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/126409
The Rookies (Continuedfrom page 12) won by the rider who can last th e longest, who can make it through the season and go to every event and keep running. Consistency and a good program are what will win ." Unlike some riders who would like to succeed , Roberts is determined to succeed , " 1 believe 1 am a winner ," he says with confiden ce , " 1 want to win more than anybody. When everyone is doing as good as they can , 1 will be doing a little bit better. " That is a pretty ca ndi d assessm ent of his ta lents, but then Roberts is not you r average racer. He has a press kit to hand out to prosp ect ive sponsors and others interested in him. But Roberts ha s also gone o ne ste p furth er along the lin e to make the fans remember his name . H e handed o ut thousands of posters of himself to specta tors at Houston in hopes that the next time they hear the name th ey will remember and ch eer for him. Smart move. " Raci ng needs more professionalism and 1 plan to do my part to make the sport well known. 1 enjoy meeting fans and answering quest ions. 1 guess part of that stems from not having gotten much press coverage in the past two years. I've done very well , but not many people know m y name. I'm the underdog, It's Charlie who? That won't last for long. " Roberts' major sponsors for the season will be PJI Lubricants and Roberts Yamaha of Springfield , Illinois. Babe DeMay will work his magic on Roberts' Harley with Dennis O verturn maintaining the bike. (As this is being put to press, it ap pears that R oberts will not receive his Harley in time to get it set up f or San Jos e. "I don 't believe that we will go to San Jose an d run la st year 's Yamaha 's, " said Charlie's f athe r in a .phone con versation . But th en aga in ... Edit or.] Oregon rid er John Wincewicz wants to dispel th e m yth that a ll riders from the Northwest are o nly good at TT rid ing. " I'v e seen a lot of good riders fro m th e Northwest grow into being TT specialists and no thing else. That's something that 1 don't want to d o ." To help get out of t he T T specia list system , Wincewi cz traveled a lot in h is Nov ice and Junior seasons, competing in as many short tracks and half m iles as possible. " 1 spe nt a lot of time a t Ascot last year and learned a lot. If you pin me down to what my strongest form of rid ing is I would have to say TT because t ha t is about all you ca n ride in Oregon and Wash ington . T h at presents a problem for a rider living up th ere in tha t yo u ca n't find anyone . to build you a good mile or half mil e bike be cause all they know how to build is TT machin ery." Wincewicz is stra ightfo rward in his reaso n for wanting to win Rookie of the Year. "I 'd like to win the title because it makes it ea sier to get spo n sorship if you 've done good . It 's nice to have the title, but what it really does is open doors. "T h is is a year to learn . 1 want to do as well as 1 can , but the real th rust of my program is to learn and lay a good groundwork fo r 1980 when 1 plan to make a 100 % effort to get the W inston Pro Series cha m p io nshi p . " I'd like to win a National. The real thing 1 must do this season is improve m y sho rt track rid ing, be cause yo u need to be goo d in all types of racing to really be in the hunt. " Harley-David son W est a nd Messler Performance Products are ba cking W incewicz in his q uest fo r Roo kie of the Yea r. J im Messler will be d oing t he tuning . • From Bell helmets andScott goggles to lime-green tube socks andboots-your Kawasaki dealer cangreenup your act. Kawasaki Don't letthe good times passyou by . is THE helmet if you travel as fast and race as furious as MIKE KIDD. At Sacramento MIKE KIDD won the fastest heat race, participated in a thrilling eleven lead change National Championship 25 Mile race and won the first Winston PrOoAMA National Championship Mile of 1979. Congratulations Mike - We think you have the right combination of desire and equipment for a fantastic season. We especially are proud that you choose FURY your racing helmet. as FURY fiberglass helmets meet or exceed all State, Federal and industry imposed standards of construction. American Sports Company, Inc. 2970 E. Maria Street Compton, CA 90221 (213) 636-9978 "stay in shape. It helps prevent injuries in all types of riding:' RIDE NkJi~~~ ~NCL'iNCJMTc) 31