Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

doing - especially the magazines. Not nearly what they would have done if Barry Sheene had come over here and beat us. If their guys go racing they cover it, and it 's their job to cover their people. I saw one guy from our motorcycle media over there, and that was Cook "I didn't eat for two and a half weeks and I lost about twelve pounds of muscle. " Neilson (editor of Cycle magazine). The lack of attention stems from a lot of things. I don't think you can blame the American people ' as much as you can blame our own industry in not even pumping it up as it should have been pumped up, I feel. And if . the motorcycle people are not pum· ping it up , then there's good reason why the other people are not pumping it up. I know it's tough for a weekly. But in Europe they build stars in their newspapers and their media happens so quickly. Here; it takes a couple of years to build a guy up in the industry. There, if you do good in one race you're automatically on your way. And they sell newspapers because of it, and they look for goofs and look for this and look for that. It appears to me that no one is doing their job, particularly the magazine guys. I know the European journalists fly out of the race track Sunday.night all of them . back to their jobs and then on Wednesday you get a 14·page color centerspread of the race. The French weekly magazine. Moto Revue - well, I couldn't believe it - it's beautiful. Their journalists don't ask you · they see changes on the motorcycle and then they ask you , " W here did you get the new cylinders and what are they?" They look for that kind of stuff. And over here - well, it 's not that way. I think until the motorcycle industry starts pushing its races . for .press people to start harping on something, they've got to see it a lot . We've got one road race in northern California and the press people only "If you're going to flash your mouth off like that... that's what's going to come out," see motorcycles come in once. That's not going to do it . I've just signed up to do Sears Point (July 15) and I'm going - to race my 500, for no other reason than if they don't get a crowd - well , -they're not going to have it again. And we need that race very badly. And we need all the road races coming up. So I said, yes. It's one of those things that I want to see motorcycle racing come up, and I'm willing to put out my effon to get it there in America. It's easier for me to catch an airplane for Europe. You 're an instant success there. I think what the sport needs is a little more exposure. I think a little more exposure would get me out more into the public's eye a little better. Now, I think I will have better control through Cycle News and all the maga· zines this year as far as the stuff you'll be able to get from Europe. We have a PR agency now and I think the motorcycle industry is going to benefit from it. Also, I have a couple of things . coming out in major magazines. You'll see that change also . I'm hoping the World Championship will get things moving by I;lUtting my name and motorcycle racmg up there enough so that people are going to realize that it 's a sport just like Andretti's.It's not.a pn'e,yt;a,t,p.lD~t".,it's, , • u two or three years of constant pushing it. Do you mils din !rack racing? Well, I do . What I miss most of all are" the people I'd gotten to know in the past seven or eight years. It's hard to get ,away from. I figured I'd be competitive at Houston this year with the equipment I have. It doesn't take a Harley to ride Houston. It would have given me a good chance to get back on the din and let the people that really bitch that I'm not riding din get a chance to see me . It was poorly handled (Houston). I just wanted a little money so that I wasn't wasting my time. When you get so much to show up and race in Europe and then you come to America and they expect you to race for nothing - well. And I don't really think it was so much the money · it was the organization (Houston). They don't want to get into a thing' of paying motorcycle riders start money. That's what it amounts to. It 's not my place to tell them how to run their business, and they have a good business there. At FIM Grand Prix races you will be paid, as 500cc World Champion, 3,000 Swiss francs (about $1,800) start money and approximately $1,050 if you win. Those are FIM required payments. It was said that Agostini in his prime , received $10,000 a race in the form of start "Last year, I think I raced about twelve CP's and made about 112,000." money. Do you have to negotiate your own stan money, etc. up and above the FIM minimums? Yes. There's not a whole lot of talk with the GP promoters because they know you have to be there to get points. You son of take what they give you. I'll get 50% of my money race money , in four or five races at the end of the year - International F750 races. This year I'll make a lot more money from races other than Grand Prix races. Last year, I think I raced 'a bout twelve GP 's and made about $12,000. Sometimes I made $200, sometimes $3 ,000 . I t really depended on who was promoting it. In a recent interview, Steve McLaughlin had some strong words regarding your not racing Superbikes, Do you see yourself racing them in the future? Not really. At this time I have no in terest in doing it . I think before everyone gets carried away - well, you have to look at what's made motorcycle racing and what will make it the factory. Everyone says that when Yamaha shows up with Kenny Roberts or - Skip Aksland, that just kills the privateers. But if Yamaha would show up with three or four factory riders, and Suzuki showed up with three riders, and Honda showed up with three or four, it hasn't killed anybody it's helped everybody. And the spin-off from the factory guys to the privateers would be a lot better. Now I know in Europe you've got seven or eight factory riders, and there's only two companies running. "It appears to me that no one is doing their job, par- . ticuwrly the magazine guys. » Next year, Honda will be in it with their 500 . Full blown'racingt I don't think the factories are too in terested in the kind of racing we're trying to start in America because it's not world wide . And for a factory like Yamaha to