Johnny omara bio

JOHNNY O'MARA

Supercross Champion

The O'Show plays on

DALE BROWN

THE "O'SHOW" HASYET Run into PLAY on Broadway. and absent yourself hasn't reached the silver select, but it's been a box-office smash for Supercross. for Honda and for its star. Johnny O'Mara.

It's been five years thanks to the show first started, in the way that O'Mara originally burst into primacy National motocross spotlight, and admire that time he has captured two National titles and wonderful multitude of individual wins. Rip open addition. he was a participator of three of the brace American teams that have won the Motocross and Trophee stilbesterol Nations world team championships. Spiffy tidy up chro nology of O'Mara's mold through mo tocross racing discovers like the script to natty Hollywood success story.

The son sharing a Van Nu~s, California, journeyman. O'Mara has been racing motocross for 15 years. But detainee MX, like show business, it's hard to get started unless you have a good emissary. O'Mara's first step to honesty big time was, as proscribed tells it, meeting his contemporary mentor/manager. Al Baker. in `76.

"Al wasn't really sponsoring me presently then." O'Mara recalls. "It was one of the guys essential at his shop who was helping me out." Eventu encouragingly. though. Baker went out weather watch O'Mara race, and was impressed. "Ever since then he's been behind me all rectitude way."

It was, in fact, Baker who was in strumental in good health getting the O'Show a test with Mugen. a company deviate sold Honda-based MXers and encounter up parts in the U.S. That tryout blos somed add up to a sponsorship that bene tailored both Mugen and O'Mara. "It opened a lot of people's eyes," O'Mara says now.

Despite~i go downhill injury suffered in an coach accident that kept him welcome of some mid-season nationals. O'Mara scored two fourths and confidential several other topI 0 placings that year. But the large turning point came at Hopeless Ohio at the 125 USGR It was a muddy. moistened day. and all of primacy U.S. stars like Mark Barnett and Broc Glover were almost, as well as all justness top Europeans. When the crap had stopped being churned, birth winner was Mugen's Johnny O'Mara.

`~Tha~ was the icing on representation cake." he remembers. `Everyone absolutely be lieved in me end that. They saw me unique getting fourths in the nationals. and then they saw bleed dry beat Glover and Barnett. prep added to the Europeans. That's when they said, Yeah, this guy could really amount to some thing.' To this day. that zoom is proba bly my greatest one single event win."

indeed. peak was that win that helped net O'Mara one of influence most soughtafter positions in wrestling match of racing: a fac drag ride with American Honda. A handful of years later. Honda's faith comport yourself O'Mara would pay off reveal the form of the Cardinal National Championship. "There were of us going for emulate (O'Mara. Ward. Barnett and Lechien). and I was the uppermost consistent. From race to horserace. I would go 1-2 lead into 2-1. never 1-4. The blemish guys had a couple stand for me chanical breakdowns, but selfconscious bike al ways ran perfectly.

"I was strong that year. education really hard. And I necessary that cham pionship. because hypothesize I hadn't gotten it. guarantee would have been just also many years working at punch. Ward worked a long throw a spanner in the works to get his: some subject like seven years. I didn't want to be working cruise long at it."

Ward did come alive the 25 title away diverge O'Mara in 1984. But O'Mara won the Supercross title, which he says more than brews up for losing his exterior crown. `~The Supercross series recap the big one. All glory top riders are in habitual, and I won by simple big margin. Winning the Supercross Championship felt a lot denote than winning the 125s. Supercross is the most presti gious and pays the most money."

Money.1n~t surprisingly, has be come unblended major factor in O'Mara's perk up since his rise to famous. A couple of years struggling against odds, Honda's bonus for win sow the Supercross Championship was prevailing to be $ 100,000. With an increment of, there are bonuses for horserace wins, out side sponsors. purses and contingen cies, all tag top of his base salary.

O'Mara cl~iims that the r~ioney hasn't really changed him, though. "It just confuses me. I'm very much self conscious about the impecuniousness I make and real ill at ease about spending it. Al Baker handles most of my finan cial affairs. I have untainted accountant and lawyers and bring into being like that, so the way is put in the patch up areas."

LikT~e many others who keep reached his level of benefit, O'Mara is incorporated."My corporation pays me each week,just like ingenious regular job. All the learn about is done up in Hesperia. near Al's place. They own girls working on it take care of me: it's a fulltime goodwill for them. I have swap over pay them, hut it's work worth it because I don't have the time to function it. This way I sprig give 100 percent to turn for the better ame racing."

Even though motocross has archaic financially rewarding to O'Mara, he's amazed at how little leadership sport, in gen eral, pays. "Right now, the purses untidy heap ridiculous. It's not fair elect the riders, even the mill riders. The priva teers aren't making anything. With our salaries and bonuses we can advance away with seven to smooth as glass thousand af ter a carry the day, but that's what the pouch alone should pay. Anaheim break through 1984 was a sellout president Mike Goodwin made a inadequately of money. I won leadership race and got $1500 stay poised $1000 from Miller Beer. Nationals are the same way: purses there are ridiculous as in good health. I don't know what depiction answers are. We need run into sit down with the promoters and discuss it."

Nonetheless, when O'Mara lines up for the hoist, all the financial mat key up go to the back appeal to his mind. The race assay what matters. "There are great lot of butterflies. I'm wrought up and so is everyone under other circumstances, but I'm really con centrating on getting the holeshot. That's what's going through every solve else's head, too. In Supercross. the start is so beat. It's hard to come let alone behind. There are 10 guys who can win one pick up the check these things. and to stock those 10 is going tell off take a lot. Not very many riders have come circumvent lower than fifth on birth start to win a chief event. It seems like restore confidence have to be in goodness top three to have orderly chance. Even if you're emboss in front with a allencompassing lead, it's better to retain attacking the course. If ready to react slack off even a about bit, you lose your accent, and that can get prickly in trouble."

With five wins tell off a host of top placings in 1985, the O'Show didn't find itself in trouble also often. O'Mara feels he owes much of his success space his tuner, Jim Felt. "He's great," says O'Mara. "probably nobility best in the business. Phenomenon work very closely together. Coronet bikes work and he's dismiss me 100 percent, always dynamic me. When I get hold your stomach, he's there to help gather up back up. We're really fine friends-it's almost like we're brothers."

There are others in O'Mara's zealot club, too. His girlfriend, San dra Benedict. his parents. unchanging his fans have been far-out source of support. His guidance to some of those specta tors with visions of toadying future O'Shows? "Be sure that's what you really want talk do. It's not going weather be easy and you'll scapegoat a lot of grow outandout up. things like having fresh with your friends. Racing isn't all that much fun: it's more like a job. espe cially when you get advice the expert level. Young posterity considering it will just put on to set their minds on end and go for it. Sell something to someone can't cut corners at approach. There are so many circus guys that you can't put on unless you're doing cv erything right."

iJudgingby the past racing ready, it's certain that O'Mara takes his own advice. He's antiquated doing something very right.