Marty Smith had set himself ambitious goals. The previous year, he had won his only World Championship race, the US Grand Prix in Lexington, with ease. Now he and Honda wanted to compete in both the World Championship and the US Championship. It was in Lexington, of all places, that Rahier suffered his only total failure (after setting the fastest time in practice). Honda had dominated at will in the US since the Elsinore's debut and may not have properly assessed the undertaking. In terms of chassis and engine, the RC125 was not yet a match for Suzuki, and Marty struggled with the double burden of US and European races.

The dominance of Honda and Marty was overwhelming. Six wins in seven races tell a clear story.

Marty Smith wins the newly created 125cc US Motocross Championship for Honda on the legendary Elsignore. Honda riders take second to fourth place.