My father Larry Bergquist was one of the greatest Off-road Motorcylist's who has ever lived. He raced for over 25 years and was one of the fastest men in the world in Cross Country Desert Racing while in his prime.

Larry is currently in 3rd place as District 37's most winningest racers with 29 Overall Desert Wins.

( And most certainly Larry would rank 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in career Class wins too if totals had been kept. )

In addition to being an Overall Baja Champion and his 29 Overall Desert Wins, Larry was also a 9 Time California State Hare and Hound Champion, Winning 5 of those State Championships in 5 Different Classes, 250 AM, 250 Expert 500 AM, 500 EX, and Open Expert.

To the best of my Knowledge, no other motorcylist in the history of Off-Road Racing has accomplished such a Feat, which may just turn out to be one of those records that are never broken. It is a true Testament to Larry's riding ability and his versatility on a motorcycle.

Probably the most impressive aspect of Larry's Win Total is the fact that he did it while racing pretty much on a reduced schedule/Part Time Basis, with 1968 being the only year in which Larry ever rode a full race schedule.

This was due to the fact that Larry's Father Albin was hospitalized ( From a Massive Stroke ) for 12 years, from 1955 until his death at the end of 1967, during all of Larry's most successful years of racing.



Larry's Father would never get to see his son race motorcycles in person. Not one single time.



Larry passed up many, many races during those 12 years spending weekends visiting his Father Albin in the Hospital. Adds my mother Pauline, "Sometimes the money just wasn't there either for Larry to Race as much as he would have liked". But he tryed to make as many races as he could, But seeing his Dad always came first".

Larry also loved to take on big projects. In 1960 and 61, Larry laid well over 3000 brick while building 14 custom Planters at his house in Duarte, California. In addition to all the Brick work, Larry also built a 9 Foot Block wall around the perimeter of the property. As you might guess, it was a huge project. 51 Years later, it still stands today.

In 1963 and 64, Larry somehow found the time to build a 20 Foot "CrackerJack" Ski Boat ( Known for their Quick Turning ) completely from Scratch, in our garage, that our family would enjoy using at The Salton Sea.

Years later, our family always marveled at the fact Larry could accomplish all of this and still race as often as he did!



Along with all of Larry's Overall Desert wins and State Championship Hare and Hounds, Larry also won the very prestigious American Motorcycle Association's National Sportsman of the year 250cc Hare Scrambles Championship in 1968. ( Probably the Highest Honor Larry ever won )





Also, in 1968, Larry won The Highly coveted American Motorcycle Association's Regional Sportsman of the year 250cc Hare Scrambles Championship.



Another very high honor for Larry was being named the 1968 National Off-road Racing Association's (NORRA) Racing Team Of The Year. (with teammate Gary Preston)



1968 NORRA Mexican 1000 ( Later to become the Baja 1000 ) - 1st Overall ( WITH TEAMMATE GARY PRESTON )



1968 NORRA Stardust 7/11 - 1st Overall ( WITH TEAMMATE GARY PRESTON )



1968 Del Webb Mint 400 - 2nd Overall Motorcycle ( WITH TEAMMATE GARY PRESTON )



1969 Baja 1000 - 2nd Overall motorcycle ( WITH TEAMMATE GARY PRESTON )



1968 Earned AMA's District 37 Desert #1 Plate 250 Expert on Bultaco Pursang.



1968 Invited to International 6 day trials Team. (A VERY rare honor for a desert racer back then)

This is a portion of his motorcycling life in pictures and text from various motorcycling magazines and newspapers, ranging from very early in his career to the end of it.

Imagine being a kid and being able to go motorcycle riding with the great movie legend Clark Gable or one of the famous Milne brothers!

Or having the chance to race against the great Parnelli Jones, racing legend's Malcolm Smith, Bud and Dave Ekins, Mike Patrick, Rod Hall, Walker Evans, The Great Hall Of Famer Swedish World Champion Moto-Crosser Gunnar Lindstrom, James Garner, Larry Minor, Gary Preston, James Martino, Steve Hurd, Tom Poteet, Rich Thorwaldson, Ronnie Nelson, Larry Phutzenruter and of course the Greatest of them all J.N. Roberts!!

