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Beginnings of
Greatness!
How do you describe a teenage prodigy
on 2 wheels in the dirt? Three words, CRAZY and SKILLFULLY FEARLESS! As I peer into the past and look at the old DMP MX track, one of my favorite spots there was a medium right hander
coming out of the rocks then flying off a jump about 10 foot high, and if you were in 3rd gear it was awesome propelling yourself
and machine some 40-50 feet! This was always an important spot on the track as it was the final straight to
the finish line, and if you didn't have alot of guts the next thing you had to deal with was guys who did landing on top of
you or nailing the wall of tires and some spectators to boot!
Let me breifly describe the riding style Rex had during those formative years
of moto-cross racing at Deadmans Point. A "PURE COWBOY" on 2 wheels pretty
much sums it up! On a 250 OSSA Stiletto, the same of
which I later raced and the first bike I can remember Rex piloting at that time, he's wheelieing the thing in 4th gear on
the frontage road what seemed like forever. I don't remember Rex riding anything smaller than a 250. Anyway, Rex was a standout
in the crowd of all us young MX star wanna be's and he was the one that we all knew would go to the top. During practice or
a race I can remember Rex in the Junior class flying further, speeding down the long whoopie back straight (those whoops
would get up to 3ft deep!) faster and berm shotting all the turns harder than anyone including the occaisional visiting pro
riders. This place and the old Corona track is where he was awarded the nickname - ROCKET Rex. He would be riding with a Tee shirt and Levi's, no gloves or goggles and a Open-Face helmet
thouroughly covered in mud from the morning watering. I would basically characterize Rex's riding style as "The Last Cowboy Standing". Even
at a tender age Rex rode moto-cross as if it were a contact sport! Payback was the order of the day. These were the good ole
days of racing where you lived and breathed survival on the track at whatever cost. Something thats not tolerated with todays
modern style of motocross.
One memory I have of him coming back to the pits after practice all pumped up, was
his forearms. What I saw was what looked like rods of steel tendons bulging the surface of his arms the likes I had never
witnessed of any other rider! It's some 30 years later now and that vivid memory of Rex's superhuman looking arms of steel
still amaze me, this kid just flat booked it all the time until i'm sure it hurt. Remember we only had 4"- 6" of suspension
back then. From what I can remember, his dad was also quite an influence on Rex requiring his best effort, to be number 1.
The gang I hung out with in the pits were pretty much saturday night partiers there to have a good time and probably weren't
as serious as the Staten's. That i'm sure is why Rex made it big and we didn't. I had my share of winning and placing
well at Deadman's and other venues, but Rex was the cream of the crop and his dramatic come from behind races were simply
moto-cross bliss to behold!
What Legends are Made Of...
So, back to the right hander out of the
rocks. We had a huge turnout one hot summer weekend at The Point, some 350 entrants! In those days we raced 3 motos, so the
racing would go on until 6-7pm. This weekend a few Pro riders showed up one being Russ Darnell who rode a 250 Husky and was in the top ranks nationally. Russ put on a Moto-Cross school this particular
weekend. Marty Tripes and Ron Nelson were also present. Rex happened to be in class this weekend in Mr. Darnell's MX school.
We all oo'ed and awe'd watching these guys rip around the track and noticed that Rex was later entered in the same Pro
class as Russ. Now Rex was still in the intermediate class at this time but entered the Pro class for the day riding his 250
OSSA. Once cleared to run the class, the stage was set for a memorable day of vintage Rex Staten. Every moto that day between
Rex and Russ eventually found Rex
in front by a few yards winning all 3 moto's and beating the teacher
in his own class! If you didn't know it before, we knew it now that this dude was going places.
Another
neat rememberance of "The Rocket" was while smoking the field in the last moto Rex was in front by I'd say a full straightaway
or 300 feet. Then with a few laps to go we noticed Rex waving his clutch hand toward the front end of the bike and slowing
up ever so slightly. What is going on, he's frantically doing alot of body english on the seat and throwing his legs forward
out of character. Then, as he's coming out of the rocks off that 10 foot jump I can see that his handlebars are straight but
his front wheel is turned to the left! His triple clamp is broken, and as only Rex could do he's steering the bike by
kicking the front tire in the direction he needed to go! WOW! The dude is amazing but second place is beginning to catch up
and Rex is now fighting and biting for every inch of advantage even though his equipment is broke. Well in classic Rex Staten
style it's the last lap and he's got that OSSA on the rear wheel as far around the track as he can and still up to speed!
They head into the rocks and disappear for a few seconds as they get ready to launch from the jump onto the finishing straightaway.
Rex suddenly appears first with the rider in second right next to him. They touch and Rex gives that front wheel a huge kick
one last time to straighten it out and he's full throttle. I just knew he was gonna eat it big time by hitting the scoring
tower or something as the bike was totally out of control, but Rex just muscled it so superbly he won the race by a wheel
length! Once he crossed the finish line, halfway into the lefthander to the pits he and bike were layed out in the dirt. He
just got up and looked at the thing in disbelief and pissed! We all breathed a sigh of relief. The crowd roared and Rex got
a big hug from his girlfriend and Dad. What a finish. But to Rex it was just another day at the shop. This guy was a legend
before his time and is the vintage Rocket Rex Staten as seen through my eyes we've all come to know and admire. They don't
make them like him anymore!
Thanks for the memories ROCKET...
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Rex at age 19 as a senoir in High School. By this time he's a Pro on his way to greatness! .
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Rex in a promo shot for Harley Davidson, 1976. .
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Rex and his cousins Kevin and Mark Ward, Daytona 1974.
Photo courtesy Kevin Ward, 2005
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