Goldilocks and the three bears…
By Alex Hodgkinson on 29th Oct 15
After a lengthy spell with no success Graham Noyce put Britain back at the front of the GP pack beating MX legends like Heikki Mikkola, Roger De Coster and Gerrit Wolsink to some stunning overall victories and ultimately the 1979 500cc world title
British motocross had been in the doldrums through the early 1970s after the glory days of the two previous decades but the revival was already swinging into gear as TMX hit the streets in May 1977.
The most recent British GP winner had been Dave Nicoll – yes, that's right, the old geezer who kept his eye on the Monster girls with the five and 15 second boards until last year – on a factory BSA in Luxembourg in August 1969, and by 1975 the leading GP Brits were all getting a bit long in the tooth, having all started their careers in the 1960s.
But there were three shining rays of light on the horizon as sheer guts saw Graham ‘Rolls' Noyce, Neil "Nellie" Hudson and a kid by the name of Dave Thorpe emerge from the flourishing UK youth scene, a phenomenon which had kicked off with kids on home-made Bantams on the late 1960s but had developed to a major market force with Japanese importer involvement by 1977; indeed, for the rest of the 20th century Team Green soon held sole preserve to the back page of the new off-road weekly bible.
While the ACU could lay little claim as driving force to the expansion of the youth scene, Auntie had finally bowed to pressure and introduced a single-class British championship with GP-length 40+2 motos in 1975 and this was the next stepping stone to the revival of UK fortunes on the world stage.
Noycey had turned the UK scene on its head to only lose the national title in the final moto that year, but, hardly losing a moto through the next four years, was never headed again that decade as he advanced to the most furious talent around, first with Maico and then with Honda.
A stunning 500 GP moto win at Dodington Park near Bristol in his rookie season had heralded Graham's arrival on the world scene but the likes of Heikki Mikkola, Roger De Coster and Gerrit Wolsink were still the dudes at the front of the pack most weeks and consistency was not yet exactly the forte of the young Brit, nicknamed Goldilocks by Dutch mate Gerard Rond for his flowing blonde hair as they won fair hearts with their antics on and off the track!
The same names had dominated world motocross for a decade but their days were numbered as the 1979 season swung into gear. Noycey won the opener at Sittendorf in the hills above Vienna with a 2-2 scoreline and led the points almost all year. His only other win came in front of a frenetic home crowd at Farleigh Castle but the title was secure before the final round.
Down in the 250s Russians Gennady Moiseev and Vladimir Kavinov were the men to beat on their KTMs, but Neil Hudson, advancing through the ranks a year behind his youth rival Noyce, already topped a GP podium in 1978 and only came up short to fellow young blood Hakan Carlqvist in 1979. Neil's day would come in 1981.
And the next cog in the glory days of the 1980s was already making tracks. Thorpey dominated schoolboy motocross for Suzuki in 1977 at the age of 14. Not old enough to race ACU the next summer David played a vital role in public awareness of the flourishing AMCA the following summer before quickly establishing himself in the ACU in 1979.
It was a glorious time and TMX has been here ever since to give you your weekly fix on everything you need to know about the off-road world.
