[3][4] His physical fitness, fierce determination on the race track and a hatred of losing, reshaped American motocross by boosting the speed and competition to higher levels.

[5] McKee also introduced Hannah to Steve Hurd, a local motorcycle dealer, who sold him a new Husqvarna motocross bike and became a sponsor and parts supplier.

[9] It wasn't long before Hannah caught the attention of Suzuki who brought a $700-a-month offer to test and race small displacement works-bikes.

[5][8] Remarkably, just 13 months removed from his amateur debut, Hannah entered his first AMA National event in San Antonio, Texas, at the 125cc Cycle-Rama on August 25, 1975, finishing in sixth place.

[12] In winning all five events, he became the first rider to sweep the series, inspiring Cycle News editor and contributor Jim Gianatsis to popularize the nickname “the Hurricane” for Hannah.

[12][13][note 1] He had an equally impressive start to the 1976 AMA 125cc motocross season by winning the first race at Hangtown against Honda's defending National Champion, Marty Smith.

[8] For the Florida Winter-AMA series, Hannah rode a production Yamaha YZ250 to win eight consecutive motos in taking the 250cc title.

[18] The move by the AMA combined with the enormity of competing in so many races contributed to Hannah being a non-factor in the 250cc series, finishing overall in seventh place.

[17] Hannah capped off the year by giving Roger De Coster his strongest American challenge to date in the 1977 Trans-AMA series.

Hannah’s point lead became so insurmountable, he claimed the National title even while sitting out the last two rounds to heal an injured wrist.

[21] Hannah's victory at the Trans-AMA marked the end of the series as a confrontation between the best European and American motocross racers.

[21] Conceived as a series of match races held across the United States between the Europeans who dominated the sport and the young Americans who sought to emulate them, by the mid-1970s, American riders steadily improved their skill, and European riders found it increasingly difficult to earn enough money to make the trip to America worthwhile.

[21] At the 1978 Motocross des Nations in Gaildorf, West Germany, Hannah had the rare opportunity to compete against reigning 500cc World Champion Heikki Mikkola, who was then near the peak of his racing career.

[8] But at the height of his career, Hannah broke his leg in 12 places in a water-skiing accident in August that left him sidelined for a little more than a year.

[3] Hannah returned to motocross in September 1980 at Silver Sands Cycle Park in Anderson, South Carolina where he placed third and first in the two motos of a 250cc pro event, battling a young up-and-coming David Bailey.

[25] Hannah also raced in the Trans-USA series (formerly Trans-AMA) and finished a respectable third place despite admitting that he had poor timing with the motorcycle and was out of shape from the layoff.

Again, voicing displeasure over his motorcycle, Hannah struggled the entire season and did not win a single National for the first time and finished seventh for the series.

He started the season by winning the CMC Golden State series over David Bailey, Broc Glover and Ricky Johnson.

[14] Hannah determinedly raced the remaining National events, but was unable to effectively compete with his injured wrist and ended up third for the title.

In the title hunt for much of the year, Hannah won his 37th and final AMA National at the age of 28 at the 250cc event held in Millville, Minnesota, and finished fourth overall for the season.

[14] Hannah left his factory ride with Honda and signed with Suzuki to be a development rider and part-time racer in 1986.

DeCoster had passed over two-time 125cc National Champion Micky Dymond in favor of Hannah who was well past his prime and had not competitively raced a 125cc displacement bike since 1982.

[39] In nearly last place early in the race, Hannah conjured up one of his come-from-behind charges, his feet off the pegs to maintain balance in the ruts.

Along with Jeff Ward in the 500cc class and Ricky Johnson on the 250cc, Hannah and Team USA captured the title in one of the most memorable Motocross Des Nations.

[1] When inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, Hannah was living near Boise, Idaho, running a sport aviation sales company and winery.