Mark Barnett Podcast letter *Updated*

I did a Bomber podcast last week and then received this letter with some sweet pictures. It’s letters like this that make me glad I have this site so we can all see Bomber in his glory.

Steve:

I finished listening to your Mark Barnett pod cast today at work. Thanks for doing that, I enjoyed hearing the interview and the responses to your questions. I was also a big Mark Barnett fan in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I became a Mark Barnett fan in 1975 when he won the AMA 125 Amateur national championship and wore a Jimi Hendrix tee shirt on the podium.

I had forgotten about Barnett just kind of disappearing from moto-cross with no fanfare, but your Podcast reminded me that I too had wondered “what happened to Mark Barnett”?

I’m attaching 4 pictures I took of Mark Barnett at the 1980 Washougal national moto-cross. As I remember this was the event where Barnett started to pull away from Broc Glover in the championship chase that year.

Reese L Dengler
Kent, WA, USA
Czechpoint www.czechpoint.net
AHRMA NW MX & Trials http://www.100megsfree3.com/ahrmanw/index.htm

Thanks to Reese for letting me use these photos. Washougal had such nice dirt back in the 80’s.

Everybody always says that "Barney" wasn’t the most technical rider out there but no one was in better shape. Lechien told me that he would just get faster later in the motos.

Nice shot, I think the works Suzuki’s were really, really good in the early 80’s. This would be the first year that Mark would win the 125’s and he wouldn’t let go of it for three years.

Too bad he doesn’t have the "Jimi" T-Shirt on but it’s still cool to look back!

Washougal looks a little rocky in 1980. The Bomber on the gas.

This is the Chuck Sun tabletop before is was the Chuck Sun tabletop. That’s Broc Glover dueling with Bomber. Reese said that the Bomber stalked him all moto before getting the win.