Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

BMW's Reg Pridmore wants a Honda for Europe in /1977 O'l l-< II) ,.D. 'S II) "1 can't keep looking to friendship and loyalty to the braryljust because 1 sell it." ;> o Z 1 really don't get paid enough. 1 like a track ~ith 150,000 spectators. I "1 don't think theBMWswe have would survIVe In Europe." "ru p robably ' go to Honda. " By John Ulrich Reg Pridmore, the man who'won the 1976 AMA SuperbikeProduction Championship on a highlymodified BMW R90S, wants to race a Honda ReB 941 in European Endurance races next year. "I hate to sou nd too professional," Pridmore says, "but next year I'm going where the money is." 12 Sponsored since 1971 by the U.S. distributor of BMWs (Butler and Smith, Inc.), Pridmore and his racing victories have played an important part in BMW's image change of recent years. Through the sixties, BMWs were considered machines for stodgy old men and tourers, in the public eye. Now: BMWs have shifted in emphasis from purely reliable to sporting. It was Pridmore who gave BMW its first AMA Production class victory, at Ontario in 1974. Pridmore beat Kawasaki-mounted Steve McLaughlin and Yvon DuHamel so badly that DuHamel thought Pridmore had dropped out - he was out of sight. Last year, Pridmore and Gary Fisher teamed up on an almost-stock BMW supplied by the French Distributor for the 24-hour Bol d'Or endurance race at Le Mans. The pair worked up into fifth overall before the bike expired. This year, Pridmore won the production races at Laguna Seca and Riverside, was second to teammate McLaughlin at Daytona, and took third at Loudon behind Mike Baldwin (Moto Guzzi) and Bl\IW team rider Gary Fisher. Pridmore's finishes guaranteed him the unofficial title of AMA Superbike Production Champion. At AMA Nationa l road races in 1976, the Superbike Production ' race was the event to see. The 250cc and 750cc GP classes have been mostly parades led by the all-conquering Yamaha OW-31s of Steve Baker. Kenny Roberts, and Johnny Cecotto . But at three out of fo ur tracks, the Superbike Production race was up for grabs from . start to finish . Reg Pridmore came from b eh ind to win the Mulholland Challenge Cup Superbike Production ra ce at Riverside October 3. It was awe-inspiring to watch Pridmore muscle his BMW through Tum Six, front tire sliding and squirming, rear tire contorting as he powered the 1000cc BMW out of the corner. ' Pridmore is the king of American production racing. At his Goleta, California BMW dealership last week, Pridmore talked to Cycle News about his decision to look arou nd for another ride next year. "I have to say that my agreement with Bulter and Smith has been a very personal thing, especially with Helmut Kern. Helmut (the head man at Butler and Smith's West Coast offices) and I are extremely close friends - he's probably my closest' friend. Considering that and the fact that I've ridden for Butler and Smith for five years, I'm sure a lot of people think the possibility of me riding anything but BMW is scratched from my mind. But I've become more professional these past two years. I know what other people get paid to ride, and what I get paid, and it 's quite a tremendous difference. I reall y don 't get paid enough to ride the type of matchinery which this (Superbike Production) is developing into now. It's getting to the point of _ being dangerous, much worse than it was a year ago. "There is a point where a person has to take in to consideration the total personal risks of racing, as opposed to what they're getting paid for it. I have a wife and a child and a business to run, too. "I can beat guys like DuHamel, people wh 0 are getting paid very well for their riding ability. I don't think that I am going to race for more than another three years or so, I've had an extremely good year, and I think my ability's good. I want to make something of that. If I have the chance to get some good financial rewards for my skill . I'm go ing to do it now. I would definitely like to be approached by an other company . If th e money's good. I'll be prepared to , t ake it. Obviously ,- if I put a price on what I've done fo r Butler a nd Smith , name a price in line with what I think I'm worth , and th ey say they will pay it, there won't be any problem. But I can ' t keep looking to friendship and loyalty to the brand just because I sell it. I'm just another ' dealer to those guys." (Pridmore would not reveal how much he was paid per race by Butler and Smith, but he did tell us that he was paid the same as team riders Gary Fisher and Steve McLaughlin, .a fact he found upsetting "because of his lon ger tenure with BMW. When asked how much BMW paid ,him to ride per race, Steve Mcl.aughlin said, "My rate is $500 per race, and that's what I get." If tha t figu re is correct. that would mean Pridmore earned $2,000 for winning the much-advertised Superbike Production Championship for Butler and Smith.) (While money is a major factor in Pridmore's dis-satisfaction with his current agreement with · Butler and Smith, Pridmore 's strong desire to race in Europe also enters into the picture. After he and Gary Fisher had been assured for months by Butler and Smith officials that a machine would be ready for their ride in the prestigious Bol d'Or 24 -hour endurance race at LeMans, France last summer, Pridmore was notified five days before the race that no Bol d'Or machine ever existed. Furious, Pridmore was ready to refuse to ra ce for BMW at Riverside. Although the immediate conflict was smoothed over, the aftertaste lingers in Pridmore's mind. We asked him which he would prefer, all other things being equal; racing in Europe or racing in the United States.] " I think the decision would be for all the glamour and prestige "of racing in Europe. It sounds kind of silly because I think I'd get mo re business from racing here in America, but I think for a change I would like to do someth ing differen t . I would Ii ke to ra ce in Europe, where the enthusiasm is just tremendous. You're treated differently there, both by spectators and by promoters. "I like to go to a track where they have 150,000 spectators. I like the way we were - trea ted over there. It was almost scary to see so many people, but they showed lots of respect for us. They make you feel like all your efforts are worthwhile. We did nothing but sign a bunch of autographs last year . "Being fairly patriotic, if asked what I'd like to ride next year, I should say . BMW. But I'm afraid the factory has done almost nothing to help out this year. All the money and development that went into our effort the past five years has co me from Dr. Peter Adams (President of Butler and Smith) putting out the money . Very little has co me from Germany. 1 don 't think BMW will have an effort next year that will be seriously com pet itive enough for me to ride. 1 don 't think the BMWs we have wo uld survive in Europe because , they're n ot really endurance machines. They're sprin ters. And our bikes m ay be , too slow. "This brings me to the possibility of being offered a ride on a Honda or maybe a Kawasaki. I've already been approached by two European race promoters wanting me to race in Europe, which I'm pretty happy about. \ "I would like to ride the Hondas . because of their record this year. They seem to go all out. There's no holding back on anything. They go out to win, which is my attitude, and they win. What they have done in machinery this year is fantasti c. That's the kind of thing that appeals to me - professionalism. The 'rno to ry cle looks like a factory machine. It looks like it's really made to do a job, and it certainly did the job this year. So I think I'll probably go to Honda, because I think I'm as competitive as it is. "Pat Evans rode the Bo1 d'Or this year on an extremely good piece of machinery, led the race, and was immediately approached by Honda. He said, yes, he would very much like to ride the fancy Hondas next year. He came over to ask me if I would ride with him next year in some of th e endurance eve nts. I was pretty flattered. Pat Eva ns is very , underestimated by , many pe op le. He has a lot of ability. He rides very well. "I did well this year. I wo uld certainly be honored if Honda came along and said 'T his is what we want you to do.' I don't mind how much effort I have to put in as long as [ get .. . I guess what I'm loo kin g for is respect. And rewards, just like everybody else . I don't think that 's too much to ask." •

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