Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126022
E • ~ E 10 t- O') ~ (,0 s-. v ..0 S v u v Q -~ Randy Mamula (Continued from page 23) extra-thick, moved-up seat back so Randy could reach the handlebars. Because of Randy 's small build, putting h im on a 250 becam e a co ntroversial move . "You're going to kill th at little boy ," ye lled one ira te spectator at Do yle. Mamola 's best fmish on the 25 0 was a sixt h pl ace, and the b ike has been pl agued with mechanical problems. A 50cc GP bike built with a 55 cc en gine debored to 4 9cc made Mamola unbeatable in that class also . Combined with points earned with his 125, 50 cc wins put Mamola into second overall in AFM points halfway through the season, and within striking distance of overall Number One. This was all in Mamola's first year of pavement racing. Unfort u na tely , the mechanic charged with caring for the 50 discovered a worn-out top end too soon before a race to rebuild the special engine. Without telling Doyle or Mamola, he bolted on a stock 55cc top end. Randy wo n . three races with the illegal, too-large motor before being protested and disqualified at the third race. His shot at the AFM Championship was lost. Brought ba ck to legal size , the bike developed clutch trouble as Randy led another race, and he parked it for the season. "Randy felt very bad about it ," says Doyle. "He wanted to show he could win with a legal bike." The controversy . raised by the over-bore motorcycle still clouds Mamola's im age in club racing. 32 "They're not very sportsmanlike," says Mike Baeder, "It really pisses me off when a guy rid es an illegal 50 just to try and make AFM Number One." Randy Mamola is in an unusual position for someone so y o ung. Feeling pressure to win must affect him, yet he doesn't show it. He says he will become a full -time racer after high school, and is not interested in colleg e despite a "B" average in school. Asked if there is an y family pressure on Randy to race an d win , . Mrs. • Mamola says "It 's up to him. As long as he 's h appy . .. that 's how 1 feel as a mother. As far as 1 know , he loves racing. Yo u can tell. He 's in another worl d wh en he's on a bi ke, especially on a road racer." The obvious co mp aris o ns to Kenny Roberts - and resu ltant exp ectat ions don't faz e Randy. "I wo rry about it a little b it," he says, "but not too often. I've got a lot o f time ah ead of me to think about it and get more and more experience." The prospect of racing seasoned pros in a for eign land isn ' t m aking Mamola very nervo us. "I like racing be cause 1 li ke competition. 1 reall y don't like running awa y with the race like 1 do in 125 GP . " "He 's got the will to win," say s Doyle. "He's going to get a lot of experience again st a lot of go od riders and come back with a lot of knowledge." "J im 's thinking of big things for Randy ," adds Mrs. Mamola. "Naturally Randy will go as fast as he can. and it will be a goo d experienc e for him." "I like to have competition," says Randy. "I just like to race." Reminded of riders who say he only wins because of his fast motorcycles. Randy shrugs. "They're just jealous." •