Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The champ The more things change, the more they remain the same. That would seem to sum up the thrust of Steve Eklund. Eklund, who was the first privateer in 16 seasons to win the crown, isn't about to give it up without a fight and if there is one thing about Zanotti Enterprises - Eklund's sponsor - it is that they know how to fight. Mario Zanotti, Eklund's mentor, has honed the skills of battle on the Winston Pro Series circuit to a science. His program takes on all the aspects of a military campaign in both tactics and deployment. "Why change anything? Why mess with a winning combination?" noted Eklund when questioned on his plans. "Jim Belland will continue to build the engines, plus Tom Hassler will do my short trackers. I'll have Craig Fillmer with me again on the road and we'll continue to use the Chicago area as a base. Fresh engines will still be air freighted in when I'm in the East. On the sponsorship end, Castrol will again be backing me." ' The defe.at of a ruling to outlaw the use of special metals like titanium was a victory for Zanotti Enterprises. Zanotti, without a doubt, has the largest pool of talent of anyone to call on for help. Over a dozen unsung and unnamed people help out with all sorts of things from machining to welding to fabricating to advising on problems and anything else that needs to be done. Zanotti thinks space age ideas and the ability to use any metal obtainable to get the job done is a favorite of his. Eklund was quietly himself when asked about his title defense and the coming season. "I've been giving it a bit of thought lately," he said. "I believe it will be another tough year. but that I can hold onto the title. The key will be whether Jay is. healthy. If he is, then it will be a real battle. Randy Goss will be one to keep an eye on also. The first half of the year could be anyone's ballgame, but the second leg will tell the story and it will probably be me, Jay and Randy going for it. My biggest plus is in my program. It·s strong and that's what you have to have to survive - and win." . If there is a weakness in Eklund it must be that he is not a gambling man. The safe, practic.al road seems to suit him. He can't be faulted for that since it notched him a fourth, fifth and second place in the final standings before his title. Machinery wise. Eklund's program remains basically the same. He will have a pair of Harley-Davidson XR750's plus a spare engine, a Yamaha short tracker, a Yamaha IT500 for certain IT events and a Triumph 750 for others,' with his Yamaha 750 as back-up. That's a formidable arsenal. "We'll probably be working right up until sign-up time at Houston. Every season seems to start that way." The challen,gers As Steve Eklund says, "The key will be whether Jay is healthy. If he is, then it will be a real battle." Springsteen feels the same way. Elsewhere in this article is an interview with the three· time Winston Pro Series champ in which he assesses his title chanceS and talks about his problems. Few people would have given Randy Goes any chance of being a challenger right down to the end last season except Goss, his family and friends. But he was and if ever there was a rider trying - and succeeding - to prove his worth it was Goss. That persistence paid off and Goss will go into this season wearing the fac· tory colors of Harley-Davidson, joining Springsteen as Milwaukee's one-two punch. This time Goss will have the privilege of enough machinery, parts and time to go with his mental drive. Strangely, this may work against him. He still spends nearly every waking hour of each day in some endeavor aimed at honing his body, mind or riding skills. He still wears what some would call his "race face" and hasn't taken it off since the end oflast season. Going from nearly total control of , all work done on his bikes to the factory/ union prospect of having very little to do physically on the bikes may upset his rhythm. However. Goss has shown that he can adapt. The roughness of style he displayed in his first seasons is gone. Goss is not a natural talent, but he is the hardest worker around and is strong in all phases of doin' it in the dirt. "I hope to be in there until the end," ..said Goss. "I want to be champion. That's what everything 1 do is aimed toward." Mike Kidd has a hard act to follow. The eight year veteran is in his. second season of Army sponsorship and coming off his strongest season yet . three National wins and a fifth place finish in the Winston Pro Series stan· dings - a scant three points out of fourth. This year Kidd is set to take a page from Steve Eklund's book on how to win the championship. "1 plan to use Indianapolis as my race headquarters this season," said Kidd. "Storme Win· ters will continue to build my engines, but will stay in California and air freight fresh engines to me. 