He asked if he could put up a poster in the window of a race he was promoting. The one I’m love the most is… I got into vintage MX when Richard dropped by Richmond Yamaha in Richmond Ca. I have many Richard moments I’m very proud of. I’m am blessed to able to call Richard (godspeed) and his wife Kay friends. Mann has been heavily involved in vintage racing of all motorcycle sports right up to today and was instrumental in the early and continuing success of AHRMA, the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association. Contracted to help design a short track racer, the OSSA DMR (Dick Mann Replica) is based on his chassis design. He continued to ride motocross and enduro events and began building a successful line of frames. Still competitive in 1974, Mann decided to hang it up. His first (1959) and last (1972) wins were at Peoria, notching a total of 24 GNC wins. He had won in every discipline on the GNC trail short track, mile, half-mile, TT and road race. Mann’s win at the Homewood Mile in Illinois made him the first rider, one out of four ever to complete a GNC Grand Slam. In 1971, he won his second Daytona 200 and went on to win the GNC title again.
He re-signed with BSA for 1971 and his career was reborn. Mann found a ride with Honda for the 1970 Daytona 200 and riding a kitted CB750 won his first race there after years of trying. Though still winning Nationals into the late 1960’s, BSA considered him over the hill and began recruiting younger riders. Mann was tough and versatile on the track, loved scrambles and excelled on rough tracks that slowed most riders down, even raced motocross! He was also one of the smoothest and fastest road racers through the 1960’s & ‘70’s.Īt heart Dick Mann was an independent soul and though he had factory support for most of his career, he won the 1963 title aboard both BSA’s and Matchless machines, he was not a “true” factory rider for either brand. He did it all was a world class racer, tuner, frame builder and went head-to-head with the AMA in political matters like increased safety, motorcycle homologation and purse money for the racers. Looking back at racing in the 1950’s through the early 1970’s, Dick Mann is often thought of as the hardest working man in GNC racing.
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