Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Dimensions of a Caraqueiio By John Huetter o ...... He started 73rd, by his estimation, at this year's Daytona .200. He finished third. At the time, most North Americans couldn't even p ro~ounce his name. His next outmg on competition pavement was th e Imola 200 in Italy (no w being billed as the "Daytona of 24 Europe"). He won both 100 ·mile legs in a cool, quick, professional manner. It was after this st un n ing victory that 14-time World Road Race Champ Giacomo Agostin i admitted to the European sporting press th at " . . . I couldn 't beat him. " In h is firs t World Championship Grand Prix, on th e Paul Ricard circui t in France, he won th e 250 class on Teu vo Lanssivuori 's 1974 back-up works Yamaha. He played ca t an d mouse wi th Hideo Kanaya for virtually the whole race, th en nipped by on the last lap to take the lead , and the vic tory, from his tight drafting position. A few hours later, he also won the 350 class , blasting off righ t from th e start and going away th e whole distance to defeat Agostini. From that moment through th is one, all Europe was abuzz with the name "J ohnny Cecotto.' With good reason: he is th e hottest talent to eme rge in world class road rac e compe tition in many ye ar s. Remember th e name. It 's Alberto (pronounced Johnny) Cecotto (prounounced Che-coat-oh) , • While he is still a n ovel ty and a wonder in the Northern Hemisphere, no one from the Rio Grand on south is really too surprised over Cecotto's success. He was both Venezuelan and South American Champion in 19 73 and 1974. Those were also th e first two years th at he had ever gone road racing outside of local club events in Caracas. In 1974, he also won th e Interlagos 500 in Brazil , on e of the longest, most demanding road races outside of a Coupe D'Endurance competition. Johnny was born 19 y ears ago to Italian parents who had emigrated to. Venezuela. He speaks both Spanish and Italian as native languages. But the idiom the Cecottos speak at home is a bizarre Latin-based Northern Italian dialect called Friulano. It serve s as an effective private family code. As a result of the Italian heritage and, no doubt, his "first ride-first win " at lmola the Italians have adopted him as their own, even over Agostini, be cause they feel the young Italo-Venezuelan is more "simpatico. tt As one road race fan emotionally related it to me, "Agostini is not a real person. He is more a m achine for winning. Look at Johnny, how friendly he is." The rabid fan was righ t about one thing. Though basically shy and unused to all the attention, Cecotto is handling his new-found and slightly overwhelming fame with a maturity and aplomb that belie his 19 years. When still another fan marvels at how young he is, Johnny replies with a half-smile, in Italian, " It's old enough." Oearly, his wins and subsequent good riding performances so far have come mainly from his visu ally fluid and temporally quick personal riding style. He is a classic 'to ob serve in that he never seems too hurried or shaky or ou t of con tro l. Ceco tto ride s fla wlessly ra ther than flamboyan tly. Thi s talen t has, in the early p art o f th e year, mad e up for racing mach in ery availab le to an y pri vateer . At th e time o f th is writing, Cecotto still had no factory su pp ort. Yo u could say he's ab out the most su ccessful privat eer (albeit wi th som e sponsorships) now ra cin g. His 250 is last year 's wor ks Yamaha, as you'l l re me m ber. (F ran kly , sometimes th ere 's nothing worse to own than a on e year-old works bike. It will more than likel y have been trashed.] Th e 350 Yamaha is provided and prepped by Cecotto 's ren tal car, a modest Fiat 12 8, warn 't running qu it e righ t. h e decided. On th e unlimited sp eed superhigh way s of Europe, he drives co nservati vely; normally no t ab ove 8 0-90 mph. But h e also drives correc tly an d positively. Racing is reserved for th e race tracks. Venemotos, th e Ven ezuelan Yamaha importer. Or, at least it was. While he's in Europe, his machinery comes tuned from Scuderia Diemme, near Bologna; hence, near Imola, The TZ750 for Formula 750 ra ces also comes from