Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

!:~!lo~~g~~t "Later they offered to wit hdraw the protest, but by t hen it was too late, T here was a bunch of people standing around pointing fingers, and ,feelings were hurt . So I thought, what the hell , I can use the motor and be that m uch farther along for Da ytona." Scott offered to trade the motor back for an OW31 frame , but was turned down by Yamaha representative Carruthers, who offered instead to reserve a 1977 OW31 replica for Scott. The negotiations broke down . Carruthers started cursing Scott. ''I'm not above getting my feelings hurt," Scott says of the incident."There was a bunch of people around and about three or four between Carruthers and me and he starts calling me an a· · · ·- · and a son or-a' b· · · · and a boO . .... Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stand there in front of all those people and let him cuss me out like I was a little child, spanking my hands. Nobody else would make him be quiet so instead of starting a fight by hitting him in the face I reached over and hit him in the shoulder - almost a shove - just to get his attention . It did. He shut up ," "I'm no t above getting m y f eel· in gs hurt." The season ended the next week, but the rumors and accusations didn't . Letters to Cycle News accused Scott of conspiracy with AMA officials to rig race restarts when Scott wasn't doing as well as he wanted , "T hey're just bitching because I was getting back up after falling and doing a good job," says Scott. "Most. people , after falling on a mile track, are hurt or else just not that good of a ,racer to get back up and do it again. As far as the restarts there is no question in a nybody's mind that what the AMA did was right. I fell off at Indy early in the race when everybody was still together. The groove where everybody was running not more t han four fee t from the haybales where I was laying . I jumped up instinctively - which made a lot of people think I was 0 K but I almost fell back down. I had to sit down on the haybales. Som e racers say you 'Should just lay there, but with my competitive spirit I think that if you just lay there that's almost admitting defeat. So I jumped back up to show I wasn't going to stay down for a ten-count. I was dazed, and at that point of the turn- the apex - if anybody had got in trouble, it would have been a disaster. They would have plowed into me or m y machine: It was a hazard , so the race had to be restarted. " I co uld n't stand t here in front of all those people and let him span k my hands:' " At Albuquerque I had broken through the fence and they had to call the ambulance on me, so they had to stop the race. People think it isn 't fair, but I was just lucky on it. I didn't plan any of it. The machine wasn't hurt too terribly bad so I could get back into the race. I have a lot of respect for my equipment - it gets me on the racetrack. When I fall off I won 't just throw it away - I try to get off as easy as I can. When you're going fast and be ing competitive you 're always going to get bitched about. " Another story was-that Scott carried a loaded pistol in case of serious disputes with competitors over claims. "I certainly don't carry any gun in my briefcase. I don't have any reason to ," exclaims Scott, " I don't think I have any threats or anybody who's out to get me because I think tha t people know that I'm just trying to be competitive. If I was trying , to give everybody a bad time , I could do a lot better job than carrying around a gun in my briefcase. " Salinas Ralftblers Motorcycle Club presents "When you're being co mpeti· tive, you 're always go ing t o get bitched about ." Quicksilver Enduro Scott's relationship with Bill Werner, his tuner in 1975 and now Jay Springsteen's tuner , deteriorated to hurled insults and thrown fists during 1976 . "I can't defend myself all the time and make excuses for what I do," Gary Scott says. " Bu t as far as Bill Werner and I go , Bill Werner's an a v--..-. He th inks his way is right all the time, even if he's lying. I didn't really get along with Bill when we were working together, but I was getting paid to do a job , He was m y mechanic and so I worked with him, but I don't think much of him as a person. I'd ra ther had three good friends than ten I can't trust. With Bill, 'if you work with him you 're OK , and if you don't you're a bad guy. "When you feel everybody is down on you , you just have to get on t~p of it and fight back. That's what the whole . deal is about, trying to run consistently the whole year and beating them at their own game. "Werner was in a bar I was in and kept starting to talk when I was in the middle of telling a joke or something. So I let him have it. " . In spite of problems with Springsteen's tuner (Werner), Scott respects Springsteen . "I knew Springsteen was a good miler and half rniler, but he did an excellent job in the short track an d IT races, which surprised me. He did a better job in those events than I expected , which probably made the difference for him." Looking bac k at 1976, his year as the priv ateer who bucked the factories, and looking forward ' to 1977, Scott is co nfident . Clear Creek, California (New IDRIAJ sthAnnual JanuaryI6 38 mil es east of King City off of Hwy. #25 $10 entry each rider. Entry fee includes camping for the weekend Drawing for riding position w ill be held Dec, 30, 1976 at the S.R.M.C. meeting hall, 76 W . Alisal St., Salinas, at 9:00 PM. Start times w ill be drawn as follows: Class A riders first, then B & C. If 500 rider quota is not met by drawing time, entries thereafter will be assigned position according to post mark. Riders w ishing to ride in the same minute, enclose entries in same envelope. 5 riders per minute. $3 extra per 2 man team. Entry must include 2 SASE. mail to: Gary Smart. 22782 Ordonez Dr., Sa linas, CA 93901 inf o: 408-422·9611 or 408-422·9809 after 6 PM 408-449-447 1 .Entry requirements: AMA cards are required. All Dist. 36 Enduro riders must have a current Dist. 36 enduro card. AMA sanctioned & regulated under Dist. 36 rules. Spark arrestors, silencers, and off road (green stickiel or license plate mandatory. Each rider is required to hold ... ,a valid ooerator's license or be ac~~anied bv a licensed driver. I hereby agree to conform to and comply w governing this contest ~------------ of theith the rulesMotorcycle Association ~----------_. American in connection with competition rules and furth er agree to hold blameless the A.M.A., the contest com mittee, the local management, the property ow ners or leasees, and the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, for any injury to myself or property and to assume full responsibility for any loss or injury in whi ch I may become involved by reason of my particip ation in thi s contest. PLEASE PRINr ' NXiII: AGE A. U. ,o,. NO. ZIP CITY ADDRESS ""CHINE 1. 0 . ND . D. R. V. REG DR VE HICLE L1 C. ND., _ S PORTMAN ' S CARD NO ., _ OPERATOR' S Li CENSE NO. u,s , FORESTRY APP.SPA R< ARRE STOR YES_ NO _UA CHI NE UA

• Cover