Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

It isn't "Rich who?" anymore By Gary Van Voorhis Road racer R ich Schlachter remembers well th e days when he was known as "Rich, tahot " by many · · th e days when he was struggling to break into th e big tim e and out of the shadow of more established riders. Today, with dues paid, th e 1979 750cc U.S. Road Racing Championship title under his belt and having j ust clinch ed th e 1980 crown as well, Schlachter is doing what he does best and has always want ed to do .. race, race, race. Until last year, Schlachter was also known as the road racing carpent er because his carpentry work income kept him racing. Thankfully, a major sponsor .. Microlon En ergy Efficient Systems -- stepp ed in, along with oth ers, enabling Schlacht er to concentrate on racing as his sole m eans of earning a living. Easily one of th e most outgoing riders off the track, Schlachter transforms int o a rider with a single goal onc e on th e track and that is to win. "On ce you get a taste of victory like I did at Loudon and Road Atlanta, " he says, "you don 't really want to settle for second again . Realistically, you can't win every time out , but that doesn 't mean you can 't try. " Th e highlight of th e season for Schlachter to this point is collecting 11,900 in Winston Pro Series f irst leg point fund money. "It 's a real honor to be th e first (pu re) road racer to collect money in the opening leg payoff. " Although some would say he is ben ef itingfrom th e absence of Kenny Roberts, Randy Mamola and Dale Singleton who are racing in Europe and Skip Aksland who is healing from a GP accident, Schlacht er shrugs off the notion . "I've worked hard to get to where I am , ..he says. Th e next step, he knows , is Europe. Seldom do y ou see Schlachter witho ut his lovely wife, Susan, som ewhere close by. Marn'ed f or three years, the pair make th eir home on th e Connecticut side of Long Island Sound at Old Lyme. Th e days of Team Connecticut and struggling to make ends me et arefinally over. Congratulations on your two National wins - especially Loudon. Thanks . I really wanted to win there. We had a few minor problems, but then everyone did and 1 just hung in there. I was really pumped to win it. Bryar Motonpon Park (Loudon) is you r "home" track. Did that make it special? Yes. To win your first National in front of family , friends and fans is really a good feeling. Does the change from challenger to winner make a mental difference in the way you look at races now? Ii there a barrier that once you break through it becomes easier? At first I thought everything should be a little easier. But after thinking about it , I believe things will be as hard or harder because now I want to make sure I'm not go ing to get beaten. Once you win then it's harder to accept a third, fourth or whatever place finish. Have we conquered the "Richard, who?" syndrome? I think so. The exposure from winning the Nationals has been great. Getting your name out in front of the fans by winning definitely changes the way people recognize you . You've been knoclting on the door for a long time waiting for that fint National win. I think it was way overdue. But then aga in I think to myself that if I was riding up to the capabilities of winning a National then it would have come sooner. I guess I wasn't and that's why it took two years. Then you feel your career is mo~ng along in a logical sequence by tackling consistency first and then worrying about winning? Yes. I won the U.S. Road Racing Championship last year by being consistent. I didn't win a National. That was the objective last season .. to be consistent. There were a few times I really wanted to gamble for a win , but had to hold back and just finish because being a privateer I didn't hav e any funds except what I made at the race . However, being consistent helped me land a major sponsor -Microlon. H.as getting a major sponsor taken some of the pressure off and allowed you more freedom in your racing? Without a doubt. Microlon, for which Energy Efficient Systems of Cromwell, Connecticut is the major U.S. distributor, plus help from Castrol, Arai and Sky Cycles has given me enough financial assistance so if I do break down I don't have to worry. I have enough resources to get the bike back to 100 percent and head for the next race. Last year it was a race to race program and that puts a mental strain on your racing. You're not the road racing carpenter anymore? Although I did a bit of carpentry work last season, I haven't worked at anything but racing since Microlon came along. I do all the preparation on the bikes while Kevin Cameron docs the cylinders and gives me technical advice. We work very close. Frank Shep docs my machining and Kent Peterson also helps out. All my energies are now funneled into racing instead 'of being divided between my carpentry and contracting business and racing. It's definitely advantageous. Do you anticipate being able to relax a bit once the ICUOn is over? At least for a short while, but then I'll have to stan working on getting starts in Europe, lining up sponsors and ' assessing my machinery. You 've always got to be .thinking about the next season at the end of the current one or else you'll get behind in preparation and it becomes really hard to catch up. You have to look at racing as a full time, year round job. I wish that every racer could take the same chance I have. If you want something bad enough then you've got to do everything in your power to get it. Didn't you get into road racing a little late? I was 20 when I started, I guess that is a lit tle later than most riders. I was rid ing bikes when I was younger , but I didn't get turned onto racing until 1971. Daytona d id it. I was sitting in the stands watching the 200 and said to myself ' I really have to try that someday,' although I knew it was stretching reality at that time. Later, I got a chance to ride an AAMRR club race and I was hooked. I got better, my machinery got better and here I am . Having watched you for many seasons, I detect an air of confidence - you believe in younelf and your machinery. I have much mo re confidence in myself now than ever