“Fireball” Gene Gentsh Stuff

Last week on Racer X I did an Observations of the December 1983 issue of Motocross Magazine. In there I wrote about the Lakewood Colorado national an unknown guy named Gene Gentsch finishing eighth. Well…

It turns out that I was quite wrong about Ol’Gene’s future career. First here’s the paragraph that I wrote:

Page 26 is a Lakewood National report and it’s odd that they would just cover a national so poorly but back in the day, all the magazines did this at one point or another. Anyways, it tells us that Bob Hannah didn’t finish either moto, Bailey won the 250s, Goat Breker won the 50’s (which I hadn’t even realized that Breker ever won a national so congratulations on that, Goat) and some kid wearing 224 won the 125’s. Back when all three classes ran on one day it sure was privateer heaven as a guy named Gene Gentsh finished eighth overall in 125s. Gene Gentsh everybody! On another note, while I was looking at the page, super agent Paul Lindsey called me to chat and with Paul being a Colorado native I asked him about this very race I was looking at. He didn’t remember too much but he did say that Gene’s nickname was “Fireball” back in the day. Who knew? I wonder if Gene is a shoe salesman in Colorado these days and his fellow employees call him Fireball. Like “Hey Fireball, we need these ladies pumps in a size 7…get to it!” and then he thinks back to that day when he was eighth overall in a 125 national and just smashes his head into the wall over and over.

So that’s it and that was all I ever really thought about Gene. Turns out the readers of Observations know quite a bit more about Gene than I do. Here are a couple of letters letting us know all about Gene. It turns out that he is quite a daredevil and images of Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" dance around in my head. Make sure you check out the link at the bottom. Thanks for writing in everybody!

Steve,

I believe Brian Myerscough suffered from hypo-glycemia, just like my Dad. And once he figured it out I think he got back to where he could ride a bike decently, but seemed to never catch a break afterwards.

I live in New Jersey nearby Mickey Kessler and Fireball Gentsh was a fast NJ and/or Eastern PA dude. I think they lived in Flemington NJ for quite some time. I raced him and his brother Larry for years. Fireball actually performed the first double jump that I ever witnessed and he did it early in the day at New Egypt or Powerline Park or Bub Evans track in New Egypt NJ, not 15 feet from my truck. (Ask Tim Ferry about this track as he routinely practiced here when he rode for Mike Rossini.) My father and I were pretty dumbfounded by this impressive (at the time) jump. He was all throttle and no – style. Once I was spectating at the Binghamton National and standing over near the right hander after the finish line (where it went up the hill) and was discussing Gene’s chances for the day when I looked behind me to see a pair of feet flying (over all the spectators heads) down the long downhill towards the center of the track. While I did not witness the inevitable crash at the bottom (where there is that impossible off-chamber left), I was told by a few friends that it was an UGLY crash. The guy rode like he had a magnet embedded in his crotch and that magnetic attraction was the only thing that kept him even remotely near his bike (let along on it). But the Gentsh family was good people. Once I was having a difficult time getting my Yamaha YZ 125 (83 or 84) to run cleanly and I tried pretty much every jet and jet needle position combination possible. Eventually I borrowed a choke plunger from the Gentsh’s. How one manages to wear out a choke plunger I am not sure. But it could be from nervously pushing it down several hundred times on the starting line to make sure the choke is off. The plunger may have helped, I honestly can’t recall. But what I do remember is that they had a old steel military ammo box full of Mikuni carbs and parts. It was very impressive.

He did move to Brazil and married a girl there and I am not sure that he really ever ventured back to the US much after that. He raced in Brazil for years. Then I heard he got into horse racing down there. No kidding!

Mark

and

Hey Steve,

I was reading your Observations column on Motocross Magazine and you talked about Gene "Fireball".

This guy raced in Brazil in the late 80s and early 90s. I remember him arriving at the races dressed with a big hat and cowboy boots.

He always seemed more like a showman than a racer and last I heard of him, he was doing motorcycle jumping exhibitions together with rodeos. He jumps through fire hoops and things like that. Actually, I just did a googled him in portuguese and found THIS.

The trend of hiring foreign riders started in the mid-eighties when Yamaha Brazil hired Kenny Keylon and Rodney Smith. Keylon won a lot and was re-signed for ’86, while Rodney raced a Cagiva (!!!) for the private Hollywood team sponsored by the largest cigarrete brand in Brazil. After running up front in the world mx rounds in Brazil and Argentina, Rodney went to Europe to race the GPs and Keylon went back to the US. He was then replaced by Fireball at the Hollywood team. Danny Storbeck also raced in Brazil for a while. Too bad he went back to the US and ruined RJ’s wrist in Gatorback. Maybe he should have stayed here with Fireball, hehehe.

His 2009 picture gallery: http://www.genefireball.com.br/gal_2009/

He even has his semi truck…Andre