Archives: The First Burner
Larry Lawrence | November 26, 2011
“Hey wait a minute, that nickname’s already been taken!” was the reaction of 1980s AMA Motocross star Scott Burnworth when Aussie sensation Michael Byrne, aka Burner, first came on the American racing scene. “I mean there’s not going to be another Hurricane is there?” Burnworth joked, talking about Bob Hannah’s famous moniker.Even though Burnworth and Byrne share the same nickname, the two have never met. But Burnworth did get a bit of a private last laugh on his Australian namesake.”Thor sent me a pair of Byrne’s pants that have the “Burner” logo on the back. I got a good laugh out of that and those are sort of a nice keepsakes for me now.”Burnworth raced in the sport during what many consider the heyday of motocross, against a legion of legends such as David Bailey, Rick Johnson, Mark Barnett, Bob Hannah, Jeff Ward, Broc Glover and on and on. While he never won a National, Burnworth scored a slew of podium finishes and at his peak gave Bailey a solid run for his money in the 1983 AMA 250 Motocross Championship.To see the rest of the story, click on the following link:
http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20111122#pg86
Larry Lawrence | Archives Editor
In addition to writing our Archives section on a weekly basis, Lawrence is another who is capable of covering any event we throw his way.
