Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

had to solemnly swear that I wouldn't do it anymore. "It turned out to be just as well . I didn't want to risk another 'frosting' and from then on I contended myself with engines more my size: 'velos' (the motorized bicycles) or the lightweight bikes like the paratroops used to carry messages. These were the first bikes I rode that I learned to master." Roger continued into ' middle school for two years at the Institute St. Pierre. By now he was 14 years old. His knowledge, at least in motorcycling, was enriched through two experiences, First, he bought his own motorcycle, The other experience was witnessing his first World Championship motocross. Prophetically, he stood near the start as the steel gate dropped for the 500cc Grand Prix of Belgium on the "Citadel" circuit in Namur. Roger DeCoster's first motorcycle, which he was .... ,.,. in fact co-proprietor of (by contributing to its ~ purchase, with a friend, in the amount of 500 ..-~~"";" francs) , was a British Triumph 650. • "My parents didn't get word of the scheme. As far as they were concerned , the bike I sometimes rode was my buddy's. Mounted on top of that Triumph, which didn't have registration or a license plate - a luxury we just couldn't afford and whose lighting system didn't wait long before failing completely, we .wen t cannoning through the neighborhoods near the house. And of course, we didn't go unnoticed for very long because we fiddled around with the exhaust pipes to make them as noisy as possible. We thought the twin cylinder rumble was music . The bike.made such a roar that the local constable, Charles by name, . tried every possible way to nail us. Each time he did, the same scene unfolded . Charles, shaking his finger menacingly, would lecture us about the consequences the next time he caught us going so fast. He would warn us: 'This is the last time .. .' Charles often repeated his threat to.. us: 'T his is the last time .. .' He was a good sort. He seemed to enjoy following our progress of evolution at the controls of that Triumph. It was a real day of mourning when we had to sell that motorcycle." y Roger sees his first World Championship When Roger made the round trip, by bicycle, in August of 1958, from his home to the "Citadel" of Namur to see his first 500cc Belgian Grand Prix , it isn't strictly correct to speak of the trip as a "first" for the young hopeful from Ucc le, Many times before , going secretly by himself, he had seen motocross, but never a World Championship Grand Prix. "Fo r sure ," he remembers . " there was nothing comparable to that Grand Prix. Not to miss a bit of that spectacle, I never stopped moving around the outside of the course. I think I covered the entire circuit to shout encouragement to the Belgian . Rene Baeten during his race-long duel with the Swede, Bill Nilsson. The battle for first place between these two giants of the sport had me more exci ted than I'd ever been. But it was Sten Lundin, another Swede, who left the strongest impression on me. His style and manner of riding were incomparable. Later on , my admiration for Sten Lundin neve r ceased to grow. There is absolutely no doubt , as far as I am concerned , that he is the best motocross rider to ever walk the earth. Moreover, out on the track as well as away from the racing circuit , Sten is a complete gentleman. Let me give you one example [ remember. It was some years later , at a race in Tiegem , Belgium , when I had just finished the motos for 50cc velos , that he allowed me to help him clean his 500cc machine after the morning training session . I cou ldn't hav e been prouder. I still remem ber that day with Sten. He was a lready a World Champion." For Roger. the time in school seemed to be flowing by at a hazy distance. He pursued , with some good grades , his technical education at the Institute St. Joseph in Etterbeck , Belgium . From behind those same school desks also came another or Roger's companions who would have his own hour of fame : Teddy Pilette, the automobile driver who won the European Formula 5000 Championship in 1973. After two and a half years, during which Roger worked straight thro ugh , he finished his schooling through night courses- from the Institute of Arts and Trades in Brussels. Then , according to the memories of Papa DeCoster: "One evening in mid-December of 1962 , Roger came home and announced that he wasn't going to school anymore. I knew it was useless to try and force him . So I consented . Then I asked him what he intended doing. Roger was going to try for a job with Contigea [a large Belgian industrial concern]. At this time it was pretty clear that Roger was already destined for a career in the motorcycle sport. In that same year, at the controls of a 50cc velo, Roger won his first competition event. Competition began to occupy a more important place in his life . Next week in Cycle News - The Roger DeCoster Story continues, -

• Cover