Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

(Continued from page 6) to get so conserval1ve that it'll take five years before I can start doing something as an Expert. I can't wait !bat long. "Dallas Baker belped my r1d1ng quite a bit. He used to watch me race at Ascot, and be'd tell me ways r:4 improving myself. Then I started finding better ways around bY myself - trying things I thought would work. And bY the end r:4 last year I was kind r:4 telliDg Dallas bow to go througb certain turns. Now we both listen to eacb other. "I baven't kept notes or maps r:4 individual tracks. But I tb1nk I'm going to start. ~ Mert Lawwill does. It makes ita lot easier to know beforehand what gear you're going to run in whicb turn. I sbould bave don it last year, but I messed UP. :. "I don't know when or If I'll be the top tr.s, rider. This year I'm sbooting for a pos1l1on in the top ten. "My biggest competition is anybndY who makes a maln event. Like, at the short track in Houston, the difference between the slowest time and the fastest time was only one balf a second. The difference between the number one man and the others is drive. The man that bas the most initiative to win, is going to end uP first. He bas to want it pretty bad. " I really enjoy racing. More and more, thougb,it's because r:4 the money. Before I just really loved going fast: Doing someth1ng nobndY else could do. Like the track in Lou1sv1lle (Ky.): You can run wide open around the race track, and you just get a really good feeling that you're doing someth1ng rigbt. Like a corner will come out perfect, or something. I don't know, it just feels neat to me. "Like at Daytona. Every once ina while I'd make a good corner. Like I'd stop in time, turn and gas it out r:4 the corner. And it would be real smooth. And I could just feel the bike, and know inside that it was perfect. " Even though I only got 12th at Daytona. I was still pleased with myself. There's just a lot r:4 self-sal1sfaction in riding well. The main thing that I don't feel so neat about Daytona, was that the other riders got more points (AMA) than I did. That's going to burt my chances of getting in the top ten. " I guess the money in racing is still pretty much secondary for me. It just provides a way for me to do whatI lUee to do. Later on I guess I'll get just like everybody else, and race just for the money. For most r:4 them, it's just another job. "Before eacb race I tell myself that I'll do the best I can. Some people - like Jim Rice - tells everybndY he 's going to win. I can't say that. "One r:4 the papers quoted me as saying that I go out ouly to win. I didn't say that. That makes me sound lUee a hard guy. I guess I am cocky in certain respects. Like If someone would talk to me I'm liable to smart mouth them. I know I do)t. That's the way I am. That's the way I'm going to be. If they don't lUee me for it, screw ' em. I don't give a damn. You just can't be nice to everybndY in the world. "I guess I'll race until I can't race anymore. I've never been burt, never broken anytbing. I've unloaded a lot r:4 times, butI've always gone down easy. Of course, it's not going down that hurts you so mucb as when someone runs over you. "When Gene Romero was a first year El

Cover