Брэд Лэки: Америкалық мотокросс шеберінің тарихы

American motorcycle racer

Brad Lackey (born July 8, 1953) is an American former professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1970 to 1972 and, in the Motocross World Championships from 1973 to 1982. Lackey was notable for becoming the first and only American to win the 500cc motocross world championship in 1982. Nicknamed "Bad Brad", Lackey was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and, in 2013 he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Born in Berkeley, California, Lackey grew up in Pinole, California as the son of an avid motorcyclist. He grew up riding off road motorcycles in the mountains around the San Francisco Bay area. Early in his racing career, Lackey made a political statement during the Vietnam War by mounting a white plastic peace dove onto his motorcycle's handlebar. Lackey's first racing success came when he rode a Sachs motorcycle to win the support class at a 1969 Inter Am event near his home in northern California. The 1969 Inter Am series featured visiting European professional racers such as Joël Robert and Torsten Hallman, who made an impression on Lackey with how much faster they were than their American counterparts. At that time, the sport of motocross was beginning to grow in popularity in the United States and, American motocross racers were not as advanced as the racers from Europe where the sport had originated. Despite his hippie style, Lackey was one of the first American motocross racers to learn about the importance of intense physical training necessary to compete at a world championship level. In 1970, Lackey received sponsorship from a local ČZ dealer and in 1971, ČZ sent him to Czechoslovakia to enter a training camp to develop his physical fitness and riding abilities. Lackey gained his first experience on the world championship motocross Grand Prix circuit when ČZ entered him into a few 250cc Grand Prix races while he was in Czechoslovakia. While racing for ČZ, Lackey employed the engine tuning abilities of fellow racer and future AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame member, Carl Cranke who was known for his ability to extract horsepower from two stroke engines. He won his fifth race of the season on a Kawasaki and clinched the 1972 AMA 500cc 1972 AMA Motocross National Championship in dominating fashion.