Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

year I can ride the Trophee des Nations. Did anybody approach you about riding the Trophee and Motocross des Nations this year? Yes, we were supposed to go. 11 was all planned, but it just was too conflicting with the Nationals. The last week of the Nationals was the week before the first race in Finland. We were trying to win the National Championship and trying to worry about going to Europe and getting the bikes over there got to be too much of a hassle, so we said we wouldn't go and maybe they could stick somebody else in. But then they decided to drop the team. Nobody had seemed very enthused about it. It was all kind of "If you want to go you can." It wasn't a big deal and they didn't put a Jot of emphasis on it. So I didn't think it was too big of a deal, and I didn't realize that when I said I wouldn't go that it was going to cancel the whole team. But it was too late. We called Kenny Clark when we were in Florida and told him that we decided not to go and he was going to get ahold of AMA. A .couple of days later we heard that nobody was going to get to go at all. I felt bad about that. o 00 0') "The Superbowl however many million dollars they make on that race - the first place rider only makes 14700. " How about the National Series? That was really close. We only had one DNF and it cost us. It was the first race. I had a fifth in the first mota but I was in a crash and my bars and everything got all bent up. Dave was busy fixing the bike and didn't get a chance to do the air cleaner, so in the second mota it wasn't four laps before it sucked enough sand. It had already started from the first moto, and just bored the thing out and it wouldn't run anymore. Those were the points we needed right there. It should have made it even because LaPorte had a DNF too, but it didn't. I DNFed, he won and in the moto he DNF, I got a fourth. A couple of times I had bad motos, but I still finished second or third, or whatever, and I wasn't really happy with the way I rode. You can't be 100% every moto. It's so hard to have a great da.y every day. 1 won the last three Nationals, but a couple of those motos, even the ones I won, were terrible. I was hating it so bad because I was tired for one reason or another or some track condition was really annoying me. I won the second moto in Florida by 45 seconds but I was' miserable. I was getting drenched with water: it was 90-some degrees and 90some percent humidity and that stuff gets to you. Carlsbad must have been really bad. It was disappointing more than anything else. So many people behind you there. 1 was capable of doing it, but I wasn't ready for that heat. I was trying to be smart and not drink too much water, but 1 underdid it. I should have taken in more water because I ran out of sweat. In that much heat our bodies will just sweat it all out. I was dry; there'was no sweat any more. I was out there and I felt like I was standing behind an exhaust fan. It was so hot. No matter how fast I went or how slow I went, it was just hot. Then when I started missing - I couldn't remember where I'd been, You're about the tallest rider on the circuit. Does that height work to your advantage? Yes, I think it does because I don't have any disabilities. It doesn't hinder me at all. In Supercross it helps me a lot because I can hit things and if the bike's going to kick up, I can get myself hi~h enough so the seat comes way up underneath my legs. Dave (Osterman) is always cOD!p!aining about me breaking rear fenders off because I go right out past the seat and the fenders are always tweaked off and the back loop of the frame is always bent down. So I know that I'm using the whole motorcycle. I think it helps me a lot. The only times it causes a problem is if I get my leg caught under a handlebar or something. My upper body's tall, too. I had a hard time getting my shoulders out of the way of the tires and markers in the S-turns at Sears Point and I'd really have to put my body away from the motorcycle and the tires to clear it. In the first moto, Ward and those guys were catching right up to me there. Those little guys were just motoring right through. I would have to take more time to get through. That's really the only disadvantage I've ever run into. I like being tall. The ITa.a kept getting new every lap_ I couldn't even hold my head up. There were a couple of places where you really had to be on it, like where Heikki crashed. That was really tricky, You had to hit it just right, because if you didn't, you'd hit that mud. I didn't have enough strength for the last few laps. If I'd have hit the other side, I. would probably have just busted all the bones in my body because I couldn't hold myself off the bars. That was really weird. Nothing like that ever happened to me before; it never has since. Even the following week I had a good day, It didn't bother me at all. I worked out the next week', How much training do you do? It depends on the time of the year. During the beginning part of the year I really ·work hard, because we juSt have Supercrosses and stuff where we fly on a Friday to get to the race, and go home Sunday night and have until Friday, so we have plenty of time to train hard. That's when I go to the gym, do a lot of running and bicycle riding, and a lot of riding. That:s the best time to do the riding, a lot of trail riding and things like that. When I'm in a series I try to just do running and exercise, just the normal things to keep loose and keep in shape. It's usually easier just to play tennis or racquetball or go riding bicycles there's a lot of things to do to keep in shape. The best thing though, is riding - that's what gets you in shape, Those Nationals - from week to week you're in better shape every week. You've got to ride so hard, especially if you're keeping up with the leader, you can't help but get tired and better yourself by pushing yourself so hard. "I won the second moto z"n Florida by 45 seconds but I was m'iserable. " Have you given any thought to what you're going to do after you quit racing? Not really, I've tossed around a lot of things, I'm really interested in cars. I'd like to maybe pursue a car racing career. I've made some plans to go through the Bondurant School and stuff when I get some time and learn about racing cars. See if I like it, see if I have any talent for that. Also, I'd like to do ISDT stuff. I'd like to be good at it. If I wasn't fast anymore, I wouldn't want to do it. I 11

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