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/126415
.. • ; • ~ II t 0') r-.. .... 0') ~ 0 CN ~ l: ~ -, Scot Harden/Brent Wallingsford Preparation, concentration and consistency are· the keys to Baja success . By Dale Brown 22 Off-road racing:. Generally done in the wilds of Mexico's Baja California peninsula or in the deserts of the southwest United States, usually in distances e%ceeding 300 miles. Not many of the motorcyclists entered in these events - events such as the Baja 1,000 (to be run this year from La paz to Ensenada), the Baja Intemacional, the Porleer 400, the Me%icali 2'0 and the Las Vegas 400 - have a realistic chance of winning. Sleill, of course, is involved, but there are thousands of variables, ranging from maintenance, preparation, and lenowledge of the course tIJ pit crew efficiency and plain ol' lucie. Brent Wallingsjord and Scot Harden rid.e for Team Husqvama, and since 1977, . they've .ridden together. They've won just about every major off-road race to be won, including one SCORE Baja I,OOOlem, a pair of SCORE Baja Intemacionals, two SCORE Porleer 400s, one SCORE Me%icali 300, plus a coupl~ of ultra-close runner-up finishes at the Las Vegas 400. Wallingsjord, "'ding as the d"'ver of record and thus getting the points, won the SCORE Class 22 points title in 1978. You could say that the duo has been successful... This interview was conducted between the Mexicalt· 2'0, where they finished ~econd to Bruce Ogilvie and Ohucle Miller, whose Yamaha brolee Husley's Baja win stred, and the Las Vegas 400, where they would again finish second, this time to Team Huslcy teammatesJacleJohnson and Larry Roeseler. Between the Las Vegas 400, and the Baja Intemacional, the next major off·road race, things were brewingfor the pair. Scot was to be marn'ed on May 19 to Christie Johnson.]acle's sister, and Brimt and his wife Penny were e%pecting their first child. The child, a girl, was born May 29 and named Summer Lynn. When the pair ride, they not only carry the Team Husley colors, but .also the symbols of other sponsors, lilee Torco Oil and Goodyear tires. Both have close ties to Husky dealers; in Scot's case it's the Las Vegas, NV shop, Casey Folies' Sportsman Cycle; and in Brent's, it's George Erl's Up- Tite Husqvama in Santa Ana, CA. What'l ~he key to ~cceaa? .. SH: Especially in the shaner ones, like the (Mexicali) 250 and Parker. SH: I WIsh I knew. I d p~t It. In a·bottle and save I?mei ,keep USIn~ It C?ver and It used to be that in a long race, over. I thl.,u. It s a c~mblnatlon of a you could rebuild a motor and still couple of differen~ things. Y~u h.ave to win your class. Now it's just so close that the littlest problem and somehave the preparatlo~ to begin WIth,. as far as the pre·ru~ntng and the bike body's going to get by you.' And you set·up and y.o~r pits..And you have to aren't going to get by them again. have the ablhty to WIn one. And you BW: You've got to go consistently fast .. for the whole race. You may not have have to have a little luck. You have ~o the fastest time for every section, but if have. all those - and pretty bIg pomons of each one. Some people you can go consistently fast without have mo.re of o~e than others, but to any little problems the little be .~nslstent, It has to. be pretty problems will put you out of winning. equJlly spread ar~und.. If you have too many little problems, you're going to get second. You're not BW: I a~ with e~e~hlng Scott says. I thmk. preparation s about the going to win. • biggest thing. If you're not prepared. . • you're not going to win, no matter" ~t U It that HUIIt! doa that the what. You've got to have all the pits set p"nteel' groups .can t seem to get up, and the bike has to be let up just toFther? perfect. The least amount of problems BW: I think Hwky'l won every off· that yoU have•.the better chance you road race since 1975. They won in '76, '77, '78. Now ~he first race of '79 we have of.winaiDl' won and now the streak's over. So we won over three years in a row. But like I say, it's the preparation. Husky usually gets some of tlie best riders, and they have the bikes prepared. They're one of the only factories that put up support. KTM helps out Bob Balentine and Yamaha's starting 10 get into it a little bit. Who are the people behin" the lCenes at Husky that makes th~gs move as far as Baja is concerned? BW: Niles Ussery is the team manager. He sets up everything and takes care of the pits. He prepares the bikes. He does the whole shot. So all we have to worry about really is the riding, which is a help to us. If you can ride the bikes without having to worry about "I hope my buddy's at tbe next pit" and this and that. It's nice to know that someone is going to be there every time. Not having to worry when you're riding - that helps. What abollt the riding itlelf? I understand the coune iln't that difficult. SH: The courses are challenging courses but a lot of it is just high speed roads that don't require a lot of really having to physically work hard and getting really tired. There are sections like that. But a lot of it is just keeping your mind thinking all the time. You're going so fast that if you stop thinking for a second about the next tum or which lane to be in, yo.u're JUSt out. BW: That's another key. You have to concentrate the whole time. You can't be thinking about how much money' you're going to make. and how good the beer is going to taste at the finish line and how your dog's doing back home. You've got to concentrate completely on the course. even if you're going across a lalte bed. You still have to concentrate on wbat s COiitllg up next. If your mind starts wandering, you're going to start maltingmistakes. Big ones. What abollt traffic on the coune? How much of an impact doea that have on your concentration? BW: Ahybody who is physically leading is going to get some kind of traffic; at least I have. Every time we've been in the lead, I've come. across· either Mexican traffic, Americans on the course going to the pits, cows, whatever. If you're the first bike through, chances are that there's going to be something on the course that's not supposed to be there and you'd better be prepared. SH: The worst part about it is, you get going, you've got the course memorized and you know when there is a blind hill that you can gas it because it's straight on the other side, or corners that you can't see around but you know how sharp they are. And you think to yourself about what happened to Larry at the 1,000 a year ago when he. centerpunched a VW bus, and other guys running into things. You just think, '~Well, I've got to back off just a little;: You're always hesitating, but if you hesitate, the guy behind you is just going wide open and he's gaining time on you. So, you're taking a risk. That's the riskiest part about it, I think. Not knowing what's coming around the comer. I can deal with the terrain, but I can't deal with cars. BW: I actually feel better if we're back in second or third physically, but leading on tnne. I don't like the lead physically. So you would prefer a later ltaning time? SH: No, not .really. If you're off the line and get out of the dust in a hurry: you can ride a good pace. Bruce (Ogilvie) was telling me at the last race, he said once he got out front, which he's never been before - he's always been back in the dust· - he said it was 10 neat. You can just ride your own pace. You arn't even have to ride reaDy berzertr., 'l(iu just have to ride