Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

---mikeBast--~II Is Mike Bast, American speedway's greatest champion, now a part of the past at age 27? It looks that way. o 00 0') 10 The winner of seven u.s. titles, including the last five in a row, announced in July that he was packing it in. Hanging it up. Retir- " ing. Bast wasn't injured; there was no great personal calamity; he wasn't ill. But perhaps he was sick of some aspects of the SoCal sport he had so dominated ov~r the past decade. Those aspects will be fully discussed in the following interview. ----~---..,-..,..-..,..-~ Mike Bast had four yean of 'IT racing behind him when he discovered speedway in 1968. That encounter ~ him to set aside his aspirations to follow the Clau C circuit. Instead he dedicated his efforts to the revival of the Australian sport that had fint seen these shores in the thirties. In 1969, Mike's brother, Steve, a year his senior, won the National title. Two yean later, in 1971, Mike won his fint !IIational Championship. He was 18. Number two came in 197!1. Steve Bast won in 1974. Then in 1975, Mike But began his string of five consecutive victories. Thus the Brothen Bast have won the last seven title showdowns, eight of the last nine, and nine of the last II. Mike Bast hu raced with and beaten World Champions in this country. However, his one attempt at qualifying for the World Speedway Final in 1977 ended badly for both him and Bruce Penhall. The pair planed over three weeks early for the qualifier in England. But they were virtually barred fromgetting any practice on the longer tracks. Both did receive offers to race in the British Speedway League the following year. Penhall accepted, joining Scott Autrey, another Californian who has been racing in Britain since the mid-seventies. But But, for a number of reasons, elected to remain in California. The last three yean have seen several SoCalsideways stan head for Britain. Several other older stan retired, mostly in the aftermath of a promoter/rider hassle that delayed the season's start a few yean ago. The end result was less competition for Bast and the racing fans of southern California. During the past dozen yean Mike Bast's career has been marked by a series of encounten with riden, fans, and-promoten. His temperament can be volatile. He's hard-headed and he admits it, but he feels he's right when he makes his stands. During these last dozen yean, he became the racer the fans loved to love or hate. Nobody who followed the sport seemed to remain neutral about Mike Bast very long. But regardless of his behavior off the track, be it the product of misundentandings, stubbornell or injustices, one thing remains abundantly clear. When it came to getting it up for the one night, everything-on-the-line challenge of speedway, nobody in America did it better than Mike Bast. The big question: The retirement in mid-season ... After all these years of racing and trying to communi· . cate with the promoters and other riders and trying to get this sport off the ground, I finally had had enough. Six or eight years ago, I was actually making ., more money than I have in recent years. I used to ride six nights a week. That included trips up north. Back then I felt speedway would take off in the next year or so, but the years kind of went by and everything levelled off. Now there aren't any new tracks opening up. I don't want to badger anybody. but I think the promoters. for the most part, just wanted to.keep it small for themselves. The SRA had been the sanctioning body of the sport since its revival in 1969. But now the SRA is no more, the racing is strictly AMA. The SRA regime may have changed. but they kept the sport running, came up with the rules and regulations and tried to have rider representatives and track commi!tee5. But the SRA never could overrule the promoters. I never saw a promoter not get it his way. or even get challenged. The rider strike a few yean ago was over the size of the purse, wasn't it?

• Cover