There were so so many more great riders dad had the chance to race with that I have not mentioned!

Just so many more, like , the great Mitch Mayes, Gary Griffin, The great Doyle Fields, J.D. Williams, Don Surplus, Neil Fergus, Jack Froelich, Tom Muto, Al Rogers, The Dempsey Brothers, His good friend Al Baker, John Barnes and Dick Hansen, Art Knapp, Bill Silverthorn, Max Switzer, The great Gary Conrad, Gary Cole, Don Bohannan, Steve Kirk, school teacher Phil Bowers, dairy Man Kenny Knudsen,

I could go on and on and on and as you all know I left a ton of GREAT GREAT desert racers off this list......so many great riders of the desert...

Or maybe having Steve Mcqueen offer the full use of his pits during the Baja 1000 if Larry or his teammate Gary Preston needed anything at all! ( Thats how nice of a guy Steve Mcqueen was, and my Dad never forgot his generosity ) It was so much fun to sit and listen to dads racing stories.

Or maybe he'd tell us about the time in the 1st Baja 1000 he almost got beaten to death out on Chappala dry lake by 3 drunken thugs after breaking down with a 45 minute lead.

If not for a small gun Dad carried down there during the race, I might have lost him that night in Baja. They beat The Honda to a pulp with lead pipes that night as dad stood by the fire watching.

After they were done they all turned on him. I still have the gun too. He had to pull it on them, get them into they're truck and get them to leave, and they were not happy at all about it...... so, they drove out onto the dry lake and they turned their lights out...afraid they would return and run him over if he slept, dad stayed on the move most of the night ( it was cold ) untill finally settling in on the side of a rocky hill for the night.

Or maybe he'd tell us about the time dad was leading a race down So Cal Hill when the great Ronnie Nelson came by him like he as standing still, off to the side of the trail freewheeling and just FLYING!!! Then, Ronnie hit a ditch and did a horrific endo and did not stop untill he and his bike were nearly at the bottom of the hill!!. Dad said "it was just destroyed" lol! I may have the name of the rider wrong but I'm pretty sure it was Ronnie.

Or maybe the time near the end of dads racing career an airplane almost hit him while landing on a dirt road during a desert race! If not for an alert road crossing guard,( and dads sliding ability )

I may have lost him that day too. So what did Dad say to the road crossing guard after he saved his life?? He yelled at him for letting the plane land LOL!!.

( He did not mean it of course, and after the race we had a good laugh when I made him realize the guard could never have stopped the plane.)

It was a really funny moment when I said "How's was he supposed to stop the plane from landing??" We just looked at each other and cracked up!! I'm very thankful to Loren Davis of the Ram's MC. for what he did that day. He almost certainly saved my dads life!!!

Or there was the time dad and his friend Wes Kellogg of the Buzzards MC. blew up a toilet in they're room in Mexico 2 hours before the start of the baja 1000 with a gun they were loading that went off by accident!!.

They patched the toilet up piece by piece and rebuilt it so you could hardly tell there was anything wrong with it lol then high tailed it out of there to start the race!.

Larry was a very quiet person until you got to know him. He also had a great sense of humor too! One time, before the start of the World's Biggest Dirtbike's 1st race, The Baja 500, Jim Wismer (head Mechanic for Southern California.



Harley Dealership Ass.) came into Larry's room before the start and told him in a real serious voice that he and his team had gone over Everything and that he could run The Sportster "as hard as you want" On the pavement and that Larry could not blow it up... Then Larry turned to him and told him in a loud, super serious voice



"They've never built a motorcycle I could'nt blow up" and Jim, after standing there dead pan silent for a couple of seconds, says "We have, and you can!! Then Jim did an about Face and stormed out of the door as Larry looked at everyone who was left with that infectious grin of his!. After turning a Blistering record setting pace for the 1st 90 miles of pavement,



Larry seized the front exhaust valve in the special sintered Bronze guide after the bronze guide expanded internally and welded to the valve stem from continuous flat out running lol!

