki's. He had a Honda Express piped and ported, used to come up the alley brake sliding all the trash cans down! The good old days Tom Halverson, Lance King, Craig Eggerman. Indian Dunes where it basically started for Johnny. Riding Tapo Cyn. Al Baker, everyone saw o'shows raw talent. The rest they say is history! 👍

[@toxsickdog]

raced at Dunes in the early to mid 80's and seen omara there on occasion. Johnny would sometimes race the CRC GP's. Those GP's were awesome fun with the extra long track that included sand washes and a river crossing/jump, along with the shadow glen and intl. mx tracks. omara was such an inspiration, dedicated to his job as a factory rider, and doing it in style.. a real legend in my book.

[@davespin9034]

Loved watching O'Show, so smooth.

[@d.r.penkert1429]

Johnny O is a bad man! His accomplishments on the bike,mountain bikes and as a trainer and coach are astonishing!

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Thanks!

[@gregmaggio5217]

I grew up in So Cal, and frequented Indian Dunes quite a bit and had seen J O riding there, a very fast local talent.

[@Davido50]

Grew up on east coast (NY/NJ) & now live in Upper Midwest. Was a GREAT time i bet to be in SoCal. BMX & Moto-X ..me & all my buds fave sports. All we did daily! 🇺🇸

[@stanprunty4141]

Back then there were so many more racers and places to ride so many in 125 class at the local level there was 2 or3 races of 125 novice and intermediate every weekend that’s where the Marty smith,bob hannah Jeff ward came from as well as Johnny O came from after that it started to slow down -those were the glory mx days

[@dougcoleburn1579]

O'Show is so young here! Had to be tough for him no longer having his best friend David Bailey to ride with and have his motivation to feed off of. What a Champion.

[@brianwills4398]

Ah man.. I didn't even think about that.. I took a couple of Bailey riding classes as a kid. Maybe it's just me being old but I think SX was way more entertaining in the 80s and 90s..🤙

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYu2doKmYtdsocU

[@damien5748]

@@maurovalentinuzzi love these older motocross bikes,espically the late 70s and early 80s....a time of real inovation....air cooled engines (for the most part),drum brakes, normal shaped tanks and seats ,and twin shock rear suspension were all on the way out and liquid cooled engines ,hydraulic disk brakes, tear drop tank and safety seat designs and monoshock rear suspension were all on the way in....truly a great time in mx bike design eveloution.....mx bikes these days sre boring,bland and have absloutley no character to them.

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

@@damien5748 I agree with you, Thanks, if you haven't done so yet subscribe to the channel and you will be notified about upcoming releases kzbin.info/door/MFTQYEiJXc3cTWz4XFmfxA

[@bunnyman6321]

@@damien5748 Facts

[@Davido50]

Awesome stuff! Thanks👍🏻- Western Ohio

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Thanks, if you haven't done so yet subscribe to the channel and you will be notified about upcoming releases www.youtube.com/@maurovalentinuzzi

[@kentfarmer3149]

One of my favorites!

[@leftjabrighthook]

brings back a lot of memories

[@brentcarr8365]

Such a great era of racing

[@brentcarr8365]

@@Iride505 haaaaaaa

[@andynewell7096]

Met him while he was still on the Mugen125. Such a cool bike and nice guy.

[@Kawiboy]

Braah.. Ya made this OLD MAN'S Day 👴😁 ... LEGEND 😉 OLD G USA Appreciate ya Always 👊

[@brianhoefer7148]

No MXDN footage on his 125? What about the last lap finish line jump skyshot at Daytona in the mid 80's?

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

I'm sorry but no I was in Daytona

[@brucefile7430]

Very cool video!

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Thanks!

[@HarborEdwin]

Reverse Scrub!! I remember an uphill on the backside of Saddleback that had a couple jumps on it. Johnny would hit the first jump fast & hard and make the two a double (nobody was doing that) and he had to lay the bike on it's side just like a scrub today, so he could clear the second jump and land on the other side of it! Amazing rider : )

[@bobbyblenio4571]

Dude your so Lucky ! I Never made it to Saddleback…I’ve seen Some of it onKZbin tho…& in Pictures…I Did make it to Carlsbad tho😜… & I Raced There…my First time Going there I got to Race that Infamous track…that was back in 1988…I have a Trophy from there too😉

[@HarborEdwin]

@@bobbyblenio4571 I raced that day at Saddleback, when I saw O-Show fly up the hill. Raced a couple of times on Friday nights out at Indian Dunes and Sunday, he was always winning and lapping everyone. lol Made it to Carlsbad for the USGP one year - being from L.A. it was a bit too far South back then. Talking the 70's. Cheers!

[@psychosneighbor1509]

Was that the same jump Magoo was doing a few years earlier ;)

[@HarborEdwin]

@@psychosneighbor1509 Maybe, I'm not for sure. All I know is I never saw Magoo at Saddleback and Johnny-0 was only one I ever saw do it. I mostly raced Friday nights at Irwindale CMC, some Sundays & a couple nights at Indian Dunes CRC. The jump was far more of a finesse jump than a Magoo pinned throttle balls to the wall jump. lol

[@psychosneighbor1509]

@@HarborEdwin Right on. Johnny O was/is a badass! You can see Danny do it on his Maico in the "Magoo" documentary. I have the DVD but I think it's free here on youtube...

