Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

in any GP to win two motos" he said. "It seemed that every time that I did do good and had a good day, I had bike problems. Like in '75 I won a moto in Luxembourg and broke in the other one , in '76 I won in Finland and broke down in the second one. The days that I was really hot and liked the track and everything was going good . When I could win a moto and possibly win the other one or even have second or third and still maybe get the overall , bike problems stopped me . So the overall victory kinda escaped me I would say since '75, when I was capable of winning a Grand Prix , It took this long for everything to come together, " Brad Lackey is a man who Roger DeCoster talks about as being "T he only American rider capable of winning the World Championship, He is smart and dedicated ." Praise like this from five-time World Champion DeCoster is remarkable. _ Brad is dedicated. In the United States he trains from 5:00 until '8:00 a.m. every morning at the Quail Ahtletic Club in Walnut Creek. The club is private and Brad's locker is in the middle of those belonging to Joe Morgan, Joe Rudi , Sal Bando, - Reggie Jackson and many other professional sports personalities. After running six miles Brad works out on the heavy punching bag, leg machine , and devotes a lot of time to his upper bqdy, " If all I did was work on my legs , which are the most used in motocross , my body would be out of proportion," said Brad of his training. "S6 I work hard on my chest and arms as well. Nobody likes to train , but if you have a goal it makes it easier to work toward something. My goal is the 500cc World Motocross Championship, Every year I get better but the pr~gress seems so slowl" "Roger really blew it, he went way too fast and centerpunched me. " Racing motocross in Europe is totally different than in th e States: " Most of the tracks in the States are the same. They don't tax you r skills enough. In Europe ' you have to be smart and know when to - shut off as well as where to ga s it. The tracks are much more demanding, mentally and physically," Brad explain ed . Lackey's change to Honda thi s year has been a good on e. Brad 'is happy with his bike ' and his cont ra ct. Now Honda has the first 500cc GP victory by an American to their cred it as well. The GP Hondas have over 10 inches of travel front and rear. Jim Pomeroy and Brad Lackey proved the power at Carlsbad by ' their starts. Brad's delight with Honda is easy to understand , because he has onl y broken down one time this year. "T he Honda is a lot easier to ride than the Husky, " said Brad. "It took me a year to learn the Husqvarna, where the Honda I didn't really get the works bike until one week before th e Grands Prix. I rode three International races on the new Honda, which were on Friday. Sunday a nd Monday. Then I went to th e first Grand Prix in Austria. I really didn't get much practice on th e bik e at all . But it turned out to be easy to ride and I felt comfortable with it right away : The H onda ha s been a great help to me, especially since I switched brands of bikes . If I had switched to another brand I think I would have been hindered for at least the first half of the season." _ Brad is currently on a one-year contract with Honda to contest the 500cc Grands Prix . After a slow siart early this year Brad has been remarkable in the recent Grands Prix: At Carlsbad he was third overall, after a bout with the flu in Italy , The next round was in Canada ' and Brad placed second behind Mikkola. The 'very next week he moved to the top step of the victory stand with an overall victory in England, His im provernent this year has been steady as his learns his new Honda, "The first Grand Prix I really didn't do too much. I broke a shock in the second moto , still ' finished in the top 10 , seventh .I th ink. In the first moto I wasn't quite ready for it and drove poorly: From that time on I feel that I did pretty good until I I got sick in Italy, In Holland for the second GP I tied DeCoster on points, out he was a little bit faster in the times and so I go t. a third in that race. The next week I went to Sweden and won a moto , in the other race the chaifl came off. Heikki was pretty hot that d ay but I beat him in the first moto - he was second - so there was a possibility that I could ha ve got th e overall, Then I went to Finland th e next week , Heikki was first and I was second. Then 'I went to Germany and broke my big toe and I had a flat tir e 20 minutes into th e second m oto. T ha t wasn't a good da y a t all but I fini shed 'up fourth .overall. I could have been in th e top three there , To get his mind into training. Brad (above) attacks the heavy punching bag. Home for a break from