Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

a little kid wasn't spent all in vain. What was your father's reaction when you told him you were retiring? I think he realized it was bound to happen. Motorcycle racing is no different from any other sport .. people are there for awhile and then there's somebody else. In any competitive sport there's always somebody else who wants your job. You can only do it for so long and then it's time to go. - "Hey, if there are 14 "§.. guys. on the line for ~ -< 22 the National and one of them has a full head of gray hair it stands out a bit. " I've always wondered how you felt after 100ing the 1975 Indy Mile to Kenny Roberts? Kenny was definitely the spoiler that night. Jay and I were accused of fooling around and losing the race, but it isn't true. That really wasn't it. No matter what Jay is doing he is going as hard as he can and so was I. For awhile so was Rex (Beauchamp). Rex had the fastest engine that night and the three of us were opening ground on the rest using the draft. When Rex's bike broke it left Jay and I and we were going along just as fast as we could. Hey, when you're going down the straightaway all tucked in there's nothing else to do so we waved at each other -- big deal. We never let off, You know there wasn't just anybody riding that (TZ750) Yamaha dirt tracker. h was the man. Only Kenny could have ridden the bike like that. I've got a picture sequence where Kenny is a distance behind us at about the first chalk line before the finish and in the next -- about 60 feet later .. he's six inches ahead at the checkered flag, To this day I don't remember CTOS6ing the finish Line, I saw the flag waving and I thought, "Well, we've got this one sewn up." Then I looked over and saw this wheel inching up alongside me and I thought, "That goddamnJay isn't going to let me win this one." Then I heard that sound -- it wasn't a Harley .. and I saw this big number one on Kenny's back and from there everything kind of went blank. I don't remember crossing the finish line or "taking the cool-off lap. I do remember shaking my head later and wondering if this is what it's really all about. That was probably the greatest race ever. I can't think of any that come close to it. They're all great but that was the tops. Just having been a part of it means something special. I do regret not having won the Indy Mile, though, because it's such a special event -- that and Louisville. There are other Nationals that are good too, but I've always thought racing under the lights was spectacular. You have the race track with lights glowing down on it and the color of the riders on the track -- everything else is dark. The spectator's attention is drawn to the spectacle not to some distraction which you have in daylight. How do you rate a .rider like Kenny Roberts? What can you say about Roberts. He:' probably the greatest motorcycle racer there has been. You just don't win a National in every type of competition in one season unless you're very, very good. Roberts could do it all. His problem, or rather Yamaha's, was they were overwhelmed by the awesome amount of work Harley put in on their dirt trackers, That's always been their field and they try to shine in it. Harley builds a motorcycle strictly for the races while Yamaha was trying to convert a street machine into a racing machine. It worked alright at first, but the development of the Harley overcame them. I'd like to see Yamaha get that 750 vee· twin running good. If they do I'll bet we'll see Kenny racing on the dirt again regularly. I think his return would do a lot for the sport. There are some very good guys racing, but there is only one Kenny Roberts. Jay Springsteen? Jll¥ is also a phenomenal racer. It's like this year's Houston·· when he's right, he's tough. Jay has had a few problems along the way. He's a big enough 'person to have seen it and he's overcoming them now. I think a healthy Jay is going to mean big trouble to everyone on the Winston Pro Series circuit including his teammate Randy Goss. IlandyGoss? Randy is probably one of the hardest working riders you'll ever find. I really found that out when I rode an ice me the three years he was really going for the title might have burned him out in a sense -- after going for it so hard, once he got the title there was nothing left to go for. Last year when he was Number One he was having some sponsor problems and had changed mechanics which threw his program out of balance. This year he's more together and I feel he'll be a real threat. Do you see any new talent on the way up? I don't think there are any Jay Springsteen's in the offing. There are a lot of new riders who show flashes of brilliance and only time will tell how good they really are. Jimmy Filice is one who bears watching. I'm impressed by his smooth style of riding, but I can't understand how he can ride so good and be so small. He has a lot of natural finesse, balance and talent. Scotty (Parker) was a flash in his first season. Last season he did alright although he crashed a few times when I believe he didn't expect to. That happens. He was very impressive in compared to what they used to be. There just aren't many tracks left where a cushion rider can do any good. You