Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

in the door at Yamaha, since I was riding the bikes they gave DG for Bob. But Bob needed the bike for a New Orleans National and I was without a bike again. Did you dust off the old bike? I got out the old Elsinore for a big big race at·Saddleback; a heavy deal with aU the teams. I ended up fourth behind Hannah, Smith and Croft. I said, ''I'm not riding that Yammie anymore." DG couldn't give me full support on a Honda because they had to buy parts out of a shop. Honda wouldn't help. DG was great, they were rc;ally good to me. I turned 16 in the middle of the National season. got my AMA Pro license and still earned fifth for the year. AMA really cooperated, they processed my license before my birth· day and I actually had it on my birth· day. Honda still wouldn't help, DG was footing all the bills. The only thing I got from Honda was what Mar· ty Smith gave me out his back doorl Yamaha asked me to ride the TransAMA. I said sure, but it all came down to the points thing. Riding only half a year, I didn't have enough points to qualify. Luckily Yamaha nung on to me anyway and put me on a contract. The new bikes weren't out yet and last year's bike wouldn't cut it. I had to come from the rear, race after race. Wasn't there a complication with your contract? Yes. I signed a three year contract in 1977, but I still had almost two years of school left. They said, at first, make up your mind, school or race. I said, "Both." They agreed to fly me back to classes. I missed lots of Mondays and Fridays, but finished up OK. School wasn't that hard, but both at the same time was tough. I'm really happy with Yamaha. They believe in doing things right. Your job is only to race, not to worry about whether you spent $1.95 too much on a meal. How do you work with other team members? Yamaha is really more of a team than the other factories. There's not a team Bob Hannah and a team Broc Glover· it's getting to be tighter all the time. Where do you call home? I still live in El Cajon with my mom. I've bought property there and plan to build a home when I get around to it. What kind of car do you drive? Well, lets see; I have a Toyota four wheel drive pickup and a four wheel drive Chevy pickup. I just sold my van and have a Porsche 91 I Targa and a motorhome. It's a major problem keeping everything in good shape. How about a special girl back home iti California? Joni Toom, spelled J·O-N·I, everybody gets it wrong. You wo.uld have to say' she's my main gal. It's kind of nice because when I first met Joni and star· ted going around with her she didn't know anything about MX and I was a nobody. She's been good to me the whole time. She's a big help with my gear, I really count on her for a lot. When you have time, what do you do for fun? i have a dune buggy and enjoy going out to the desert. I also like racquet ball, water skiing, almost any kind of sports oriented activities. It seems like when I'm on the road 1 have more time. When I'm home it's this or that all the time. If it's not business, it's something else. Have you done any organized desert racing? No, but the car's pretty serious, though. A friend set it up. It's mid· engine Volkswagon powered, but tur· bocharged, burns alcohol and all that. It weighs about 600 pounds and is the fastest thing I've ever been in. by far! How about the 1980 circuit? What events will you ride? Supercross, all the 125 Nationals and probably all the Trans-USA's. It's really funny. This year the TransUSA's are all on 250's and they seem to be fazing the Open bikes out. The 250, I think, is a better size. You spend a lot of time trying to stop an Open bike and they don't handle well when you've got the brakes on, You just can't use all the power. I like to ride 250's and 125's of course, I haven't ever really raced an Open bike. I haven't set one up for myself. I have always ridden Mike Bell's bike or Burgett's or someone like that. Which bike did you end up on in the Trans-USA last year? Just the 250. I picked it because we were short on Open bike parts and I didn't know where to start on the set up ofa big bike. I was pulling away until I fell in a mud hole. I thought, 'Wow, this 250 stuff is going to be good.' But all that mud gOt to me and the whole series got depressing, Before the series started, weren't you considering running a 125? Yes, we checked my lap times on the 125 and I was one or two seconds faster than the Open leaders, I was really dialed in on the bike and Jim Felt thought it would be a good promo. We just wanted to see what I could do. But when it starts getting to be winter and the mud comes along, it would have been impossible on a 125. Will you keep the same mechanic this year? . Yeah, I have Jim Felt from Simi Valley, California. He's a super mechanic and been with me since my start at Yamaha. Have you tested your new 1980 works bike yet? It's OK; but the stocker can run with it in a dead heat drag. It's all up to the riders this year. What do you think of the traveling life? I don't like driving, it's boring! You go to neat places, but you