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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126262
u nde rrated CZ rider, th e teat ca m e as a numbing shock in 1969. T he tho ught occu rr ed : Maybe DeCoster really could ride motocross . To that firs t d ouble vict ory (earned by Belgi um ) in th e his to ry of th e two p restigi ou s nationa l te am races , R oge r added another do ub le never accomplished by any other rider before him. He won both the 250cc and the 500cc Grands Prix of Belgi u m . Before displaying his emerging mastery over t he best of the 500cc class specialists at Namur, he went to Borgloon, Belgium in March to impose his style on all the 250cc riders in that Grand Prix. counting toward the 250 class World Championship. 30 Roger seemed unable to change the attitude of the CZ people toward Roger DeC oster . He remained a rider for them but definitely received the least possible attention from them. One of the executives at the CZ works had the following to say about Roger: "He seems to be a 'pilote' particularly difficult to manage, unstable of character, never recognizing his personal faults and riding errors even when they do him harm. In competition, he acts and moves in a way that is totally rash , in a way that often puts him in real danger. " No doubt that image of Roger established a precedent. Previously, it did reflect reality . Bu t by 1968, the rash image was no more than that : a reflection of the past. Current reality was of little consequence, though. That declaration by the CZ brass brought sharply into fOC4S how deeply fixed in the minds of the ruling echelons at the factory was the idea that Roger DeCoster cou ld never deserve very h igh consideration as a mot ocrosser . He had the "stop sign " to h is racing career h ung on him a lready and would never be able to get rid of the "crash and burn" rep u ta tion in the eyes of CZ. Not even the results of . that 1968 season (in which Roger once again finished fifth in th e world in 500cc motocross) seemed to change the factory's attitude. But there was more to that 1968 season. At Gallarate. in Italy, Roger won his first Grand Prix. Ii was little enough compensation for the incredibly bad hick which clung to him all during that 1968 campaign. The series of catastrophes, minor and major, began in February at Vimperk , Belgi um . Roger, along with the other CZ factory riders was entered in a motocross at a circuit that had frozen into ice , becoming more twisting skating rink than motocross. track . During practice, his bike skidded out on a glassy corner and landed on tOP of him . Contact with the ground was not particu larly soft. He was taken to the hospital with a fractured collarbone - the most common bone break in motorcycle competition. In J u ne , at Stekene , Belgiu m , he was shoved into the fence during the m assed rush to the first turn. He was joined in the unplanned "get-off' by four other riders. But it was Roger who was most seriously injured: a deep gash in his neck. caused by the foot peg of one of the bikes. He once agai n found himself in t he hosp ital with, in addition to the neck wound . a slight concussion . As a resu lt of that crash, Roger missed the East Ge rman Grand Prix . He tried to compete in the Czechoslovak ian round of the 500cc World Championship b ut he hadn't rec uperated enough and gave it up . pulling into the pits after three laps . The debilitating aftereffects of the Steken crash were barely shaken off when , at the end of J u ne at Hoeselt , Belgium, he slid out crossing a small , mud-slick bridge on the damp woodsy It was p retty well confirmed in 1969 that Roger Deflosrer, now 24 years old, had the physical and psychological qualities combined with the maturity and talent to achieve just about any goal in world motocross. Still , it wasn't because of his demonstrated capabilities that Roger became the first· ranked CZ factory rider for the World Championship Grands Prix in 1970 . In fact , it was out of pure necessi ty th at the Czechs appea led to Roger to take the job . T hey didn't have anybody else . That year. both Joel Robe rt and Sylvain Ceboers, who had been CZ's two top riders, joined the Suz uki motocross team . T hat upstart Ja panese company had, in 1969 . thro ugh the person of O lle Pettersson, m ade a very encouraging entry into. Grand Prix competition. Suzuki was the first J a pa nese motorcycle company to m a ke the move into motocross and. in the process , spark a new technology race in motocross racing machinery. To replace Rob ert and Geboers, and still have any ho pe of ca mpaigning against the two Suzukisponsored turncoats with any chance of success , the Czechs co uld not substantially count on their young riders (Halm , Konecny , Stodulka) nor on the CZ·mounted Russians (Kavinov, Moisseev , Krasnotchekov) . That thankless task was put squarely on the shoulders of Belgia n Roger DeCosrer. He was to fill the spot of chief " p ilote" for the CZ factory. This was the same Roger DeCoster. remember, whom CZ officials had consciously written off as a serious