make a racer they have to • ~19Q~ .a t , how thq"ar~ _ .going .to sell them . Now if they just sell them in America, they're not going to make enough units to sell them. Now, they probably make 100 road racers, but they only sell about 25 to 35 in America. So they have the rest of the world to rely on to sell them. Now you know the markets change and fluctu ate. If they change in America - then they 're sunk. They change in America then Europe's sunk. It would cost so much money to go that kind (Superbike) of racing, it would be unfeasible at this point. Because you have to cheat fair • well , that brings the cost way up. There are no sort of rules you can lay down for that kind of racing. Plus ". . ,it would be unfeasible. (Superbike) at this time. Because you have to cheat fai " azr... you're going to be right back up into the speed problem that we have now if the factories wanted to race that way. In Europe they've got the 24 hour races - they've got three races, and that's it. It's just not GP status. Would you push for a 500cc - topsclass in our Nationals? Yes. To make it even with Europe, I'd make it straight across the board even with Europe because it's going to be the same in Europe as in America. That's the only reason Yamaha built the road racers. And if Yamaha didn't build the road racers, where would we be now? Still racing 500cc Triumphs or wl!at? Street bikes? I can name you people like Art Bauman who wish they didn't have to race a street bike - made into a racer . anymore. And Yvon DuHamel, and all the other guys that tried to ride three-cylinder street bikes as a racer. If you go with the rest of the world a~y spin-off that America gets will go to Europe and any spin-off Europe gets will go to America. I did three major TV spots coming back to Laguna Seca last year for a F750 race , and they asked me why, since I was the 500cc World Champion, I was racing a F750 . They asked me why America doesn't race the 500's. I didn't have an answer for them. Because I'm the 500cc World Champion, and that's the biggest class in the world . but America doesn't race it. Why? "...if you do (make Superbikes the main class), you're gomg to have )1 merican riders going to Europe faster than you can shake your head. " I just think the spin-off from all the factory support around the world . well, they can build a lot more motorcycles if America was the same as Europe. You have to quit ignoring the factories, because the guys aren't going to make any money unless they get a factory ride. The factories ' are going to put promotional dollars into it. Then they are going to get in front of the bigger sponsors, and then you're going to get a spin-off. If you're just racing around by yourself asking for $5,000 to spon· sor you - take it from me - it's never going to happen. It's just going to take a longer time. There are very few Taylor Whites (Dale Singleton's sponsor) around. Yes. That's ' right. That's absolutely right. And, hey, the factory will say we'll give you parts and a motorcycle go race. Well the,n if he gets five e - - grand - it's five grand in his pocket. Like, if Dale had to buy his own bike - well, by winning Daytona this year he would have probably broke even for the year. But I'll guarantee at $3,500 a whack at the rest of the Nationals - well, you're going to have to win all of them to pay your expenses. Now if a factory is paying you to come there and race - then you're set. But it's not the factories that wreck the racing. It's the non-factories that wreck the racing. Honda that doesn't come in . Suzuki that doesn't come to Daytona. I'll guarantee you if it was a 500cc race and Honda was there and Suzuki was there and Yamaha was there and Kawasaki was there - well, it would be a much better race. It would have a lot more press, advantages to it, and angles, and every· thing else, and there would be a lot more excitement - for the industry. But when you've only got one factory, or you've got a bunch of guys on street bikes because they think they've got a chance - there is no chance. When the factories come in , the factories are going to dominate again. But how many factory riders can we get? Let's get 10 or 12 - that's good . But let's don't make the rules that are going to shut out the factories, because if you do you 're going to have American riders going to Europe faster than you can shake your head. They're gone. I'll guarantee that. I'll tell you that Singleton - right now - can get a ride over there and make money with no problems - and make money and race 15 times a year. .... ...-c ...-c M c, < "I don't think there is a _ track to compare with Road Atlanta." Do American racen have to compete in Europe to be recognized as world class competitors? Well, it's easier for that to happen if they do. They (Europeans) only see the Arnericans well , last year they only saw them a few times. And that sort of ' rem inded them that the Americans were there. Sort of like when we won the trophy thing in Italy. And it was a team thing - and no one really shined. Baldwin shined really good. but it's easier for the press over there to get a feeling when they see you every week. If they see an American just for the Match Races in England, it's very unjust. The get 20 minutes of practice, then they've got to go out there and race. You just go there and make a bunch of ~esses and go race, al though I think everyone does extremely well there and everyone in Europe thinks they do well. Now that you've competed on most of the road race couna in Europe, do you still rank Road Atlanta as your favorite course? Yes..Road Atlanta has to be one of the best race tracks in the world. I don't think there is a track to compare with Road Atlanta. I'd like to promote Road Atlanta myself. I'm talking to some people right now about it. Everyone is pulling for you to get back in there and bring another World Championship home. I'm glad to hear that. In Europe you don't hear anything. I get Cycle News, but it's about three or four races behind. I made a lot of friends on the Grand National circuit and I miss them and all of the fans. I really do miss that. > T~ close, let us say good luck, KIl. Bring that title back again. Thanks. We'll be there. That's for sure. • ... ... 19

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