Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

I::BEL-RAY 5DOcC • u.B.G.A 01 IiM= - I (Continued from page 2 J) Veley Racing Assn. Gold PIBI8 StalCings thru 5113119 MAXIS 6.__ 1.1(jm~ 100 - IIrondon Sc:hneide< MicIwIIKnopp 125A Brad IIoIrMo MikeH_ IIryat Melvin 83STK NOV 9-1 I Scol1I1rown ...... 5.._ 46 48 Mortv- 7. Dooid IlDvIoo "S1 "S1 35 lI.ThorBjar_ - . . " ScNIg 9.Jahnny - . 10. Joe KnigIll 34 1 ._HiI 95 91 2.0wi0e- 3.lloug~ 78 59 "S1 4.1C.-t~ 5.V.... _ AME Sprocket Perk BekenfieId. CA Mey2ID.1979 83STKINT9-11 -~ Kwt""_ 83 MOD INT 9-, I Thor B;om.tad IIrondon Schneid.. 106cc9-" Jaeon Rincon Thor B;om.tad IIrondon Schneider 83 STK NOV 12 OVER Jell SchMllOf s.nShupp TONY Leon 83 MOD NOV 12 OVER Jell Sc:NeIfer DIrwIf -r--.. C-A Yom I25PAOS T...,_ s..z s..z s..z s..z s..z s..z PEWHJR ~-- JIl CYCUS BEG -~ JIl CYCUS JIl Daugb- _Cnomb./l. ~~INT -,JIlCYCUSEX s..z • s..z 's..z s..z s..z s..z .s..z s..z s..z s..z ---------_V_ --LInat _ _ _ c;.y Szulouyi DunFe*y _JR -"""" LInat _ _ _ _INT PoIGoI8n c;.y SziIogyi 100 BEG _PI-.. 100Jll ___ Ber.100EX Suz Suz Yam • Yam Todd_ 125 BEG IIyIonPoun Suz 0-._ Yom s..z 125JR Todd_ Yom DooeMcCor 1251NT Han s..z s..z -~ 2!iOJIl Ilidl~ C-A G*T,... 2!i01NT Vom SIq IIIogarion • Han Han Yam OPENJIl C-A -Dooe~ Yom Vom CorleOPENINT Yom Dunlo.JIIf....-, s..z s..z DooeAadgols C-A . VETS NMAV....... Net'1 au.IIfter 1ItooeIlix. AZ Mey2l&27•.1979 "'-_s.aon K;:,,_ ---- _McCor ~ JR. CVQ.E 1:11 MOO NOV _McCor JR. CVQ.E 9-11 STK INT ~Kan •••' 7 • - Yom Yam Yom s..z _Nomen MikoMcClomont R,8n Hope MINlO OondroBenin BradBenham lMry- Rudy~ PIuI Oenio 83 STK EXPERT 12 OVER Orey Oirdla Yam Yom Suz StadlumMX Secto Raceway S8c:n1mento, CA $omS_ 83 MOD EXP 12 OVER •Goorge HoIIond 0rey0irdla Mey25.1979 ErI<~ . BlIMINl '-'Gregg Kellin Snidor OwioHoynwl K.-yAndrio 106cc 12 OVER Goorge HoIIond Orey Oirdla Erick~ l00STKNOV -,Leon Kirt<1.aoUo 100 NOVICE 0-: Kon_ John RiIi GlrySmllh Tony 00 AngoIio 100 MOO NOV ar-ToyIof T_ 00 AngoIio 125 NOVICE Jim_ Ron......" o..kW... c;.ySmilh l00STK INT Oonen V"""II _GrimIlI .... eonw, Nino Butterowe SconU.-- Scol1Ra1n 125INTERMEOIATE 100 MOD INT l>amln V"""II Nino Butterowe Mark RuIIeIf 125 STK NOV Shawn Walkingstick 250 NOVICE Jam." Grigg Qavid Trend MarioMing Man Seruwatari Bobby Leon lARoyIWding Tim McGowan MarkAndrio _Pleinio . OPEN NOVICE 125MODNOV • KoilhW_ Rondy C~nton ArlMcOode M1m_i 125STK INT Rodney Hugt._lleIuzzi -.Oovio • RondyW. . RichOiogle OPEN IN'tERMEOIATE -MikeMurr." 125 mod int No,..,... Mike~ I.Io'/CI Thornburgh VETS NOVICE Oovid SChriaIion _1l8Iuzzi DonnioW- 125STKEXP VETS~DIATE KellinS_ ArlMcOode Ol.DT1MERS Gregc....-.. _BiIon 125 MOD EXP 1IiII~ GoneW... Orey Oircka Ol.DT1MERS K_S_ IlillCompboII Bren_ 125 PlIO 250 INTER Rodney Hugt.- DInT.... s-_ .MryEbiing _Voun:l 211I/ & OPEN PlIO John-..zi 250EXP PIuIE_ JimWoIch -Montijo DooeWood DIn_ Tom Motoero.. _U_. Han -Doyle Rick,....", OPENB T...,Englond Yom Yom -- . IlIdCinnev TROPHY PICKUP BellIngham. WA Mey24.1979 By hul NleI80n Rover trophy pick up at the BuI following races: June 104- Mil Suz Vipers. Aug. 12 Ro_ Team 250 A W8IIyLevy _Melvin s..z ~ Aces. June 1~ 17 Desert Race. For info cell (213) 335-9656. l23l ~ 250B DIIe Hoyton '.Mry C1owIool JR. CVQ.E 9-11 MOO INT "-III••' Suz JoeSkidd John.