don't have time to enjoy the sights, Training is easier though, you have few distractions. If you don't feel like watching television you may as well go for a five mile run. Food gets to be a drag. I try to eat right, but you have to hit the fast food joints once in a while. What about the Florida Warm-up Series? This trip has been much better than most. The weather's great and the distance between trac.ks has been short. We've really had a lot of fun and gotten in a lot of riding. I came down here to get into shape and the sand has really taught me a lot. Four races a day is a tough schedule and the tracks have gotten really rough I What's your training routine? I vary my workouts. At the beginning of the year I really get on it - lots of running and riding. Some people have to train a lot; some a little. Sometimes I'm not sure what I have to do. For last year's 125 Nationals I really trained hard, but was able to back off after I established a good lead, I won nine of ten motos and cruised the last half. It's hard to make yourself sweat when you"ve got it in the bag. What about this year? Who's going to give you trouble? Jeff Ward will be going fast as well as my teammate Donnie Cantaloupi. They say Mark Barnett is not going to ride the 125's but I think they're just trying to screw up my head. He'll be there as well as Brian Myerscough and Chuck Sun's younger brother, Ron, for Honda. . As three-time 125cc National Champion, what is your opinion of professional MX and the AMA? I don't particularly like to get into the politics, but the AMA is trying hard. They need a promot;onal-department that needs to make bucks arid hustle. We're trying to sell MX to the public and we want big name sponsors Coke, Toyota, etc. The stadium races are starting to pull in crowds like football and getting TV coverage. It should be an easy thing to sell. I just heard Toyota isn't going to sponsor Supercross in '80. What happened? Supercross is big business a'nd needs selling to big spon·sors. Individual promoters beat the streets for their personal race, but the overall Supercross concept h~ no spearhead organization promoting and pushing the sport. AMA has the most experience with Supercross, they should create a division that is out to make bucks for the riders, sponsors, promoter and themselves. What about the riders? Do you think they're getting proper consideration? Some races don't even have a place for the riders to spectate and passes are often ultra tight. The riders are really quite. easy to please. Rookie Leapold, I heard, at one race stopped the bitching by bringing into the pits an ice chest full of juice and cokes for the riders and mechanics. It maybe cost him $100, but every one got really pumped. The riders need to be considered more as professional atheletes. r must say though, many don't act professional. The riders blew the Mr. PiBB thing last year. After the St. Pete (Florida) National they (Mr. PiBB) planned a gigantic dinner for maybe 100 people. All the executives were there to make their decision on 1980 sponsorship. They asked all the riders to show at this thing; a real nice affair. Rick Burgert and I were the only ones who showed. Can you believe it? These guys were really nice and on the level. We had a great time! Results? Mr. PiBB doesn't sponsor any more races. I wonder why? What kind of responsible professional athlete does that kind ofthing. AMA's not the whole problem, the promoters aren't the whole problem, it's everybody not pulling together. There's some talk of a rider's union, but I don't think that would fix anything. U we ~uld get McDonalds to back Supercross. Wow! What a neat thing that would be. We can relate to that age group and it would be good for all of us. But who's trying to sell them? Bill West (Florida Wartn·up Series promoter) gets out and has the local radio stations pushing his races. They didn't come to him, he went to them. If Superbowl of MX promoter Mike Goodwin went after McDonalds or some other big time operation I bet he would get them. The riders would cooperate. There's a market out there just waiting to be approached. What plans do you have for the future? I know I won't be around forever. I have bought some apartments and have made other investments. My goal is not necessarily to be a World Champion at MX. If that happens, greatl I want to build my finances and investments up so that some day I can live comfortable and be free to do what I want to do. Last year was a cruise year for me. I just rode the 125's and made a nice living. This year will be different; I'm about five times more serious, more hungry and more into wanting to race. I'm here in Florida preparing for the year. Who else is down getting into shape? I kind a took my vacation during the Trans·USA. It's hard to keep yourself up year round. Bob Hannah can do it consistently and that's why he always beats everybody. He worked hard, trained hard, and gave it his all every time the gate dropped. Bob will be back. He'll do what he has to do. He'll make himself heal. • 19

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