HONDA HILLS, RESURRECTED

FLASHBACK

A Honda Hills Resurrection

When old racetracks die, they’re usually gone forever. Central Ohio’s Honda Hills is out to break the trend.

BY MITCH BOEHM

Back in the mid 2000s, one of Ohio’s most legendary motocross facilities — Honda Hills — closed its gates for good. Or so everyone thought. Because on Nov. 6, 2021, Honda Hills reopened with an open practice day that brought more than 400 riders to sample the sacred soil that hosted so many memorable events during the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. And according to new owner Tanner Wilson, it was just a taste of what’s to come in 2022.

Like a ghost ship lurking in the fog, Honda Hills’ legendary ‘DeCoster Bridge’ (main image and below left) remains intact, though just barely. The track (this image) during its 2021 renovation, and also hosting the 1974 Trans-AMA (below).

The history here is rich. Conceived, developed and run by AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Dick Klamfoth from 1969 until he sold it roughly 20 years later, Honda Hills — located just 30 miles east of Columbus — hosted local, national and international motocross events during its 35-plus-year history. The biggies that put HH on the map? Those would be the Inter-AM and Trans-AMA events in the 1970s, races that brought the world’s best — Mikkola, DeCoster, Pomeroy, Karsmakers, Lackey and many others — to that sacred, formative soil.

The local races there — including the night races under the lights — were every bit as special. This author can tell you firsthand that sitting at Klamfoth’s red, white and blue starting gate and looking up the hill toward Turn One with all those lights shining down was awe-inspiring, and almost like racing AMA Supercross. You could camp, play basketball and swim in Klamfoth’s pool while you were at it, too. Epic stuff.

“What we’re trying to do with Honda Hills,” new owner Tanner Wilson told me recently,” is recreate the magic of those legendary years, and offer both young and old racers and fans the experience the veteran crowd remembers so well. We’re not only planning to get the old motocross track back into shape, but the short track on top of the hill, too. There’s also an amphitheater in the back section, and we’d like to have the ability to have concerts, as well. We’re thinking it’s going to be fun, and folks seem excited!”

You betcha we are. Stay tuned for more on Honda Hills’ resurrection in future issues, online at AmericanMotorcyclist.com, in the pages of RacerX Illustrated, and also on Honda Hills’ Facebook page. Thanks to RacerX for some killer photos!