Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Drew Smith: Challenger to King Richard's throne By Ann Palormo Photos by Brian Palormo Drew Smith, at the conclusion' of the 1979 AMA National Championship Enduro Series, finds himself in a somewhat unique position. Although Dick Burleson captured his sixth consecutive title. Smith scored more points overall - the first time that this has occurred in the years that Burleson has been 12 champion. To .understand this contradiction, it must be noted that only the best 15 of 24 rides count toward the championship. Burleson. with eight overall wins, a pair of seconds and three third place finishes. edged out Smith and his four wins and nine seconds by seven scant poinu - 251 to 224. In all. Smith competed in 20 Nationals and scored poinu by finishing in the top 14 overall in all but two evenu. His late season rides· after the IS0T - included two overall wins. three seconds and one third. Good. but at that late date not good enough. Burleson. with the knowledge that he needed only two top three placings to wrap up the title, carded a second, two thirds and a founh. He skipped two of the West Coast Nationals after the season's outcome had been finalized in his favor. From the stan of the season. the only real competition has been bet· ween these two. Some 100 poinu separated them from the rest of the top 14 riders. Burleson has said on several occasions that Drew is his most serious and toughest competition he's had in some time. which is in iuelf a compliment to Smith. Besides such heavy involvement in enduro competition. Smith par· ticipated in four Two-Oay ISOT Qualifiers and was a member of Suzuki's Silver Vase team at the ISOT in September. He came home from there with another Gold Medal and the third highest score among the American panicipanu, besting Burleson in the event. Smith is one of the most talked about AA riders on the enduro scene. A man of few words, he is more comfonable in the company of his team· mates and other Suzuki associates than in the limelight his riding skills attract. Smith wrapped up his second season as a member of the Suzuki enduroltrials team by captu,ring the overall win at Twin States National in Cadiz, Kentucky, on the last weekend of the '79 season. The feelings of satisfaction at his accomplishmenu, accompanied by relief in knowing it was over for a little while, made him more expansive than usual. It was instantly apparent that since our first conversation of this type in South Carolina during the spring of 1978, a .change had occurred in him. Now an air of quiet confidence and enhanced self-assurance was evident in his whole attitude about himself, his achievemenu and his plans for the future. Lingering over dinner he reflected on how far he'd come in the last two years and how he came to be with Suzuki in the fU'Sl place. "I'd been riding off and on since 1 was 16, but 1 always ran out of money and had to quit before I really got anywhere. One of my best friends for a lot of years has been Mike Rosso. We rode a lot of the same evenu at home in New Jersey. He was already working for Suzuki when J.P. Oohn Morgan, Suzuki team manager) staned organizing the present enduro/trials team. Mike suggested hiring me as another mechanic because he thought 1 was also a pretty good rider. I'm not so sureJ.P. thought it was such a good idea in the beginning. . "Anyway, now Mike and I even have our own shop-not just a comer.of the warehouse anymore - in Suzuki's New Jersey plant. The new 1980 PE's were designed using many of the specifications worked out by members of the team. Suzuki is really interested in making bikes that din riders can ride and win with." The talk then moved on to how Orew saw himself in tenns of enduro and lSDT riding. "I'm a lot smaner about pacing myself, reading trails and determining wher~ checks will likely be. Now that I've traveled around the country for two years, 1 am getting to know what kind of things different clubs are likely to include in their runs. "I still think of myself as a 175cc rider. 1 guess my brain just naturally tunes in on that size bike. 1 seem to know just how to make that one per· fonn best. But that class belongs to Kerin Snapp and Rosso now. John wanu me on the 250 so I'll have the extra power. "Our 250 is really a good machine. The one I'm riding is altogether different than the first one I had. It's a 1980 prototype which I used in the ISOT. "I plan to compete in both qualifiers and enduros next year and I hope I'm just as lucky then to ~t through the season without any senous accident or anything like that." "Our team effon really works," con· tinued Smith. "No matter how an· noyedJ.P. and I get with each other, I keep reminding myself that no one on the enduro scene is more concerned about this panicular competition than he. He wanu to make sure that everything the team does refleeu his dedication. "The guys are great. We get along well, complement each other's !Je!' sonalities and are really more concerned about team perfection than one or two stars. So far, Suzuki has really stood behind us and our efforu in competition. It must be paying off for

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