There were so many stories. Maybe some day I can get more down on paper if I can ever find the time.....I hope you enjoy his pictures.

Editors Note: Below is a list of races that we have a record of for Larry. There were many, many more in his early years of racing that we have no record of and some in his later years of racing also.



1972-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, February 13, -- Desert MC Hare & Hound -- 250 Bultaco Pursang



1972- 4th Overall, 1st 250 Expert, The Holiday Hop Hare scrambles, 250 Bultaco Pursang



1972-4th Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Dusters Hare and Hound -Bultaco Pursang



1972-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert -Orange County MC Hare Scrambles. Feb, 250 Bultaco Pursang



1972-4th Overall, 2nd 250 Expert, Check Chase River Run Oct 7th, Bultaco Pursang



1972 5th Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Cactus Cats Hare Scrambles, Bultaco Pursang



1971-4th Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Adelanto 200, July, With Teammate Gary Griffin, Bultaco Pursang



1971- 4th Overall, 1st 250 Expert, The Holiday Hop Hare and Hound, Holiday area, 250 Bultaco Pursang



1971-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert - So Cal Turkey Run, Nov 21st, - Red Rock Canyon, 250 Bultaco Pursang



1971-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, October 10, -- Desert Turtles Hare & Hound -- 250 Bultaco Pursang



1970-1st 500 Expert, Jackrabbits European Scrambles, 360 Bultaco Bandit 8-30-70



1970-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, July 19th, -- Lost Angels Hare Scrambles -- 360 Bultaco El Bandido



1970-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, Jun 21st, -- 100s MC -- 360 Bultaco Bandit



1970- 2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert Jan. 11th, Pasadena MC. Hare Scrambles, Bultaco Pursang



1970-2nd Overall, 1st 500 Expert, Foothill Hawks, Stoddard Wells, Ca. Bultaco 360 El Bandido



1969- 1st 500 Expert, Jackrabbits MC European Scambles, August 10th, 360 Bultaco El Bandido





1969 1st 500 Expert, Coachella Valley European Scrambles ( Pioneer Town ) 360 Bultaco El Bandido



1969-1st 500 Expert Lost Coyotes European Scrambles August 24th, Rosemond, Calif. 360 Bultaco El Bandido



1969-1st 500 Expert, Four Aces European Scrambles, Bultaco 360 El Bandido



1969 3rd Overall, 2nd 250 Expert, Sandblasters Hare & Hound, 250 Bultaco Pursang



1969- 2nd Overall-1st 250 Expert, Desert MC. Hare and Hound Feb 16th 250 Bultaco Pursang





1969- 2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert Sidewinders Hare Scrambles 250 Bultaco Pursang





1969-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, -- Victors Hare & Hound -- 360 Bultaco El Bandido



1969-2 Overalls Before Simi Valley's Hare Scrambles -- both on a 360 Bultaco Bandido for 3 Overalls in a row.



1969-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, April 27, -- Simi Valley Hare Scrambles -- 360 Bultaco El Bandido



1968-1st 250 Expert, Crestline MC. European Scrambles, Bultaco Pursang



1968-1st 250 Expert- European Scrambles, Bultaco Pursang - San Gabrial Valley Al Vanderpool Benefit, Jan 7th.



