Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126304
industry. That sounded good to me , so I sent her my resume . Somehow m y resume go t from her to film director Hal Needham. He cont ac ted me and said he wanted to use me in a mo vie called 'Hollywood Stuntmen.' I signed a cont ract with Warner Brothers and went to T usca loosa , Ala b am a wh ere they were film ing . I spent a week th ere and d id a number of stu nts. I rod e a by"e up a wood en ramp and ju m ped t rough a bri ck wall with a large glass clndow in it. I haven't seen th e rushes f'dr it yet, but a pparently it ca me out ~t th e way th ey had ho pe d. ~l " l n th e film business, timing is critica l. It's as im po rta nt as it is in ra'cing if you' re go ing to be good. In tne types of stunts we were doing - a lot .of explosions, ca r roll s and car m shes - th er e was only one take. It liaa to be right that one time . I was e.n cou r aged by peopl e I met in la ba ma to come ou t to California fterwa rds to pursue work in the stunt field or in commercials. I was offered a iot ' of help and th e people have followed through. They've really been gr eat while I've been out he re , setting u p~nterviews for me. I've got a couple of deals pending. Stunt work pays 'ext remely well because of the hazards in~olved . ·Another good thing that happened at Pocono was that Dunlop asked me 10 do their tir e ads for next year. They l a id that th ey would give me tires and 1!ay me for modeling in the ads." , Alsop watches a s another rider circu la tes on th e twist y road cou rse, obviously riding much fa ster than she ha d . W ith the rising and falling of the tin m u ffl ed exh aust note in the I)~ckgrou nd , she talks about her plans 'for 1978. ' I n:;Difficu lties have arisen because I got hooked up with this woman who .., d she wanted to manage me . It ~ turned out that she didn 't do what she sai' j she would . She kept say ing she ( ha d talked to certain people and she lialln' t. Here it is at thi s late point and I'm still trying to get my racing program together. Daytona is here and I'm sitting on th e fence. I've been contacting all th e people m yself, wliich is a better arrangem ent . But realistically, it 's a litt le late to start finding people to help me out. "Yosh im u ra R&D of Ameri ca is anxious to build a bike for me . They would maintain it all year and .transp ort it to the races for me, but I have to find someone who can sponsor the motorcycle itself and th e initial setup . Once th at's taken care of, I'll be set for th e season. I'll have all th e tires that I need , I'll have the bike' maintained throughout the season, and Dunlop is providing me with leathers and boots so I'll have all m y gear." But AMA Superbike Production racing requires an Expert rating. Wh ile amateur clubs often recommend experienced production pilots for their AMA Superbike Expert license - thus bypassing the Novice class apprenticeship needed for GP Expert status - Alsop does not have a recommendation nor a license at this point. She sm iles when asked about this problem. " Righ t now I'm not an Expert in club racing, and the American Association of Motorcycle Road Racers officers have never recommended anyone who wasn 't a club -ranked Expert for the Superbike Production license . They want me to race until I earn m y club Expert points. They wou ldn't recommend me befor e Day- ".. tona . tiT he AAMRR offic ials asked some of, ~he cl ub riders who com pe te in Supe rbike Produ ct ion if th ey thou gh t I " ho uld rid e at Daytona . Some riders felt that I sho u ld and some felt that I 's ho uld n' t, I think some people hesitated because I'm a female. They feel I ca n handle a track that I a m famili ar with , lik e Loudon , but hesi ta te to rec ommend me for a track as fast and as big as Daytona , wh er e I ha ve never ridden. In a sense , t hey're trying to protect me . " Most of the people who know me and have seen me race feel I deserve the license and should get it. It 's only a few peopl e putting obstacles in ' m y path. " Raci ng is a ha zardous busin ess a n d I think if you 'r e going to be a racer , th en you accept the hazards . I cert a inly feel no need for protect ion . I think that if I don't hav e sense enough to protect m yself. than that's m y own problem . On th e other hand , they've n ever recomm end ed a ny bod y wh o hasn 't ob ta ined Expert status in th e cl u b before . The Expert points requ irem ent is ce rtain ly a fa ctor th at 's a re al it y. It 's not just a subjective opi nio n . Once I overco me that, if I get the recommendation, then everyth ing will be fine. But the main disc ussion that has come up around this has been based upon their wanting to protect me rather than the fact that I didn't hav e my Expert po ints." S t ill , the main cont roversy surrounding Carter Alsop is her ability .ro walk into special heIp and special deals whi ch many other, faster rid ers have no access to . Asked how she views thi s apparent exploitation of sex in relati onship to her racing career , Alsop responds quickly. " It's ob viou s tha t th ere are men who hav e proven themselves more than I h ave as far as a ra cing record is co ncern ed . But this situation has to do with m arketing and promotion. Sponsor s a re int erested in publicity. In t h is ca se , t hey ca n d ra w m or e a ttent ion to th eir products and services by putting someon e u niqu e on th a t bike, whether it's a number one rid er or so meone wh o's ot he rwise un iqu e. Be ing the only wo man ( wi th Profession a l license), I am unique and I do draw a lot of attention , as the a publicity from Loudon p ro ved last .year . I drew a great deal of attention at each of the races that I attended , just because I am a female. I know that there are men who feel that's discriminatory or unfair. But. I feel th at road racing and the motorcycle ind ustry can be promoted 'if people are aware that there is another image to motorcycling than the on e that's been fashioned by th e media and by the film industry , that of the H ell 's Angels. I'm a female , a nd I'm not a big, brawny broad . That can be used to cha nge the attitude of people who view motorcyling with disd ain ." With that , Carter Alsop excus es herself, pulls the van door s shu t, a nd cha nge s from her leathers int o her street clothes. She em erges wit h a perfect m od el's sm ile , hops into her rented Ch evett e , a nd drives off. Except for the lea thers swingi ng gen tly in a side window of th e ' car, the scen e co u ld ha ve bee n part of a commerci al for Chevrolet . . . or Cover Girl m akeu p ... or .'. . • 15