Marty Smith

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Marty Smith, born in San Diego, California on November 26, 1956, won three AMA National Motocross championships, all aboard Hondas, and was runner-up twice. Smith rocketed onto the motocross scene by winning the inaugural 125cc AMA National Motocross Championship in 1974 and followed that up with another 125cc title in 1975. That same year, he won the 125cc U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross and finished second in the 250cc AMA Supercross series. Though he didn’t win a title in 1976, he again won the 125cc U.S. Grand Prix of Motocross and was runner-up to Bob Hannah in the 125cc championship. In 1977, Smith recorded his final AMA title, defeating his long-time rival Bob Hannah in the last race of the season to win the 500cc AMA National Motocross Championship. A serious crash at the Houston Supercross in 1978 left Smith with a dislocated hip. He finished third in the 500cc National Motocross Championship that year, but never recaptured his championship speed. He raced for Honda for one more year before switching to Suzuki for the 1980 and 1981 seasons. He retired at the end of the 1981 season. Smith was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000.