I still remember watching this. It will be burned in my memory forever! One of my all time favorite riders! Danny Chandler is the reason I started riding open class bikes!
I was able to watch Magoo from his early days riding a Maico in his early career, through his success with Honda, and then his ‘afterlife’ because of injury. I was able to spend a little time with him at the Sacramento Mile, Hangtown, and other Bay Area motorcycle events where he would show up to support the sport. He was one of the greatest, most physical and scary riders to ever straddle a dirt bike. He used to break bikes in half. He was wonderful. We miss you Danny!
This has to be the best racing of any motorsport discipline ever, maybe the best racing I've ever seen. It has everything any petrolhead would want, intense, speed, 2stroke v 4stroke, close fast wide open racing. I could watch this video over and over again. Thank you for posting.
Look into "Guidon D´Or". It´s basicly the same idea, any racer on any bike. It´s in France and it took place on the late 80´s/early 90´s. 2 strokes vs 4 strokes too... and you can even see Randy Mamola on a 2WD bike!
I watched this when it was on tv and recorded it on an old vhs recorder and watched it a million times along with the US GP 500 at Carlsbad when Bailey won it. Still good stuff to watch
Holy cow, where is this format of Motorcycle racing today!? That was the most entertaining race I think I've ever seen in my life! I wonder why this isn't around today, or why it's not as popular??
When abc was airing the super bikers most of us that rode and raced called it a made for tv joke. Now in my late fifties I can honestly say that after riding the same course at carlsbad many times at the tankslappers grand prix that it was the most fun I ever had racing. I cherish my trophies from 1989 and 1992. Rip, magoo and the Springer.
Me and my buddies were racing dirt bikes during this era and we lived for watching this annual event. Danny was crazy fast and it caught up with him way to soon. RIP
Like most on here, I was 15 when I watched this on the WWOS and was rooting for Magoo as I'd been riding-racing MX since 77 and always dreamed of riding on a supermoto track with a Sumo bike setup and when I got back into mx after 11 yrs off at the age of 37 and found out about supermoto when it blew up in 2005 and immediately bought a 2nd YZ450, 1 for mx & 1 setup for sumo with 16.5 inch front wheel and 17 in on the rear with slicks. Most fun ever on a motorcycle I've ever had and luckily I'm close to Road America where they have a killer kart track with a dirt section. So much fun and I'm still racing at 56. Check it out.
I had a chance to meet Magoo in 1980 during Bike Week. Our shop hosted him for the week. My first memory was when they opened the back of the panel truck, there was a 440 Jet Sji upside down and you could see where he was repairing the bow. ( He had tried to go over a ski jump the week before !) So glad I got to meet him, and I still have the set of red Answer handlebars he raced with the week before !
They should bring this back, very exciting and high speed.I Remember watching this when it aired on ABC and absolutely loved it. I don't know if the racers today would risk hanging it all out in a event like this today. These guys were studs!!
I was watching a video with Fast Eddie and Lee Parks, Lee mentioned the super bikers and sent me here. I was 8 yrs old at the time and rode a Honda 50 cc mini bike 3 yrs later. Great race!
Tribute to “Wild Magoo” (Danny Chandler) His death still breaks my heart. I mention this because it was seven years ago, May 4, 2010 when we all lost Magoo. He was a Motorcycle racer that was off the chart,( and many times off the pegs!) He gave it all, every time. Watch this incredible race: cut to about 4:40 for the start to the BIG race and keep your eyes on #34. MAGOO!
IIRC, 1982 was also the year that Honda sent Magoo, O'Show, and the Little Professor to the MXdN and they just wrecked the Euros. 82 was the year of Magoo!
