1974 AMA Motocross National Championship season

The AMA Motocross continued to expand in 1974 with the addition of the 125cc class.[1] The AMA made a controversial decision allowing only American citizens to compete for the motocross national championship.[1] The decision would exclude the defending 500cc national champion Dutchman Pierre Karsmakers who, was credited with helping raise the level of American motocross by stressing the importance of physical fitness and machine preparation.[2]

Although he was excluded from the overall results, Karsmakers competed for Yamaha in the 250cc class and won three of the nine rounds.[1] Despite not having won a race overall, Can-Am's Gary Jones rode consistently to secure his third consecutive 250cc national championship riding three different brands of motorcycles.[3] Can-Am hired second-ranked Marty Tripes away from the Husqvarna team before the last race of the season. With Can-Am rider Jimmy Ellis finishing the season ranked third, Can-Am would sweep the top three positions in the 250cc national championship although, Tripes rode most of the season for Husqvarna.[1]

In the 500cc national championship, privateer rider Tony DiStefano led the championship for most of the year on a ČZ before an injury relegated him to second place behind Kawasaki factory rider Jimmy Weinert.[1][4] The Honda factory team dominated the inaugural 125cc championship with rider Marty Smith leading a Honda sweep of the top four positions.[1]

Round	Date	Location	500cc		250cc		125cc		Report
			Winner	Team	Winner	Team	Winner	Team
1	April 8	Rancho Cordova, California	Mike Hartwig	Yamaha	Billy Grossi	Honda	Marty Smith	Honda	Report
2	April 14	Moorpark, California	Tony DiStefano	ČZ	Pierre Karsmakers	Yamaha			Report
3	April 28	Buchanan, Michigan	Mike Hartwig	Yamaha	Kenny Zahrt	Bultaco			Report
4	May 5	Bruceton Mills, West Virginia	Tony DiStefano	ČZ	Pierre Karsmakers	Yamaha			Report
5	May 19	Hamersville, Ohio	Jimmy Weinert	Kawasaki	Pierre Karsmakers	Yamaha			Report
6	June 30	Salt Lake City, Utah					Marty Smith	Honda	Report
7	July 6	Baldwin, Kansas					Jimmy Ellis	Can-Am	Report
8	July 21	Lexington, Ohio					Tim Hart	Yamaha	Report
9	August 11	Delta, Ohio	Jimmy Weinert	Kawasaki	Jimmy Ellis	Can-Am			Report
10	August 18	Mexico, New York	Jimmy Weinert	Kawasaki	Marty Tripes	Husqvarna			Report
11	August 25	Hillsboro, Ohio	Jimmy Weinert	Kawasaki	Jimmy Ellis	Can-Am			Report
12	September 2	New Orleans, Louisiana	Gary Semics	Husqvarna	Kent Howerton	Husqvarna			Report

[5]

500cc Pos Rider Team Points 1 Jimmy Weinert Kawasaki 900 2 Tony DiStefano ČZ 780 3 Steve Stackable Maico 680 4 Gary Semics Husqvarna 620 5 Mike Hartwig Yamaha 507 6 Bryar Holcomb Bultaco/Maico 395 7 Terry Clark Husqvarna 295 8 Rex Staten Maico 257 9 Gary Chaplin Maico 200 10 Mike Runyard Suzuki 174

250cc Pos Rider Team Points 1 Gary Jones Can-Am 800 2 Marty Tripes Husqvarna/Can-Am 576 3 Jimmy Ellis Can-Am 430 4 Rich Thorwaldson Suzuki 430 5 Billy Grossi Honda 390 6 Kent Howerton Husqvarna 367 7 Peter Lamppu Montesa 315 8 Frank Stacy Maico 285 9 Kenny Zahrt Bultaco 257 10 Ron Pomeroy Bultaco 254

125cc Pos Rider Team Points 1 Marty Smith Honda 420 2 Bruce McDougal Honda 240 3 Chuck Bower Honda 235 4 Mikey Boone Honda 200 5 Tim Hart Yamaha 196 6 Jimmy Ellis Can-Am 167 7 Jeff Foland Honda 153 8 Dan Turner Husqvarna/Honda 126 9 Robert Haag Husqvarna 100 10 Vincent Clark Suzuki 94

[6]

• 1974 FIM Motocross World Championship
• 1974 Trans-AMA motocross series

• AMA Motocross web site Archived 2016-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
• Motocross National Championship web site Archived 2016-02-11 at the Wayback Machine