OBITUARY
Hennen and Gregg Hansford at Timaru
FANS DOWNUNDER Just a few years earlier , Hennen had built a solid fan base in Australia and New Zealand , his quiet , unassuming character a marked contrast with the archetypal ‘ brash American ’. That , and his devastating speed , won him a legion of fans Down Under , even when he was still ranked as an AMA ‘ Junior ’ ( which was a rider grading , not an age group ). He certainly had a full race schedule in the early to mid-1970s . Take 1974 . After contesting his first Marlboro International Series in New Zealand ( 1973- ’ 74 ) on a Rickman-framed Suzuki 750 , he was back racing in the USA in March , winning the Junior race at Daytona on a Ron Grant supported Yamaha TZ750 . Then it was it off to Australia to race at the legendary Bathurst circuit at Easter , on Auckland Suzuki dealer Len Perry ’ s Steve Roberts-framed TR750 . He was on target for a podium finish , behind Australian stars Warren Willing and Gregg Hansford , when a deflating rear tyre slowed his pace . Then it was back to the USA where he went on to win the AMA Junior road-racing championship on the Ron Grant TZ750 , which he had also used to race an international race at Sandown Park in
Melbourne , Australia , in July . At the end of the AMA season , it was back to Australia for the second Pan Pacific Cup series , held at Lakeside , Oran Park and Adelaide International Raceway . For that , Pat raced an aircooled 750cc Kawasaki H2-R two-stroke triple , loaned by fellow American Hurley Wilvert . Going into the final round at Adelaide , he was tied on points with Australian legend Ron Toombs , also Kawasaki H2-R mounted . Toombs won the first race , and Pat the second . With double points for the final race , Pat took the series , then packed his bags and headed to New Zealand . Racing the same Roberts-framed Suzuki 750 he had used at Bathurst , Hennen won the second Marlboro International Series ( 1974- ’ 75 ). This was his third New Zealand summer of racing . In the course of that year , he had made six trips across the Pacific .
EARLY YEARS Like many California boys in the late 1960s , Hennen got involved with motorcycles as a teenager and from 15 spent four years racing regional dirt-track and scrambles in Northern California , on a variety of machinery , including a Suzuki T20 ( 250cc two-stroke twin ) dirt-
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