Interestingly enough, just like when Magoo retook the lead twice from Wise on that unbelievably close to the edge line he chose,(nearly hitting the rail with his elbow in the process, which he had to chicken wing it to avoid ) enabling him to go WFO where others had to back off the throttle a blip. He did the same at the MXdN on the outside of another long slightly sweeping straight, taking an impossibly close to the edge line holding it WFO, that nobody else could exploit and had the nerve to take. I came across vintage a t-shirt of him at the MXdN, with him plastered in the center getting ready to go into a turn, and flags off all the other nations surrounding Danny. I still regret not buying it. RIP Danny Chandler, and RIP Daivd Bailey.
I saw this race on tv when it happened and just saw it again on this video. It was even more exciting the 2nd time here. Wise was great at Superbiking but Magoo was the man !!
God I used to love this when it came on! I would intently study every TV guide for ANY motorcycle racing on TV, but motocross and these Superbikers races were very special. My families Sony Betamax would be carefully pre set with a fresh tape every time! This is a great one, the brief but spectacular domination phase of Chandler was so exciting! It’s very funny that they categorize Steve Wise as a road racer, that kills me😂😂😂, I know he did go on to be a very decent road racer (double plus kudos to him👍👍) but he was a motocross racer, an exceptional motocross racer; and motocross racers always kicked ass at Superbikers racing, or any type of cross over racing, because motocross skills are superior👍👍😂
Chandler was the man on two wheels and four. Wise gave a great chase to the end -- perhaps snagging the bale hampered his late race. Springsteen, Graham and Jorgensen wrestled their Hardly Ridables rather well over this insane track. I recall watching this race in '82 and enjoyed the drama just as much now. Thanks for posting great MX history.
I remember watching this race on TV as a kid. It's when supermoto was born. I do like the name Superbikers better though. It really took off in Europe more than here in the US even though we invented it.
Magoo could do it all on a bike, he’s the only rider to jump all the way to the bottom of banzai hill.... my fav part is the one handed Wheelie at the end perfect way to win a race.
Really enjoyed watching him race Became a fan when watching him at Unadilla and he used the fence as a berm right in front of us. Always passing someone in the process...he could just ride anywhere and DID!!!!
at 13:46 , the way he shifted his weight...I did a similar thing by instinct once when I was taking my motorcycle road test in 2010 at the DMV. (on a 1972 Kawasaki triple- the guy giving me the test already thought I was nuts) When it came time for the obstacle avoidance test, I had to get to 30 mph, pass the line on the ground and then avoid the cone. That bike was not the best handling, and I had a motocross background so I shifted my whole self off the seat one way and then the other and pushed that old thing around the cone. The tester looked at me like what the hell!, but I passed. Always thankful I rode mx a long time before getting on the road. skills come in handy, the cross discipline thing like what comes thru in this race..what a great concept the superbikers was!!!!
I remember that race... aired on Wide World of Sports... R.I.P. Magoo... what a big hearted rider he was.... terrible crash in Paris SX ruined his carrer and his life...
Back in the 80s Magoo Chandler race in Huron ca seeing the guy at work was amazing are lil town had a great rider like Magoo Chandler it was awesome seeing the guy win taking them turns it was something
Just… Epic. This series was legendary, and supposedly inspired the birth of Super Moto in France, then to the rest of Europe, and then the world. My only wish would be to have Kenny Roberts & a few others out there on the track as well. There was a time when American riders dominated motorcycle Grand Prix racing, and apparently many of them learned to control a bucking, skidding, sliding bike on the flat tracks. Many up & coming racers learned to ride on the dirt at Kenny Robert’s ranch- something that Valentino Rossi duplicated many years later... I miss the era of 500 c.c. two stroke G.P. racing, with riders at the limit (and beyond!), riding purely mechanical beasts that would just as soon spit you off as carry you to victory. Who else would love to watch a modern re-creation of this series, attracting some of the top riders from different racing classes/disciplines?
Thanks for the upload - exciting stuff. Two things strike me - firstly the lack of spectators and secondly the absence of any sponsorship boards and similar advertising.
Sure makes you wonder how things would have been with Bailey, Johnson, Glover, Hannah, O'Show and Ward. I think Magoo would have spanked them all. Just like JS....either crash big or win