the Grands Prix (below) Brad spends some time with his adoring daughter Ua. (Bottom) When it comes to jumping rope • cross-handed. Brad makes Muhammed Ali look like a beginner. ' Then we went. to Italy and I got sick with the flu Saturday night before the GP and from that point on my conditioning dropped quite a bit. " In practice for the Italian GP Brad was hit in the forehead with a roosted rock. He suffered a mild concussion-on top of the flul That night Brad had a fever of over 100· and lost about five pounds of water, forcing him to skip the race and spot a lot of points to DeCoster and Wolsink. Theflu really took a toll on Brad's conditioning, Normally you don't notice that it takes a long time to fully recover from the flu, but when you stress your body to the limits twice every Sunday in 40 minute motos the effect of any sickness is multiplied. ' For the United States GP Brad had been on medications all week to try and beat the last remains ofthe flu out of his body. "In .the beginning of the season I was up there _ pretty good until I got sick . Then L was trying to recuperate and ride Carlsbad and Canada at the same time. Even in England I wasn't physically ' ready yet , I came to Carlsbad knowing that I wasn't in good shape and it was hot . You could see it in the race. I got really tired with 15 minutes to go in both races. I was leading the,second moto and normally I never. would have fallen, I was just tired and not ready yet and I fell down ," Brad said describing the spill that took Roger DeCoster down with him and out of World Championship contention, Brad continued, "In Canada the same thing happened, I was second in th'e first moto when Roger passed me with two laps to go , Normally I would have been stronger and could have kept him back. In the second moto I was leading when Gerrit passed me. This year I've beaten Gerrit more than he has beaten me, ' so, I would have had better finishes those two races ," ._ Heikki Mikkola has a lock on first place in the , 500cc World Championship but Brad has a very ' good chance of finishing .the season in second or third place. Lackey usually has a strong finish and he .likes the remaining tracks-on this year's circuit. Last year he was second in Belgium behind DeCoster and was third at Luxembourg until Roger centerpunched him. Brad told the story: " In the first moto at Luxembourg I went into the third corner and Roger blew it when he went into . the corner too fast and center-punched me. It ripped my bike's throttle cable off. So that moto I only made it three turns but I had a good start and I had good 'tim es in practice so I would have done well. In the second moto I was in second place when I got a flat and bent the swingarm axle so I didn't finish either moto. Usually I do pretty good there, I won a mofo there in '75 and I like the track. "The last race in '77 is in Switzerland and I haven't raced there yet. but now I need a vacation and time to get all my strength. back: This month will help me get prepared like I was at the first of the season. I'm glad I have this time to relax," said , Brad. ' , , Brad has been a member of the United States Motocross and Trophee des Nations team several times , This yea r the Americans who are competing in Europe in the GP's have been obviously overlooked in team selection , Brad , who is currently fourth in the world, will not be on the U.S, team . Jim Pomeroy, ' who has had years of experience in Europe in the 250cc Grands Prix , will not be on the team . The' American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) selects the team and the current rule is that the tearr will consist of the top two "It's about time we show the world hou:far motocross has come in America. " • finishers in the 500 and 250 Nationals , Brad shared these thoughts on the current selection process. "W ha tever I say will make it look like I'm trying to make the selection look bad because I am not -going , Burit's not like that at all," said Brad. ''To be honest, I think those races are serious races and I think it would be great to see America finally prove that they are really up there among all the other teams, With the system that AMA is using the U,S. team would have to be pretty lucky to win . The selections are made .frorn - f he previous year's National Championship . So at the time of the race those four guys might be really slow or have just broken a leg ' or just getting over an injury, any number of things . That would make them not right at that time . or be the hot riders. The way it should work is that the U.S. should go to win the th ing and whoever is the best in those two classes should be the representatives, But the AMA is not interested 15

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