-- c;.ySZllAGYl Suz Kaw Yom Yom Kaw Yom Rudy~ Dur-._ a.dSt&w JR. CVQ.E 9-11 STK NOV Suz Suz Yam Quane Cobbs MINIC Glmlt Scol1 .... GoI8n OPEN A DlnAmDI PEWHSTClCK Suz Suz 0IMd Knubley MikaF_ r"""",T_ s..z Suz l00A Ron Byle RUlI1Y_ lOOB Brion Skews Ron Howell Wesfey Curtis MINI A Rick Albee Tony Sabat Brent Worrall Robby Mutch MINIB 83 MOO INT 12 OVER ~~ 2!iOPAOS IUZ ,...,Gits - ___ --Yom stiz Dun Colt.BVrook " " ' - Jurt, •• _ . T...,Knighl 83 STK INT 12 OVER OPENPAOS DomOi.- Suz Suz Han _Petoro Billy KIintI By ..... Rich8rd ~ -Klopp 125B Mike Horrioon Robl.eyen 83 MOO NOV 9-11 ...... Rincon Scol1 Brown __ 3..o-w-~ Suz Han Greg Lykke LInat Bor.- 62 55 55 2._K-r Suz ~ Tigor~ RobLoylon Yom Yom Yom C·A ~ Trophies from the Four Aces Mooee Run feb. 19th can be picked up at The Four Aces Hare Scrambles June 10lh. (22) to know the feeling of cracking on the gas and having the bike literally try to leap out of your grasp. It's a thrill. Where did you ~t the nickname Rocket Rex? I got it at a local track (Corona) that I used to race at in California. I guess you could say that I was a little crazy. I used to wheelie down one of the hills standing on the seat son of steering with one hand and flashing the crowd the peace sign with the other. They loved it. I used to beat a lot of the top riders like Brad Lackey and John DeSoto. Someone just pinned Rocket Rex on me and it stuck. I've had people call me other names, but Rocket Rex is the one I answer to. Is Rocket Rex still the Rocket Rex of old? Oh, yeah. I'm still a little crazy. You have to keep the fans interested. I'm not crazy like the old days, but I still style a bit. Actually, you've got to be serious about your riding and pay attention. You've got to have a good bike, a good mechanic and have your head together if you want to be a .winner and I want to be a winner. You may show off for the fans once il) awhile, but racing is a serious business. Weren't you almollt a crash or win rider a few yean ago? I guess I was. I always wanted to win and I didn't like crashing. but sometimes it ended up that way. You're one of the few factolJ' riden who has paid hi! dues before ~tting his ride rather than jumping from local MX to factory ride. That's true, but I did have a chance for a factory ride with Suzuki wh~ I was 17. My dad wouldn't let me take it and said that I had to finish high school. I did that and also went to college for a year. . I rode for Honda in 1974, then left them at the end of the season and was going UI ride for Maico, But that didn't work out, and I finally rode for CZ. I was out of racing for about six months in 1975. The week after the USGP a guy in the pits at a race I was at got mad and hit me in the face with a wrench, breaking my nose. I had two operations to repair the damage. The final operation was to correct my vision. My eyes would go blurry'and I wouldn't be able to see. I still can't ride without goggles. I went to Harley·Davidson in 1976 because I needed the money, and I. figured that with a little work we could have a pretty decent bike. I wasn't sure how competitive they would be, but I was willing to give it a try. When did you begin to ride for Baleett Racing? I saved my money and when I left Harley I decided to go it on my own again. I teamed up with John Bassett, and he helped me buy 'my Yamahas and helped with the expenses. Things were pretty hard at first. I did all my own wr~ching and then got a mechanic to help me with the bikes and the driving to the races. I had willpower and wouldn't give up. I gave my racing everything r had, and that's what Yamaha finally saw, I believe. I don't give up and that is what they want - i! rider who always tries his hardest no matter what. .Has being