Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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learning new tracks each week in un· familiar places while competing against many riders who had ridden the I ~5cc Nationals for two or three years. Jim recounts in his casual. understating manner how sometimes "You get out there in the race, and you don't even remember a tum until you get to it." Riders of Gibson's caliber may be able to get away with a few mistakes, but at racing speed it's still important to be prepared for each situation. "It's a real advantage to know the track, partly because it's psychological and you feel more confident and also to get your rhythm down. It takes me five or I 0 laps just to get started knowing a track. Next year I'll already know some of the tracks, and I'll do better. n At first meeting, Jim Gibson appears to be somewhat shy. He always seems to be relaxed and casual on the surface, but the glint in his eye and determination in his voice betrays his outer calm. Sometimes bis restless . nature threatens to break loose in a gesture or movement, but somehow he holds himself in rein, as a cat stalks his prey. And his prey is the I ~5cc National Championship. "You've got to make a total effort to win the' Nationals, and I'm going to really try. I'm going to put out the complete effort, and I'm going to winl" Another rider who's always showed true determination is Bob Hannah. Gibson has a few words to say about his success: "Hannah works really hard to win those races, and other riders are beginning to see that. They can't just kick back anymore. Now there are a lot of people working hard, and it looks like they're catching Hannah. "But there is another reason he wins, besides going fast. I can go as fast as he can. I mean, you can go down the straights as fast as you can and througq the turns as fast as possible and you can really concentrate and push hard. But if you miss a berm or hit a bump wrong, can you save it? The thing is that Hannah ~an almost always save it. Other riders can go as fast but if they do and make a mistake, they can't save it." "Hannah knows he can save it, and he hangs on. You can't just think you're going to crash, you got to try and hang on, stay with the bike. Just keep fully concentrating so hard that if you overshoot a berm you can act like it's what you meant to do. People are gettin' out of shape more now and savin' it 'cause they've seen Hannah do it, gettin' feet off and not crashing' and not losing any time." Gibson also thinks it's important for the company ~o help out and part of Yamaha's and Suzuki's success relates to that: "Yamaha really takes care of their riders and makes sure they don't have to worry about anything but showing up to race. And Mark Blackwell at Suzuki is really concerned with helping the riders and-getting them on good training programs and team kinda things. This was Gunnar Lindstrom's first year at Honda, and he's a good guy, and tries hard to help. But it's always a struggle to get what you need." jim's first year as a Honda rider was pretty successful with him finishing seventh in the 125cc National class just behind Kawasaki rider Jeff Ward. But the season closed on a down note as a tank slapper at the last National spit Gibson onto the track hard enough to break his collarbone. What will next year bring for the big red team and the Kid from Orange? "We'll have the changes to the bike that we needed, and I'll be use to the tracks, so next year should be good. I'm going to make the max effort to winl" • Lay away a little. Think ahead. \o\buldn't a Kawasaki mini bike make somebody you know pretty happy this Christmas? We1l help you put one away until then with a little money down.You'll find many minis to choose from, including this KDSOM dirt model featured now at $499~ You can lay awaya full-size Kawasaki motorcycle, too. 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