Rickey johnson

During the s, he won seven AMA national championships and was part of four winning U. Motocross des Nations teams. Johnson would likely have had even more impressive numbers had injuries not forced him into retirement when he was only Johnson was born on July 6, in La Mesa, California.

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His father was an avid motorcyclist and bought his 3-year-old son a minibike from Sears. Johnson started competing in a few TT races when he was 7, before the neighborhood family that took him to the races moved away. He was 9 when he first raced motocross. Johnson smiled when he recalled that he finished last in his first race. He grew up racing in the early heyday of Southern California motocross.

The sport was exploding, tracks were being built everywhere and Johnson recalled how exciting it was to be a part of a new and burgeoning sport. By age 12, Johnson had become one of the top minibike riders in California and at 13 he moved up to the bigger bikes. He was befriended by Broc Glover and started training with the pro. In , Johnson turned 16 and earned his pro license.

He failed to qualify for his first pro race, the San Diego Supercross, although he proudly remembers battling with Marty Smith and George Jobe in the last-chance qualifier. He had good success in his rookie season, earning two podium overall finishes in the cc class and even getting a moto win in front of his hometown fans at the final race of the cc series in Carlsbad, California.

Johnson would later call his first national moto win one of the most memorable races of his career.