  CARLSBAD
USGP 1980
Up until June 22, 1980, the 500cc United States Grand Prix motocross race at Carlsbad had been dominated by European riders. Dutchmen Gerrit Wolsink won the race an astounding five times himself. While perhaps the world's best known rider and 5-time World Champion, Roger DeCoster could never find victory in Carlsbad, his other European counterparts swept the up and coming American talent on their home turf every year on national TV. By the summer of 1980, the 500cc World championship of Motocross series was being battled by two men, American "Bad Brad" Lackey and Belgium's Andre Malherbe. But on that hot Sunday in June, it was not one of the regulars on the GP circuit that leapt to the front of the first moto. It was not even one of the established Factory American riders ready to make a name for themselves. It was a privateer rider from the local area named Marty Moates. He was about to do what no other American rider could accomplish in the nine previous years....win the Carlsbad USGP, and ABC's Wide World of Sports' cameras were rolling. This is the story behind Marty's magical day!
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