world-class competitor. But the top job was now his out of default. "They promised me everything , including miracles. I could depend on the unconditional support of the factory officials, they said. And out on the course, should the need arise , the Czech riders were to ride to my requirements , letting me pass if necessary. In other words , all I had to do was say something and it would be done. Anything I wanted . Despite all this, I was still hesitant about signing on for another reason with CZ . Finally, I decided to do it. Viktor La hit a asked me to take him on as my mechanic. He had a lot of nerve. This was the same guy who never could say anything fa vorable about me to t he fac to ry heads. Why the tu rnabo u t? For his personal profit? To be the top CZ factory mechanic for another year? Or was it to compromise me more than ever by denying me any advantage - thereby 'proving' his previous opinio n of me? "I had my reven/; in denying Viktor's request. But Lahita, more than ever, was still among my enemies. He used his remaining influence to set the other factory mechanics against me. The CZ pits were not a very comfortable p lace that season. Whatever actually transpired, the fact is I never saw any of those promises fulfilled nor was I helped out by CZ as much as I could have been. With that kind of a beginning to the 1970 season, there was nothing to do but try and end it on a positive note. I was third in the 250cc World Championship .. . behind Joel Ro bert and Sylvain Geboers, both mounted on the new lightweight RH Suzukis. With a little luck, I was able to add some Gr ands Pri x to my list of wins . 1 won the 500cc Belgia n Gra nd Prix for the second straight time on the 'Citadel' circuit and I got my second Belgi a n 500cc National Championship." Summing up , Roger DeCoster's net 1970 racing accomplishments were far from nega tive. Even though , in the 250cc World Championship , his CZs were clearly outclassed. He just didn't have machinery co mparab le to the new Suzukis. Joel Robert a nd Sylva in Geboers had the superior motorcycles - a technologica l advantage Suzu ki was to hold for some yea rs. Actually, the 1970 season wasn't a bad farewe ll note for Roger to ha nd t he CZ factory which, even to that moment , didn't rea lly have much faith in him . • (Abovel The chain on Jean Godfroid 's Bultaco broke j ust on the blind side of a jump. He was still sitting there when Roger came over and landed on the Bultaco's seat. Th is was in 1970, DeCoster's last year of rid ing the Czechoslovakian CZ marque. circuit and injured his upper leg . Once again , he was hauled off to the doctor. And this time, he knew damn well that the rest of the season was definitely in question - possibly wasted . Serious injury came again in 1969 . In the first corner immediately after the start area at Wuustwezel, Belgium in late April of that spring. a number of rid ers crashed right in front of Roger. His reflexes were on : he braked to a stop and managed to avoid his less fortunate competitors, Unfortunately, behind him was a rider who was considerably less adroit. He piled into the rear of DeCoster's CZ. at full tilt and sent Roger catapulting over the bars where he landed knees first on the upthrust exhaust pipe of a downed bike. The end of the metal pipe went through his racing lea thers and penetrated the kne e joint . Again . Roger came out worst off of all the riders in the pile -up . The damaged knee required eight stitches, the ligam ents were torn and th ere was int ernal bleeding. That put him out o f both the Dutch and Swedish Grands Prix . Nevertheless , in the competition arena . he achieved some exceptional highs that season . First , there was a brilliant ride to victory in the Belgi a n 500cc Grand Prix, once again on the "Citadel" circuit at Namur. He backed that overall win with two second -places in the Grands Prix of Switzerland and East Germany. Once again he ranked fifth - the third consecutive year he had filled that position - in the final standings for the 500cc Wo rld Championship. whi le missing four Grands Prix completely. O n top of that, there were his stunning performances in the post· season international team events. Belgiu m walked away with the 500cc Motocross des Nations at Farleigh Castle. England for their first national victory in that race since 1951. The next day. at Kester, Holland in the Trophee des Nations for national teams on 250cc machines . it was again Belgium that .d ornina ted th e co ntest to win for the first time since the creation of that race in 1961. It was Roger DeCoster who gave them t hose victories. In the Motocross des Na tio ns as well as the Trophee des Nations . DeCos ter emerged not on ly as the key rider for the Belgian team but a lso as the top individual rider, racing against all the established, recognized stars of the motocross world. The twin victories set a pattern that he was to follow in succeeding years. but. as a then ' . . ., ~.t (".1 . " I. \ '.: • • ...: ,. "I I .. # (Con. . tinued next week) " .,t .. .. ' , 'i h.· ..... ,.' 1 0' ", 4' 1. \ I ....