married been a steadying jnnuence on you? I would definitely have to say yes. You can marry a good one or a bad one, arid I married a good ODe. Tawnta is always willing to help me with anything I need. She is always behind· me and is sort of an unofficial taining coach because she ma-kes me get up and run - which is part of my training program - every morning. . She's behind me 100%. She has a bike and I've taught her how to ride. Now, whenever we're home, she wants to go out to the desert to ride. She likes to do what I like to do, and that keeps us together. I want to go to Europe so that I can take her with me and have her see what's going on. She went with me when I raced in South Africa at the end of last Year and we had a balJ. Have you thought about what you'll do when you quit racing? I'd like to sponsor a rider or riders. I don't want to drop out of the span completely because it's been good to me. I'm working on buying into some real estate. I've got my eye on about 40 acres of land towards the desen where I can have my house and a shop. I like to work on my bikes and I think I'm a pretty good mechanic. I've noticed that most of the younger riders today don't really know what makes a bike tick, what makes it work. They just jump on and ride. If you knoW what makes the bike work it helps the mechanic a lot. I want to be number one. I don't like being number two. When I sit on the staning line and I see the number one plate on another rider's bike, I sometimes feel like taking it off and putting it on my bike. However, you've got to earn it and it isn't easy to be number one. The 500cc class this year wjJl produce the most competitive racing of the National Championships. If you can make it this year then you will have proved that you. are' definitely number one. What is your contract ItahlS with Yamaha? I have a one· year contract with Yamaha and, in some ways, I think that is the best way to have it. It makes you work harder. If a rider gets a two or three·year contract then he can cruise a bit in the first two years and give it hell the last year. If you've got a one-year contract and then get another one, you know you've earned it. You can't slack off if' you've got a one-year contract. I'm not saying you can win every week, but you can't slack off any because there are plenty of other riders out there looking for a s~t on a team. I think a rider should earn his contract and not have it given to him. One year at a time is fine with me. Who will you have to beat for the 500cc title? There'are a good five guys tha~ have a shot at the tide: Rick-Burgett, Danny LaPone, Tommy Croft, Darrell Shultz and Many Smith. I hope I come out on top. What type of training program do you have? I run, I ride and I try to eat the right things. I probably run and ride more than a lot of the other riders. I guess some would say I'm a fanatic. A lot of people don't like to ride that much, but I do. I believe that the more you ride, the better you get. I don't really want to give away my training secrets because I know that if I read about a good rider who runs. say, five miles a day to train than I'll go out and run six. Let's just say that I train and train hard. You IftJD to be a positive thinker. You have to be that way. You have to think that you are going to win. If you don't. there is no use in showing up at the track. If you think positive you'll be. a better rider. Belie>ie in yourself.•

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