'Tm hiring a mechanic to go to the races with me to help out. "As far as equipment goes it will be Harley-DavidsonS on the miles and half miles," continued Kidd. "I've got a choice of a Harley or Honda short tracker. Last season I only scored II points in the IT's so that's when; I've made a change. My former sponsor, Big D of Dallas (Texas) has built me a Triumph and I think I should be able to improve considerably." ,Initially, Kidd was to also have a- full scale road racing program which would· hopefully· add a worthwhile amount of points to his Winston Pro Series tally. It appears now that the logistics of making events which run on dirt track National weekends and the cost of fielding a competitive effort have put an end to the plans. Still, Kidd has his eyes on finding a ride in at least two or three road races. Kidd has added Bel-Ray to his spon· sorship package in addition to Army. "The Army people were really pleased with my performance last year. This season should be even better. I feel that I probably have my best ever chance of grabbing the ·champion· ship." "I plan to be there when the last checkered flag falls," Kidd says confidently. Should August come in May this year, Steve Morehead will be one of the happiest persons around. You see Morehead is a notoriously late starter, but when he catches fire he really burns. A late season charge in 1978 ear· ned him a spot on the HarleyDavidson factory squad. The same style late charge in 1979 was a factor in costing him his H-D ride. The charge was brilliant, but it was too late. "If I could get the AMA to start the season in August," Morehead said l.ast year, "there's no doubt that I could be champ." Still smarting after his dismissal from Harley, Morehead figures he has a score to settle. With backing from Horton Company, a firm that builds ambulances, and KK Motorcycle Supply, Morehead is set to give everyone a run for the money. He will team up with Doug Sehl to ride Sehl's monoshock XR750's. . . . .1 aboul SpdagWl For ~ay Springsteen, the role 0/ c,hallenger instead of champ is a position he ham t been zn .sznce 1976. 1979 zs a year that ,he, tuner Bill Werner and Harley-. DaVIdson Raczng Team boss Dick O'Brien would like to forget. The year began on a bad note with injuries and sickness at Houston and then got worse. Because of sickness - diagnosed variously as a viral infection, neroous tensIOn and other medzcal terms for what was a gut wrenching stomach problem - Spnngsteen mISsed two more NatIOnals dun'ng the year. Add to that a crash at the Castle Rock TT which tweaked his shoulder, and you have the making of an offyear. Healthy, Springer and Eklund are the two greatest dirt trackers on the track today. Mario Zanotti, Eklund's sponsor summed it up best when he said, "Steve and!ay make themselves relevant. Each brings the other to the highest level of abrllty. Wh~re would either be'ifthey did not have one another to race against?" That Spnngsteen wllnts his title back is certain. Can he do it.~ He thinks so but he is still baffled by the uncertainty of a sickness that has bothered him sinc~ late 1978 (the final Ascot National, to be precise). Springer never was much of a talker and still isn't. His answers are short, but he says a lot. Can you regain the championship? Yes. If my health stays good, 1 don't think there is any problem. What is your condition _ healthwise _ right now? Honestly, 1 don't feel 100 percent. Whatever is wrong with me is still bothering me on and off. I still dqn't know what the heck it is. About everf four weeks 1 seem to get sick to my' stomach, I mean really sick to my stomach. What do the doctors say? I've been to a lot of different doctors and even the Mayo Clinic and nobody seems to be able to come up with anything. 1 don't quite understand it. It bothers me a lot that they can't come up with a diagnosis of what 1 have or tell me how to cure the problem. What's the next step? Since I'm still getting sick, 1 guess the next step is to see another doctor and maybe he can find out what is wrong. How often did you race sick last year? There were times when 1 felt really good, but there were more times when I felt bad and still raced. I raced sick most of the year. That's not an excuse, just a fact. The bad thing about being sick and not really knowing what to do is that it drives Bill (Werner) and O.B. (Dick O'Brien) even more crazy than it does me. Have you ever thought of flying to the races or other things to take some of the pressure off you? Sure. I've thought of a lot of things. Flying to the races is one thing. It ;:e~~red~i~~i~~lrh:a:r~b~e~o:s~~u~~~ by nerves as some say then maybe it would help. I just don't know. Let's talk about this year. Will ~klund be the toughest challenge? He's got "the title so he's the man to beat. It won't be easy because he has a very good program and he is very tough. What about your new teammate at Harley-Davidson, Randy Goss? Randy will be competitive. He's a real good rider. The biggest problem for him will be getting his program together right from the start. Riding for the factory will take some adjust· ment from his program last season. Steve Morehead? I don't know. He could have a good program with Doug Sehl taking care of his machines. I'll wait and see if he can make it through a full season with Doug. Mike Kidd? I've never had too much fear of him. Scott.Parker? Scotty is tough. I like to race with him because he enjoys racing so much. He' rides to win all the time. He's got a lot of help this year and that, plus his enthusiasm, makes him a threat all the time. How do you see the chase for the title shaping up? It's hard to say, really. It could be a full scale battle, at least early on. Ac· tually, 1 guess it will be a battle between two guys - myself and Steve. That's probably the way it will be. What about Houston? 1sure didn't do too well there last year. Doing good at Houston depends on how your luck is running. Hopefully, mine will be much better than last time. Is it a handicap riding the XR750 on the TT course at Houston? Yes. I'd have to say that we are at a disadvantage with the guys who are riding 500's. No doubt about it. Hey, if I were riding a 500 at Houston everyone would be in trouble. What about Harley's short tracker? We don't have any problem. The . Har Iey IS competitive with everything. You have to ride it hard, but that is the name of the game. Is there any doubt in your mind that if you hadn't been sick last season that you would still be the champ? No doubt in my mind at all. 7

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