Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

00 C') Randy Mamo/a: Honing in on KR By Chris Carter "Take the past two yean. I've always Kenny Roberts might be the 500cc World Champion, but few people would argue that another American, Randy Mamola was the best road racer in the world during the closing stages of the season. The Californian missed out . on. the 500~c crown Just 15 pomts. But 1f the Suzuki had not br broken at Mugello in the Italian round cOlting him at least 12 points for second place, and Iiis visor not misted over at the Dutch TT at Assen losing him another possible nine points, it could have ended very differently. "If I had been just two or three points down on Kenny at the Nurburgring it would have been different. Neither Kenny nor I liked the circuit, but it suited the Suzuki better dwa the Yama~..:.;~if.~~d been out of practice when the season staned. This year, for example. I had had to win ,~hcTe I would have no matter what, says Randy. But unknown to mOlt people, Randy's main priority at that West German Grand Prix was to ensure that Suzuki won the manufacturen championship. "Throughout the race the only pit signals 1 got were one telling me where the nearest Yamaha was. Winning the manufacturen tide was the main thing for Suzuki," said Randy. But the' 'SO season is now history, and Randy is already looking forward to next year. In the past couple of seasons his big problem has been had just one test ses&ion on the Suzuki at Mallory before the Easter Match Races. One ride in four months just isn't enough. "You can see that in the Match Races. I ride real bad in the fint race at Brands Hatch, second I do a bit better, then at Mallory and Oulton I pick up some fints, seconds or thirds." Next season, though, the problem will be 1eII acute. Randy has lhipped CO his home in California the RG500 that carried him to victory at the British GP at Silventone, and at least once a week he will be riding the bike at Sears Point or Laguna Seca for a couple of houn. When the new bikes for next season are ready in Japan, Randy hopes to have one of those flown out to ride. It all makes depressing news for the opposition. t~k ~~~-f..!~q~~~~,_: -~~!!~~.~~~~:-~~ e.~·~~i season's world championshie. "I know I have the abtlity to be World Champion next year. and I am in the right state of mind to do so because I know I have the ability," he says. '''When you are working your way up in the span it's hard to get it into your head that you can beat the number one. Number one at the motneDt is Kenny. There's nobody better than him, because he is number one. "Towards the end of the year I felt I was riding better than Kenny, but we don't koow how hard Kenny was trying then. Maybe he was slowing down a bit to make sure he got the points, or something, and I had to keep trying hard all the time. "But at Silventone I knew Kenny was riding at his full ability and that's why I wanted to beat him. It was a fair test. ''I'm not making any predictions, but next year will be a lot, closer. I have the ability and the machinery, and as long as we have a bit of luck to hold thinf! together, I think we can win it," &aid Mamola. The news that Kenny will race in Europe in a bid to make it four wins in a row is no surprise to Randy. "I knew he would race in the GPs again. The talIt about car racing, and doing the AMA Championships, well that was just to help his negotiations with Yamaha," says Randy. But while he admits that Kenny might have been a little nervous towards the end of the season, in contrast to his relaxed attirude at the stan of the year, Randy insists that thanks to King Kenny he enjoyed the year a lot more than in the past. "I had a 'lot better time than last year, because I became a lot closer to Kenny, and I had someone to pal around with. I met a lot more other people, too, like Jean Francois Balde, for example. It was a lot better for me," insists Randy. "But Kenny was in his third season. He might be getting sick of it. He has done a lot of traveling since he was eighteen, so maybe something a little 1ess hectic might appeal to him. But Yamaha has the number one rider and they will want to keep him there." Randy has learned a lot from Kenny. , "At the stan of the season my big problem was not riding as quick as Kenny, but keeping the concentration going so that I could keep riding as quick as him. That's something I've learned to do," said Randy. The end of season meeting at Brands Hatch was a good example of Randy's ability to concentrate. "The race was SO Iape, and there was no time at all to rest. I looked at my pit board just three times in the race, because I was too busy concentrating. I didn't want to look. I had my mind set on catching the leaden, and winning the race. "The British Grand Prix and the Race of the Year at Mallory were other races where my concentration was good for the whole race, .. said Randy. For every young rider the biggest mental hurdle is that one which allows them to believe that they can, after all, beat the champion. For yean Randy raced in the shadow of Kenny Robens. Then last year at the French GP at LeMans, Randy took second place to Kenny and realized that he could beat him. "It's really weird. When you are coming up you say to yourself out on the race track that you can't beat Kenny, or whoever. Then when you find yourself behind them in a race you say 'I can't go by them, I've got to stay here.' But it takes just one second to go by them, and suddenly you realize that you don't have to follow him. You ean make him follow you. p

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