before. I'm comfortable on the 750 now , much more in tune with it . In the beginning I took a conservative approach with the 750 . I went well at Loudon, but didn't at other tracks because I didn't .feel comfonable. You have to respect, the machine you ride, especially the 750 because it has so much power. I belie ve I have the ability now to control the bike no matter what the speed or situation and that has really ~elped my riding. What's Richard Schlachter like at home? My wife Susan and I have a really nice house right on the beach ..' Hawks Nest Beach in Old Lym e, Connecticut. We have one kid ..' we call it our kid .. it's a cat called Love. That's just about as many kids as we want at this point. I think that's being fair to ourselves because we just don't hav e the time or energy to put into children at this tim e. I've got a Hobie Cat sailbo at which I bought after becoming interested in a friend's boat. It 's a nice, enjoyable life in Old Lyme. The summer is a little hectic since it' s a resort area, but the winters are quiet . It 's a great place to relax. Have you got a street bike? Oh, yeah. I still do a fa ir amount of street riding when I have the time. I have a 1975 Yamaha RD350 which is pretty well stock except the foot pegs have been moved and it has Dunlop K81's on it. I gas it up on the street every once in awhile. I also do a lot of woods rid ing on m y Yamaha IT175 . During the summer I really don't get much time to ride" but when the season is over I go as often as I can. Winter doesn't slow me down. I have 'an old 250cc CZ I've fixed up as an ice -racer and I play with that a lot. What about four wheelers? We just have a regular middle class passenger car and my van. I've always wanted a spons ca r . However, whenever I get a chance to drive one it always seems I want to go really fast . It 's one thin~ to go fast on the street on a bike, but 10 a car I feel it's a much more dangerous situation. You went to Europe to run the French GP in May. What was that like? It was quite an experience. I went nonstop for about two weeks staning with a Tuesday flight to Mospon Park (Canada) for their Victoria Day Sprints road race. I did a press conference there while my wife and Kent Peterson drove the van up. We did the race Saturday and Sunday and then loaded up for a straight drive back to Connecticut. We got there about 6 a.m . Monday, got all the luggage together and Kent and I headed for New York to get on ajet for England. While I was gone Kent had shipped the 500 so it would be waiting for us. We got off the plane in England Tuesday morning, picked up the transponer I borrowed, got the bike cleared through customs and headed for Paul Rica;d in the south of France late that night. It rained all the way and the transporter .. a van-like vehicle s - had no windshield wipers so it was a battle all the way. We got to the track Thursday morning, which was registration , so we were right on time. We had timed practice Friday which was two hours and fifteen minutes to get everything dialed in .. gearing, jetting, tires .. and get qualified at the same tim e. I was cutting good laps, at least I thought I was, until I got blown off badly by just about everyone else. Then I found out they had been at the track practicing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. My fast time was good for 36th in a 30 rider field . It was disappointing. Later, I sat down and evaluated the situation. I know where I went wrong and what I did wrong so I learned from the experience. The bottom line is you have to race in Europe or the U.S . If you had a lot of time between races . • which you don't .. you might be able to do both. It so'unds as if the prcsiure is on from the moment you reach the track. Right . Things are going bam, bam, bam and if you hesitate you're behind the eight ball right off. You miss 15 or 20 minutes of you r practice and you're lost. It's so competitive you can't afford not to be running 100 percent all the time. I liked that. I'll be going over in the fall for a cou pie of international races. If I can pick up a really good sponsor then I might stay over in Europe next season. If not I'll race here and go to a few selected events. The level of racing there is so much different than here in the U.S . There are many more sponsors involved. Including myself, there are probably only about eight or so road racers in the U.S. who make their living at racing. The rest have jobs and race as a part- time job. In Europe there are many riders who only race for a living. It 's a different ballgame. It seems that you've always had a thing for Superbikes. I love riding the (George Vincensi) Ducati, but I think Loudon was ou r swan song. We had tough luck at ' Daytona and didn't go to Talladega or Charlotte because I had prior commitments. I ran at Road . 'Am erica in Wisconsin and we were ' really under-powered there. You can't compete with the factory bikes . Until I get a really competitive ride then I'll pass on the Superbikes. What about the Expen Lightweight class? I enjoy ridi ng the 250's. That's a really competitive class. Look at the battle Eddie Lawson and I had at Atlanta. The fans like that kind of close racing. Do you think it was a good move to create a Formula One c:1au where we have the ~kes in with the Zstrokes? I think it was a very good move because it has already gotten three more factories involved (Honda, Kawasaki and Yoshimura's Suzuki). More brands mean more spectator interest. It's obvious the 4·stroke is competitive. Just look at what Wes Cooley did at Road America. What I feel bad about is it's stiIl too expensive ! for a privateer to mount a good effort, against the factories. Yet it's getting more people involved in racing and I'm all for that. Who do you see as your toughest competition? Everybody on the track at whatever race I'm in is my competition. You've gc;>t to beat every single one of them to o 00 0') W1O. Any fmal thoughta? Yes. I'd like to thank everyone who has had the confidence in me for providing moral and financial support. I think this is just a stan of what will become better and better seasons for m e. • 25

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