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REVIEWED: “HURRICANE! The Bob Hannah Story”
Written by: Gregg Leary   
12/18/2008
Charlotte, North Carolina
 
“HURRICANE!” filled in a number of historical gaps for me and introduced me to a superstar I was not aware of…Bob Hannah. » More Photos

“HURRICANE! The Bob Hannah Story” blew me away. For the last five years I’ve been a researcher for “Wind Tunnel With Dave Despain.” Dave is a self-proclaimed “bike guy” so I had to be extra meticulous in my motorcycle research-especially when it came to AMA Motocross and Supercross. I learned a great deal about such superstars as Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart and Jeremy McGrath. However, I knew very little about bike history, so “HURRICANE!” filled in a number of historical gaps for me and introduced me to a superstar I was not aware of…Bob Hannah.

Tom Madigan’s approach to telling Hannah’s story is unique and quite effective. Instead of relying on just his own research, Madigan calls upon many of Hannah’s friends, foes and fellow competitors to help pen the tale. He then goes to “the horse’s mouth” and has Hannah himself fill in the blanks. The 176 page hardcover book contains over 200 color and black and white photographs with informative captions that propel the story.

Legendary Roger DeCoster writes of Hannah in the Foreword:
“Bob was certainly one of the toughest competitors I faced during my racing career. Not only was Bob fit and extremely motivated, he was very outspoken, much like the great boxing champion Muhammad Ali. And like Ali, Bob backed up his words with action. He would hang it out whenever and however much was needed and, amazingly, he’d find a way to stay on the bike-no matter how incredible the situation. Although I could not admit it or tell anyone about it while I was still racing against him, I always had a tremendous amount of respect for Bob Hannah. And after all these years, I still do.”

Madigan writes: “In his time, at his prime…Bob Hannah was the best at his chosen trade. During the late 1970s, he was the most successful motocross rider in American history and played a pivotal role in making the sport a major attraction. The life of Bob Hannah has the plot line of a classic action-hero movie. His fans called him the “Hurricane,” but his competitors called him ruthless, brutal, and unforgiving.
When the starting gate dropped, Hannah gave no quarter and expected none in return.”

Bob’s longtime mechanic, Keith McCarty said: “Bob was an angry young man. He wanted to beat the other riders by as much as he could. He never let up. He was never satisfied until everyone was behind him.”

After seeing Hannah compete at a Supercross event at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Madigan wrote: “I placed Hannah in the same category as three car racers whose grit and insatiable passion for winning I had witnessed firsthand: A.J. Foyt, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Parnelli Jones.”

How good was Hannah? The author says:

“During the late1970s, Bob Hannah was the undisputed king of American motocross, wining seven championships and countless races in the United States and Europe. During his career, winning was everything; second place was equal to a DNF as far as he was concerned.”

Champions typically have to overcome adversity. How did Bob cope? Madigan writes:

“In 1979, the world of the Hurricane changed forever. While water-skiing, Hannah’s leg was shattered-broken in sixteen places. There was talk of amputation. Questions surfaced. Was his career over? Would he lose the leg? Would the Hurricane ever ride a motorcycle again?”

During his rehab Hannah took up flying and climbed into a single seat buggy and finished fourth in the Mexican 1000 at Baja.

Hannah tells about riding his first minibike at age seven and later riding nearly everyday with his dad, “Wild Bill Hannah.” “I started copying everything my dad did on his bike. Hillclimbing, jumping ruts, bank jumping, reading terrain. I learned to stay on no matter what happened. I can count the times I fell in those early days on one hand.”

“I began to learn how to use the bike, the suspension and brakes. I began to develop a style, a rhythm; it was like music. When you ride every day, you find yourself looking at the wildest conditions as normal.”

Hannah won the first motocross race he entered…at Indian Dunes in 1974.


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