Diemme. \ Many European road race observers credit much of his success and unprecedented, until now , string o f faul t-free rides to th e efforts of th e well-respected ra cing shop. Particu larly noted in ci ting the re asons for Cecotto 's victories is its chief and owner, Andrea Ippolito. If you ask him,Johnny qui ckl y states th at he prefers the large -bore b ikes but, incredibly, his first ride on a Yamaha T Z750 was en route to his third place fin ish at Day tona. Venernotos h ad prepped that one bi ke for him out of the box , m ainl y be cau se Day tona is now a ra ce for 750 s. Th ose practice lap s in Flori da wer e his first ever on a maximum formu la Yam ah a. Having the n in cre ased his exp eri en ce on a 750 ro ad racer by an infinite amount, he later admi tted th at ridin g Irnola h adn't really be en as difficult. In case y ou missed th e sta teside episode , Ceco tto went to Day tona thi s year with a bike he 'd never ridden , a Ven ezuelan friend as a mechanic, and on e box of spares. He th en proceeded to qu alify th ird fastest earn ing a good spot on the front row of the grid. As the en gine s were being warmed for the final tim e and th e start, the Ven emotos Yamaha started leaking oil . Th e race o fficials sent him off th e grid . His fixed th e oil leak mechanic imm ediately, but by th en Ceco tto was remanded to the last row of the start grid . His ride from that moment on, passing 70 in ternational road rac ers , is already well-noted road race history. A few questions on th at ride produced terse and ch ara cteristically certain answers. " Was it any problem to pas s Agostini when yo u wen t from third to fourt h ?" " No ." (Long p ause .) "He didn 't seem too fast." " What do yo u think abou t Ame rican road racers?" " Kenny Ro ber ts goes strong." (" Es muy fuerte," in Sp an ish. ) An other party overh ears the in terested conversation and as ks Cecotto the arch etyp al Italian question, "Wh at do you think of the way Agostini rid es?" Johnny replies with com p lete can dor, " I don 't know. I've never seen him ride. tt This is acc om p anied with the class ic Itali an shrug o f the shoulders and, up to thi s time , was true. And Cecotto was to con tinue always being ahe ad of Agostini until the Spanish Road Race Grand Prix at Jarama. The Venezuelan got cau ght in traffic at the start and finished second to Agostini in the 350 race. This ' occurred weeks after this day . If these remar ks to pointed . questions seem co cky in telling about th em, they do not when delivered in person. Cecotto is . generally quiet and speaks the truth the best he can. At lunch in th e posh Italian restaurant, th e best in the city, I'm told, the cries o f "Johnny! Johnny' " come from every side as fans, hosts (including the rep of his Sidi and Marz occhi and other eaters vie sponsors), con tin u ously for the young Champ's attention. The din is incessant as waiters scurry and hover, food appearing, and reappearing in disappearing, different forms. Everyone plies him with questions : professional and personal. The sycophants of the asphalt hang on his every reply and expression. He handles it all well with extreme courtesy and an honest smile. There is something in him that definitely speaks of that old term " goo d breeding." Th e only indication of the con stan t strain th ese days is hin ted at when I ask if I can spe ak som e more with him after lunch. "If it 's too much of a drag (or the equivalent in Spanish) , we can skip it . I can understand that this may not be to o much fun for yo u." He quickly looks my way and says, " Th ere are few who do [understand) ," in a voice intended onl y for the listener. He is already aware of the demands of celebrity as he turns readily to confront th e next questioner: . the Italian Honda importer, as it turns out. This gentleman won ders aloud as to wh y Cecotto doesn 't ride Hon da . "Surel y ," he goes on , "that four-eyJinder two-stro ke originally developed with Agostini in mind will beat everything there is." Etc. and so on . This Italian who sells Hondas already knows what the lmola win has done for Yamaha sales.

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