1968-1st 250 Expert- European Scrambles, San Bernadino MC. July, Mojave, Ca. 250 Bultaco Pursang



1968-1st 250 Expert - Rams European Scrambles, June, Bultaco Pursang



1968-1st 250 Expert, Spokebenders European Scrambles. Bultaco Pursang 8-25



1968-1st 250 Expert, Coachella Valley MC. Pioneer Town, European Scrambles, September, 250 Bultaco Pursang



1968-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert - Shamrocks California State Championship, September 8th, Mojave, Ca. Bultaco Pursang



1968-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Sandblasters MC. Hare Scrambles, March 10th, Bultaco Pursang



1968-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Pasadena Motorcycle club Hare Scrambles, Jan. 14th, Bultaco Pursang



1968-2nd Overall, 1st 250 Expert, Barstow MC Hare And hound, Bultaco Pursang



1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Orange County Hare Scrambles -- Bultaco Pursang



1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Simi Valley Hare Scrambles -- Bultaco Pursang



1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Sidewinders Hare Scrambles -- Bultaco Pursang



1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Four Aces Moose Run -- Bultaco Pursang



1968 1st Overall-1st 250 Expert-Hilltoppers Hare Scrambles Bultaco Pursang, July 14th, Lucern Valley



1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, -- Lost Coyotes Hare Scrambles -- Bultaco Pursang



1968-1st Overall-1st 250 Expert, 100'S MC Hare Scrambles 9-22-68 Bultaco Pursang



1967-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, -- Coachella Valley Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA



1967-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, -- Jackrabbits Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA



1967-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, -- Pasadena MC Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA



1967-3rd Overall, 3rd 500 Expert, Hilltoppers Medium Big Bear Run, 1-29-67 650 BSA



1966-1st Overall- 1st Open Expert, --March 13th, SandBlasters MC Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA



1966-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, Feb 27th -- Coachella Valley MC Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA



1966-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, June 26th -- Vegas Valley MC Calif/Nevada State Championship -- 650 BSA



1966-1st Overall- 1st Open Expert, Sep 18th -- Dusters MC Sissy Run -- 650 BSA



1966-1st Overall- 1st Open Expert, Sep 25th -- Shamrocks California State Championship Hare & Hound -- 650 BSA



1966-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, Dec 18th -- Imperial Valley MC Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA



1966-2nd Overall, 2nd Open Expert - Lost Angels MC. Hare Scrambles, March 20th 650 BSA



1965-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, April 11th Simi Valley Hare Scrambles 650 BSA



1965-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, May 9th -- Sandblasters MC Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA



1965-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, September 19th -- Vegas Valley MC Cal/Nev State Championship Hare Scrambles -- 650 BSA



1965-1st Overall-1st Open Expert, Nov -- Rams MC Hare & Hound -- 650 BSA



1965-2nd Overall, 1st Open Expert, Antelope Ramblers National Championship Hare Scrambles, Red Rock Canyon, 650 BSA



1965- 1st Open Expert - So Cal European Scrambles, July 25th, 650 BSA



1964-1st Overall-1st 500 Expert, -- Prospectors MC Hare Scrambles -- 500 BSA beezer



1964-3rd Overall, 3rd Open Expert- Check Chase 500 BSA beezer



1963-5th Overall, 1st 500 Expert, The Holiday Hop Hare and Hound, BSA beezer



1963- 2nd Overall, 1st 500 Expert, Prospectors MC. Pacific Southwest Championship, Victorville, Calif. BSA beezer



1963-2nd Overall, 1st 500 Expert Sunland Shamrocks California State Championship Hare & Hound BSA beezer



1963- 3rd Overall, 2nd 500 Expert - Lost Angels MC. Hare Scrambles, April 21st BSA beezer



1962-5th Overall, 1st 500 Amateur BSA Shamrocks California State Championship Hare And Hound.



1962 Check Chase National Championship Hare & Hound - 1st 500 AM.



1962-3rd Overall,1st 500 Amateur - So Cal Turkey Run, Hare and Hound.



1957 GreenHorn Enduro, 2nd 250 Class "B", 250 Puch ( With out a watch )



The World's Biggest Dirtbike.



Having his friend Malcolm say his name in "On Any Sunday"

After his racing days were over Larry continued to ride the desert often untill the age of 69.

Visit Doug Fergus's collection of Cross Country desert racing Gems!!. Doug's Page is by far the most complete and captivating collection of cross country photographs and history in the entire WORLD so when you have a moment check it out, here in RavenWestGuitar!!!!