Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

This question is of some interest to those of.us who knew you before. Have you got a fat head since signing a factory contract w ith Yamaha7 Nol [ co uld have easi ly, but so fa r [ hav en't done anything to get a big head. What are you going to ride next year7 All the 125 Nationals, the Florida Seri es . at 500 Nationa ls I'l l be riding the Support class , and Trans-AvlA in the Support class . [ don't think I'll be riding any 250 N ationals. [ d on 't think I'm ready for a 250 yet , and 1 don't t hink Yamaha does either. [ won 't be riding Ana heim Stadi um either beca use they do n' t thi nk I'm ready and they don't want me to get hu rt. Did you feel that Anaheim was dangerous7 You did win the California State High School Championship there, [ didn't th ink it was dangerous . 1 had a talk with Mel Ca llaway (Ya maha R acin g Directo r) . a bout whether [ was going to race it or not. For one thing they don't h ave a 250 ready, and [ don't like night races tha t much . Yamaha thin ks it's kind of crazy. [ told them that the track's no t crazy at all. Most of the ride rs like it better than the Superbowl. Do you know about the Yamaha vs Goodwin feud7 Yes, they told me something about the lawsuits'. Are you going to ride the Super Series next year7 No, [ don't think so. AMA is not sure right now whet he r the Florida Series 125 Q ual ifiers are going to cou nt for Tra ns-A MA . . What did you do wrong this year in your career as a racer7 Lotsl [ didn't get to ride Flori da a nd that kept me out of the Trans-AMA. [ co uldn't ride because [ wasn' t old enoug h to get a Pro lice nse , [ wasn't old enough for th e West Coast qu ali fiers . 1 didn't ge t to ride H angtown for the same reason. 1 didn't turn 16 u ntil less than a wee k before the seco nd [25 N a tion al. Then [ concentrated on the 125 N at ionals and there weren't a ny m ore qua lifiers. We tried to ex plain that to the AMA , but maybe it is better th at 1 di dn't get to ride Trans-Alvl A. National points don't count for Trans-AMA7 Even if you're fifth in the Nation7 Not at all, It's ki nd of ha rd to believe when [ look at some of the people riding th e Support class. I've seen a few names that couldn't qualify to ride a National. When did you start riding7 A lit tle over th ree years ago . 1 was [ 4 and started on a Ka wasaki 100 at South Bay Speedway in San Diego. Who did you want to be li k e7 Bill y Urban , Murray Hoffman and R ichard Pennick. 1 wasn 't very serious though , and [ didn't know very much about racing. The only reason [ ever got into it 'was because my brother was riding the 250 class , My mom wouldn't let me race, [ went to the races with my older brother a nd th ou ght that maybe someday I'd get to race. T he first time [ ever raced was on a borrowed Yama ha [00 . 1 d idn't have any boots or anything. 1 bo rrowed my friend 's boots, and they were about size five. 1 wore a seven. 1 borrowed his he lmet. It was a Bell Star and it was 105 degrees out. [ had a good time. [ re me mber how scary it was . 1 almost m issed m y first race 1 was so nervous . Do you get nervous now7 O h yes. [ ge t ne rvo us whether it is a local race at Sa ddl eback or a National. Do you start yawning at the starting line7 Yes 1 d o and it ha ppens to me even if I' m not tired. What is the difference between a local race and a National7 1 t hink the pace is slower on the National ci rcuit th an it is out here in Cal iforn ia . It is radica l loca lly. Everyone has the track completely wired, and goes wide open. Loca l races aren't long enough! Except for Saddleback Sa tu rd ay. What are the National tracks like7 [ liked a few and [ didn't like a few . [ thought that t he promoters didn't prepa re th e track well enough for a National. [ rem em ber in Keysers Ridge, Maryland there was a rea lly dusty section th at they said they co uldn't get water to. But it wasn't that , hard to get water to if they had wanted to . What about San Antonio 7 [ didn't like that track very much. It was really muddy during practice . There was this long stra ightaway that you wou ld fishtail a ll the way down . O ne time [ was going down it and a kid stepped out , the n ran back in front of me and [ hit him with m y ha ndlebar. [ thought Ho uston was the best track . . What do you think about the claiming rule now that you are on the other side of the fence7 I don't th ink it will be a factor, It will be th ere, bu t the price shou ld go way up , I th ought th e claim ing ru le was go od , because I was a priva teer, I tal ked to a gu y who tried to cla im Ma rt y's Honda and he lost his rid e and everythi ng, I don't th in k it's worth it to claim , It would be nice if everyone rode stoc k bikes in 1977, because Ya maha 's new bikes are SO good. I a lwa ys thought that th e big thin g was to earn a factory ride, That was what kept m e striving to train a nd get better. I wanted to be a fa ctory rider. 