[@camodickbarton4431]

One of my all time heroes amazing rider loved him

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Thanks, if you haven't done so yet subscribe to the channel and you will be notified about upcoming releases www.youtube.com/@maurovalentinuzzi

[@InformalGreeting]

I was a kid racer in the 80s and OShow was my absolute hero. RJ? Wardy? Bailey? Cool, but in my mind couldn’t compare. Good dude that actually talked to me the couple times I saw him at a race. I have no idea why this popped into my feed but I’m thrilled it did. I may rewatch this daily.

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

subscribe to my channel you will find more videos kzbin.info/door/MFTQYEiJXc3cTWz4XFmfxA

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

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[@InformalGreeting]

@@maurovalentinuzzi I’m here for all of it. Great content.

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

@@InformalGreeting Thanks!

[@paulhauck9515]

Fantastic

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Thanks!

[@romastamaliunas1353]

Best video !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Thanks to you

[@purebloodheretic4682]

1991 Perimeter Frame KX250😍 Sick Bike👍

[@spooge33]

Johnny was an all around great rider, but could really raise hell on a 125. He and Bailey were the class, style, and skill of the 80's.

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Thanks to you

[@albertosgubin1109]

Mitico

[@usualsuspectsfor1k]

How interesting would it be to recreate these old racetracks to scale and let today's top riders race them? We could compare lap times.

[@crush1221]

They kind of tried in Anaheim 2 2008, it was meant to be a replica of the 86 race between RJ and Bailey. Apparently Dirt Wurx never had so many complaints during practice as there was no flow compared to normal. IMO I like it when the tracks are janky... anything to increase mistakes in the age of four strokes is a bonus I think.

[@donbrashsux]

Johnny O and the Mugen

[@path6598]

realize how much rougher the supercross tracks were back then, that's why it translated to dominating at mx, now they are designed for rhythm and air time. boring.

[@BobbyGeneric145]

I think that track at the end was a John Savitski track.

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

was Johnny's private track, designed by John Savitski

[@BobbyGeneric145]

@@maurovalentinuzzi do you remember a photo in mxa of oshow doing a downhill double... The caption says something like "airing out a savitski built downhill double".

[@mcdevelopment2947]

I wanted that Porsche so bad as a kid

[@bunnyman6321]

You ever get 1?

[@mcdevelopment2947]

@@bunnyman6321 never did

[@bunnyman6321]

@@mcdevelopment2947 Damnit Man

[@alessandroveglio1356]

Alcuni dei tuoi video c’è l’ho presenti in una cassetta vm vision top secret? Giusto? Mi piacerebbe ritrovarla interamente su KZbin

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Esatto Alessandro, l'avevo prodotta inizio anni 90, con immagini che giravo durante i miei viaggi negli Stati Uniti, nella mia pagina KZbin ho messo molte parti di quella film

[@pauldavis509]

🍀🍀💚💚

[@anthonyegnor6347]

Not the watered lol

[@sdb92]

Johnny O’! ✌🏻🇺🇸

[@bourdon845]

Cool

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Thanks

[@disyokerr]

HI WAS BIG ON HONDA!

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

Thanks, if you haven't done so yet subscribe to the channel and you will be notified about upcoming releases kzbin.info/door/MFTQYEiJXc3cTWz4XFmfxA

[@SymonSaysTV]

Same kinda music they use to put in 3X movies back in the day. Lol..! So cheesy 🧀

[@shaunsavage1726]

O'Mara was a bad dude all the 80s stars were. Bet broc glover could still smoke expert class at a local. 60 yr old guy would lap me everyone else

[@Tew730]

he drives rental cars different than the things he owns and the last 5 years of his racing he never won a race just rode for the money never finished first on suzuki or Kaw i think

[@jamespatterson2002]

are you stupid or what?

[@alessandrosella4216]

Ho ancora il cappellino hrc firmato a Maggiora al nazioni '86 da Johnny o'show!!

[@beckersworldinc.171]

The hills behind his house had his test track, now it's all houses. My first picture published in DirtBike was of Johhny at the Anaheim race on the #20 Suzuki with a broken head stem, 1989.

[@23MikeJ22]

Dang ol building houses took over thousands of guys riding lands even mine. I just miss those days where we could go riding on land close by with no worries!! Best days of my life😒

[@beckersworldinc.171]

@@23MikeJ22 in the late 80's we were still doing laps at Hopetown then ride over the hills to Indian Dunes, XR 's only, farmers could hear the two strokes

[@tawnoper]

No houses back there yet. Looks exactly the same except no track. I ride my mtn bike back there all the time.

[@pierluigilembo8039]

🙏

[@vopo9142]

Ich kenne Johnny o. Mit weit Gammaschen in Gaildorf....1985???

[@vopo9142]

1985?.. on Honda cr ausserirdisch.....

[@maurovalentinuzzi]

if you haven't done so yet subscribe to the channel and you will be notified about upcoming releases www.youtube.com/@maurovalentinuzzi