might be able to use the cush in the first few heats at some tracks, but then it's down on the groove. The only real cushion track left is Ascot and that's a real racers' track. It doesn't groove up. The only way I can see to change thi.ngs is to ban the fat tires, but nobody will do that. How do you feel about the restrietor rule? The restrictor rule was originally passed to give a shot to the 500cc bikes because there basically weren't any other 750cc brands running at the time. However, now we've got Yamaha and Honda coming into the ballgame so why have the rule. I don't understand some of those rulings anyway because it's done more to appease certain people than it is to further the sport. What does Corky Keener have up his sleeve right now? I'm going to Europe and hang out with Kenny Roberts for about six weeks. I had been thinking about it over a year ago. At that time I was undecided about racing in 1980 and I wasn't sure what I really wanted to do. I had talked to Kenny and was giving some thought to going to work for him over there in some capacity within his organization. However, I decided to race another season. Now that I've quit and have some free time I've decided I would like to go although not as a worker. I talked to him in January about it and he was very agreeable. I was a bit hesitant about going at first, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it was a once in a lifetime chance to go over .- especially with the World Champion of the most prestigio\!S class in GP road racing. "The night I won Louisville... I was so scared I wasn't even sure I would be able to get the bike off the lz"ne. " racer of his during the 1979·80 Invitational Indoor Ice Race Series. When I talked to him about riding the bike he said it needed some work. By the time I gOf to Flint from Golden (Colorado) he had already rebuilt the engine plus built a bike for h~mself. His wife Vicki already had my . numbers on the bike. I think I ended up spoking a rear wheel for it, that's alII did. Goss works so hard you can't really stay around him because it would probably drive you crazy. The year he finished third (1979) in the standings he was existing on a diet of hard work, long hours on the road and very little sleep. He's become a very intelligent racer who never forgets anything about a track or the way to set the bike up for it. He's not afraid to try something a bit different if he thinks it may give him an edge. If it doesn't, he files it away for the day when conditions might be right to use it again. Randy does whatever it takes to get the job done. He isn't a spectacular rider by any means, yet he's smooth and a very hard charger. Steve Eklund? Steve is another rider who is smooth and fast, but doesn't look like he's really doing anything. h appears to winning the short track National at Santa Fe. It was one of the best rides I've seen him put in because it was a thinking ride rather than a horsepower one. Plus, when he was pressured at Santa Fe by more experienced riders he made moves where he had to when he had to. Who do you think will be Number One this year? The only thing I know for sure is that somebody will win and somebody will get second. h's too early in the season to make any predictions. If I were a betting man I'd lay my money on Springsteen, Eklund and Goss having a helluva battle. I think it's a toss·up. Then there are the spoilers. Gary Scott is looking very good and has a lot of desire to be back on top. Hank Scott could be in there again and Billy Labrie could upset a lot of plans. I do believe this could possibly be one of the finest seasons ever and it will be even more exciting if the Yamaha and Honda efforts materialize as contenders. Do you feel the quality of racing has declined in the palt few yean? Yes. I believe the big, fat tires are to blame. Some racing is very exciting while other events are just a yawn I want to go to places where motorcycle racers are treated like teal people, like the real stars of the sport they are. I think it will be a helluva deal because we should be in Holland, France, Austria, England, West Germany, Italy and any other stops in between. I'm just going on Kenny's shirt tail and wherever he goes that's where I'm going to be also. I guess it. was a little nervey of me to call him up and ask if he minded having someone hanging around with him, although we're pretty good friends. I think we'll both enjoy the time together and have somebody to speak English with. What will you do when you come back? I think by about that time I'll have to knuckle down and start seriously looking for a job. I've worked hard ever since I was 18. Racing was a job because if you didn't look at it that way you weren't going to make any money. When I come back it will be time to settle down a bi"t and start doing something for the rest of my life. I've looked into a few things within the industry, but haven't made any commitments yet. I'd like to stay in motorcycling because I spent a lot of time in the sport, know a lot of people and I love it. I don't think anybody can stay in it and not love it. Hopefully, I can stay near the racing game and put my experience to use. Time will tell. •

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