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/126412
Gary Jones (Cont inuedfrom page 13) minute mark moved into fifth place. " I ca n go as fast and smoother than they are without doing all that tankslapping, flopping around stuff. I'm not. into that. It sca res me, it alwa ys did. I think I was always a smooth rider. But nowadays you don't have to be a good rid er to race, all you have to do is turn it on and let your suspension take care of the holes. Just hang on and let it bounce through." " Loo k a t the 125cc pro class at a ny southern California loca l hero race, if one guy falls , there are ten guys of the same capabilities to take his p lace. They just hold it wide open and ler the suspension do the rest , " he sa ys. "W hen I was racing, you had to be in shape and lea rn to go arou nd th ose holes because if you hit them you' d crash," Ga ry recalls. "You didn't have the suspension to go th rough th em. You had to be smart, you had to pick the right line, hit that jump righ t, and lean ba ck the right way . Now you can hit a jump any way you want and th e bike will come out of it. That's the reason th e Europeans were so much better than us, th ey kn ew wha t was happening. We were just bouncing off the holes!" :With both motos ha ving b een" run, most of the ,p ros were loading up or had already left th e track. Ga ry Jones, who didn't sit down for five m inutes, was wal king over to watch a friend race in th e final 250cc Junior class race. Sitting on the em ba nkment ove rloo kin g the trac k I asked Ga ry if ha ving a factory ride affected his pe r· son ality and the way that he had dealt with people. He th ou gh t for a moment. " W hen we were racing for Honda a nd we'd come to ' a loca l race and somebody needed help. I was willi ng . or m y dad was will ing to help them . The factory riders , or at least some of the new on es, act like they're one step above you, not down here where th ey used to be . You know , 'I'm cool , I have a,fa ctory rid e.' I've no ticed it. I used to say hi to a cou pie in particular: shake ha nds, BS and mess around . N ow you say hi to them and they wave and keep rig ht on going , It 's a weird th ing, th e factory cha nges you , ' " Eventually everyone is going to fall off the to p, but it' s going to hurt those gu ys even more because people remember things th a t happen. "H ey, if somebody comes up to me and asks a quest ion I try to help him , pe riod ." ast year Gary Jones rode part of the Supercross Series and "showed up at some of the 250cc Nationa ls and turned in a few top 15 rides . It wasn't an all-out assault to regain Number One. Gary was competing like the hundreds of riders who race in the Nationals whenever they can , .b u t can't afford to follow the whole circuit. " I can't go traveling around the country just riding one class. I'd like to ride and show up at a ' couple of L Nationals: but I 'just can't afford to . There are hundreds of guys that are being ripped off and they think it's helping r hern . The AMA is looking at the factory t hi ng where Bob Hannah is going to ride all three classes and win everything. W ell, those guys are going to win no matter what. " Look at the guy who lives in the middle of Nowhere , Texas, and there is a 250cc National so he signs up to ' race the 250cc class. He races, and in three weeks there is a ' I25cc National, but he can't ride tha t. And what if th ere is a 500cc N a tion al he ca n make it to ? He wasn 't planning on riding all of them, he just wanted to ride and help the sport and he can't even help him self. " I think the whole idea (of racing just one class) is dumb , but what ca n I say . I'm only on e voice ." H e pauses and the n ch uckles to himself and then exp lai ns. - , " Before, whe n I wen t to th e Flor ida MX Series a nd I was Nationa l Champion , they' d (AMA) ask me what I thought of th e track. I'd say that I think that corne r over there need s to be changed , and they would whip over there and .cha nge it. Now , I can say that a corne r is dangerous , th at somebody is goi ng to ' ge t hurt a nd their reaction is that Bob Hannah doesn't think so . so it's okay." he laughs, " Bob Hann ah and t he guys that are winning deserve th e money tha t they are ge tting because they are putting ou t the effo rt req u ired to win. He deserves it, he's ou t there working ha rd. he's ou t there trai n ing, it ain 't fu n. It is when it's a ll d one. How's th a t story go? T he win ners la ug h and tell funny sto ries, whil e th e losers cry 'deal th e ca rds again .' '' As the bikes were pulling off the track, Ga ry stood up to walk ba ck to the van to start loading up . At th e same time, a you ng kid rode by with a n old CR125 Honda. I asked on e final question : " Do you feel a nyth ing specia l when you see an old bike that you used to ride or help de velop?" " W he n I see a n old - Hon da or Yamaha or Can -Am . it makes me feel good. I m ean , hey, I used to ride one of those things. I helped d evelop that bike. . " Bu t when I began to ride th e Am rnex. I used to get bad -m ou th ed mo re th an I was co m pliment ed . Peopl e were always asking m e why I was riding the Ammex and saying that if I wer e on a real motorcycle I could be winning. I used to tell them th a t I own Ammex, a nd ask d o you own Yam a ha or what ever? I real ize now tha t the bi ke wasn't too good a few yea rs ago , but it is now : It 's da m n goo d now . W e've got a good motorcycle. I may not be riding the bike- to its fu ll capa bi lities, but I' m still in the hum every now and then , . One of th l' greatest things th at I could eve r hope to see would be m y bike wm mng a National Championship , You woul d n't even be able to talk to me ." Ga ry laughed. " My head would be so b ig. It wou ld be bitch in ' , , it would be great, It would make me feel so good you wouldn't believe it . Besides, if it ever d id win a National Championship , I wouldn't have to worry about anything because then everybod y would bu y an Ammex . I couldn't make them fast enough. I can't now . "I just like to be a ro u nd motorcycles, riding them and work ing on them, Bu t most of all just having fun with them . If I can m ake a little money at having fun, then why not do it. Why have a job if you don 't like it?" With that, Gary Jones . three time . 250cc National Champion turned fun racer . bega n to load his bikes into a trailer for the trip home. Bu t the day wasn 't through yet. In moments he was talking with a few friends , no dou b t "la ughing and telling funny stories." • All New! Express Yourself J ust t he st icker to let the world kn ow how you f eel about your sport. Th e "I am a M ot orcycle Nut " stickie says it all. Get yours today. 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