Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Rex Staten You've set yourself a major goal for '79? Yes. I want to win the USGP at Carlsbad. I.'ve gQt friends there who have told me that they are going to make up banners saying "Roc~et Rex '79" to cheer me on. My buddies also say that they're going to have a big tent with the sl~gan on the roof so that the television helicopter can ta~e a picture of it. .By Gary Van Voorhis It seems like you've got a lot of support at Carlsbad. , It's my favorite track. I've always managed to make people notice me there, but I've always had problems that" have kept me out of the real limelight. . In 19751 holeshot the first moto and sort of slammed the door on' Roger DeCoster as we hit the first turn which put me into the lead. I was so pumped that I went a little berserk. There's one downhill there where they measured my jump at 77 feet. That had the crowd cheering. I've always wanted to win the USGP because no Aqlerican has ever done it and because ii's the .biggest and most famous MX in the U.S. I want to win it this year, and I think that I can do it. I would say that it is my home track because I always go there when I'm at home. I've always like Carlsbad because it's a rough track and one that you really have to ride. Last year I led the first moto for five laps and had built up a 10-second lead when the reeds stuck open and the engine seized. This year I'm going to win. I'm on a good bike, and I know I can win. The key is to get out in front and get going.' If you are stuck in traffic you end up fighting with every rider. If you're in front you can build up an edge while the rest are fighting. What ia your racing philOlOph y? I try to leave the fighting to the rest of the; rid~. It's ,a lot easi.~r to star~ firs,t and finish first than it is to fight your way through traffic to the lead. No matter where I find myself I never give up.·l could be in last place and still put in a 200% ride. It pays off because if you're there challenging every week and always in the points then -sooner or later you're going to win and then win again. Pretty soon, you could be champion. 1 try to always look ahead and not worry about the discomfort of the moment. Is the Yamaha ride son of a dream come true? 1 would have to say it. is. I've always thought that Yamaha would be the best team to ride for, and it's true. I wouldn't want to ride for anybody else. It was a lo.ng hard climb to the top That's true. 1 always did good, but 1 would seem to reach a spot in my early years of racing and then never seem to be able to pass it. I was mainly selfsponsored, and at the time it was usually a money problem where 1 couldn't keep on racing because I had bills to pay. But 1 kept on trying because I want to be a champion and I want to race in Europe. If I win 'the 500cc National Championship, ( would like to race the GPs in Europe next year. I'd like to race there because ( think I can beat Brad (Lackey). It might take me six months or so to get used to things like the food, the climate and. other things, but 1 know ( could do it. It would require going over six months ahead of time and training and getting used to things. • _My f';lt.ure goal,. my ulti~ate goal is to be the 250cc World Champion. believe that is a realistic one. It appears that hard work paid off in a factory ride. The factories look for riders who try and try again and try again. They don't want riders who give up. ( never give up when I'm riding. 1 guess it's just like the Avis (caT rental) slogan that says you try harder when you're number two. I don't think I'm number two, but I try harder anyway, aQd ( always will. When ( broke the bones in my foot at the Atlanta Supercross earlier this year, I was going to ride the main. ( could feel my foot swelling up in my boot and ( figured that if ( could WTap my foot tightly that I could make the 20 laps although the foot did hurt quite a bit. I got my boot off and the foot just swelled up out of sight. I couldn't get my boot back on no matter what. (Yamaha team manager) Kenny Clark then came over and said forget about it and take it easy. To me, the Supercross races are just practice events. Yamaha wants me to take care of the National championship, and that's what I want to do. How did the Yamaha ride come about? About this time last year Mike Bell hurt his knee. I was the only (privateer) Yamaha rider right up in the (500cc) standings. Yamaha called me and asked if I would like to ride a works bike. It <;lidn't take long for me to tell them I would. .My lIrst ride was at the Atlanta National last year and I got a second overall behind Rick (Burgett). It was an experience. The bike had a lot more power than the bike I had been riding which made it diffICult getting used to at first. It was like a compeltely different bike. After three or four races I started to get the hang of it, and I believe that if there were about three more races in last year's 500cc championship that I could have won it. I was getting close, but things didn't work out that way. The injury at the Atlanta SupercJ'OlS was both bad luck and good luck wasn't it? As the ne.w rider on the team, I didn't really get a choice of what National Championship class I wanted to ride. Glover, Hannah and Burgett would defend their class titles and Mike Bell wanted \0 get back into the 500cc class so that left me to ride the 250cc "lass with Bob to see whether we could pick up the top two spots in the championship. I told them I didn't want to ride the 250's, but Yamaha said that's what they wanted me to ride. ( told them "Fine, I'll give 200% whatever I ride." That's the way it would have been if I hadn't broken my foot. When I got hurt ( thought, "Damn, .t broke my foot," but then I thought, "Hey, now I'll get to ride the 500's." I like to ride the 500'5 a lot better, but I'll give 200% no matter what I ride. I feel more at home on the 500. I'm paid to ride to win and I think 1 can on either bike. You'd havr:to ride the 500 • (Continued. to page 66) 21

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