1 thin k th a t these people are trying to go for a shortcut by bri nging the factory rider do wn to their level , instead of b ui lding t hemselves up to the factory level. Once you're good the fac tory will spot it and you 'll have a works bike , Can you make as much money on the National circuit as you can by racing locally7 No , there is not that much money in Natio na ls, Do you think the purses are fair7 T he big names are going to win all the mo ney , but the AMA has divided it down fa irl y welL T he re is not that much difference between a fifth, seventh or ninth, They pay all the way to 20th place. At least it is gas money. What if they paid to 40th place7 [f they paid to 40 th people who didn't really deserve the money would be getting it, and they wou ld be taking it away fro m those who did deserve it. If you do really good you feel like you didn't get enough You got to race w ith Hannah and Smith a lot : money for your efforts, but if you're lower down you . this year, What have they got on you7 feel like you got enough. They have experience, more practice, better bikes [ always thought they should give a $100 bon us to and they ride fas ter. They have it together. I'm j ust the to p privateer. . starting to get it together. Maybe in a year 1 can do How do you look at your future7 Do you think something, this is something you might want to do for a Marty had a disappointing year. He is a lot be tt er longtime7 rider than this National season showed. The thing I'd like to race motorcycles as long as I can do the that bumm ed me out most of the year was having job I'm assigned to do . I' d like to a t least do it u ntil people say th in gs like , "W hy do they want Ma rty I'm thirt y. I hope to m a nage my money in a decent Smith's au tograph, He doesn't win a nymore ," or way so that I wou ldn't h ave to work for the rest of " Bob H a nnah's the best." Bob is an exceptionally m y life , Ma ny riders ha ve a lre a dy d one th is. It's good rider. but Marty is too, You can't ste p on a hard to be [6 a nd pay so much tax. I ca n' t believe I perso n to ge t yourself a little higher. A lo t of people have to give a ll my mo ney to the government. will cut down a person because they think that will With your Yamaha ride who will be your get th em a lit tle farther in life, [t' does n't work that mechanic7 way . It will always come back to ha unt you , [ was - Ed Scheid ler is the best mech a nic there is. [ ha ven't sad when people were saying things like tha t. broke yet. One time I went to t he races alo ne a nd I Who did you run and race with all year7 switched to top ends on m y bike and it seized . 1 felt Ron T urner and W a rren Rei'" were pretty stiff so stupid taking a seized bi ke back to Yam a ha. Ed competition , 1 was trying to go for top privateer just la ughed and sai d, " Now you know." title, but then Steve Wise tu rn ed into a privateer Are you going to co llege7 halfway th rough th e season and that b ummed me I' ll wa it and see wha t happens this n ext two years. If out. I'm still racing successfully when 1 ge t out of hig h Can a privateer win7 school I' ll probably give it a pass . Maybe I'll go [ don't think so. The factories hire the best riders , back to school. put them on the best bikes a nd they 'do well. DG What would you like to be 7 Performance Specia lties is probably the best non I'd like to go into management and busi ness. Righ t factory ride that there is. They he lped me out now I'm really anxious for next year. [ think Flori da im me nsely th is year. [f [ needed anything [ a lways will whip me to deat h, and tha t is good for me. got it. [ have been rid ing for DG for over a year. 1 Florida is the kick-off. My big ambition is to be on stayed with them and didn't switch . A lot of riders th e cover of Cycle News. switch so ofte n they even tua lly come to the po int tha t t here is no 'one else to go to. Here you go, Sit on t his! Pro ba b ly my h a r d est race was Midl and, Michigan . That place had so many hoops. It was my second Na tional and [ was nervous. In the second Moto [ got the holeshot a nd thought to myself 1 bett er pace myse lf. 1 ended up pacing myself too slow and a bu nch of people passed me. 11

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