Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126525
M ick ey Kessler: A ve ter an 's lo ok at M X By Tom Muell er 26 al motocross Mickey Kessler has said it himself; he's taken for granted on the Nation around for too long. For six consecutive seasons Kessler circuit because he's been to run the has packed up his van and headed out from Farmingdale, New jersey,much to let though , says Mickey. He enjoys the sport too Nationals. No proble m what others think bother him. it operative, Every organiz ation or group has some sort of binding link that keeps . He's always there, always on the and in motocross Kessler is one of those entities for more. gas, and alfl!aYs providi ng the racing that keeps spectators coming back had it tough the tale ofthe racer who Many interviews you read in Cycle News tell as far as making it to the big at first and then made it. Kessler has had it tough, but and parts for the CUTTent season times, Mickey never got the break. Scoring bikes materialized. has been Kessler's goal each year, but a lucrative factory contract never racing used is reminis cent of what Seeing Kessler and his wife Debbie at the races n of their own, to be, a family on'ente d affair. No, Mick and Deb don't have childre s isn't part ofthe game plan. but it's seldom that one of Debbie's nieces or nephew re. Instead of Going into the Kessler pits is also contrary to what is found elsewhe we usually find Debbie huddle d over finding a mechan ic huddle d over an air filter a ham sandwich and cold drink she's about to offer us. m.ore. It's all too • They've been at it awhile and in '81 Nation al 127 is back for Kessler, and here's some ofthe reasons why. much fun to give it upfor then private er Yamah a for quite a You've been racing for quite a while. while. did you How old are you and when What happen ed to bring you to ~ into racing? change from the Yamah a suppon when I was I'm 26 now and staned team to Maico for this year? about 18. I rode amateu r one year, I've been talking to Maico for about pro for went pro, and have been riding three years about getting a ride from six years. them. Yamah a cut back on their In your lint few yean of racing you program a little bit, so I went and rode rode up nonh, right? a Maico before I change d my mind. lvania. Yeah, in New Jersey and Pennsy That ride change d my mind, I was How many differe nt bikes have you really impressed with the bike. yean? ridden throug h the Do you think the stock Maico is Mostly Yamah a and Monte sa, above the stock Yamah a? Kawasaki and Husky. I staned out Much above the Yamah a, I've never with a Yamah a dealer, then went with been impressed with a bike so much. factory, then back to a the Husky Last year you lOIt the Winter -AMA Yamah a dealer , then Kawas aki Open cia. title to Alan King by a then Montes a factory and factory, few points. Does that bring friction betwee n you now that you're teamma tes? No hard feelings, we're good friends. I encour age him a lot. He's a young rider, I know he's got a good future and I've been through everything, so I try and help him as much as I can and I hope he can do it someda y--I think he can. Do you picture younel f coming out ahead of King? Do you think as a veteran your experie nce could help you have more wins in the end? I think in the Nationa ls with the Maico I can do better than him. Last year I could run with him but he seemed to be able to out-han dle me in spots. I could never figure that out and now I know why it is. Your wife Debbie has been with you quite a while. When did you meet her and how long has she been traveli ng with you? The first year I went pro I met her, so it's been six years. She kept me going. I had somebo dy to travel with, so we'd go on the road for a while and it made it enjoyab le. I really wasn't that serious about racing at the time and then I got more serious. She just kept helping me along, pushing me and making me train. We got married just last year. How would you define the averag e high dollar factory rider today? Are riden wonh what they're getting paid? Are there still those ten guys on top that are wonh it? If they get to be Nation al champ they're wonh whatev er they can get. You can't put the guys down for getting everyth ing they can. There's a little friction there because I've been at it for so long and I don't get anythin g and they get everyth ing. There's definitely a lot of hard feelings there and I'd rather not put them down. You don't auocia te with any of the factory guY' do you? I can talk to them, but they just seem to get off on an ego trip and get into flying airplan es and lots of other weird crap. I just have no compre hension of ever thinkin g about doing that stuff so it's hard for me to get into a convers ation with them. Do you ever feel cheated not having become a salarie d factory rider? Do you ever feel like you miaed a chance when someon e else got it? Oh yeah, but I enjoy it too much to let that bother me. As a veteran , where do you see MX going? Is there a future for the pro IIIOtoCl'OIIer in two, three or five IIeaIOns? Well, already the purses are going down and with expenses going up every year it doesn't look too good. I don't know what's going to happen . The stadium guys are droppi ng out, the promot ers are losing stadium s and outdoo r races lose spectat ors because they aren't promot ed right. At several tracks they get inore and more spectat ors every year, but you get somebo dy else that runs a track and they don't get spectat ors and they don't unders tand it, so they quit having races. It's not as much the sport's problem as it is the promot er's. This year the Florida Winter -AMA Series offered the only Region al MXs on the schedu le. Do you see that setting up a preced ent, maybe that pro riding is on the way out? Sure seems like there were a lot less pro riders in Florida this year, but I think that has a lot to do with expense and it being so early in the season. I didn't want to go down. [t's my time off and [ didn't really want to go to Florida that time .of year. Maybe that has someth ing to do with it too. ls Mickey Kessler more ·compe titive in '81 or has he already peaked of( in the past? Does he have someth ing ahead of him in racing? I've never peaked . 1£ I though t I was getting older and getting slower it would show up every year, but somebo dy like Alan King is 20 years old and I can stili ride with him. Everybody that comes in that's new I can still ride with. 1£ somebo dy comes in new and 1 can't race with him, then I'll probab ly notice that I'm getting older and slower. Every year I've gotten better, so I don't feel I'm going down at all. What could you see younel f doing that could be the best that could happen to you before you get out of racing? I'd like to be on a big-buc ks team, but it'll never happen . I've been here too long and everybody expects what I do, they just expect it out of me. I could win a race and they'd just say 'well he should do that. . It doesn't matter. 1£1 came out next week from nowher e and won a race I'd probab ly get hired that next week, but since I've been here so long I could win five races in a row and it wouldn 't make any differen ce. So I just want to do it as long as I can keep making a living at it. What do you mean as long as you can? Do you ever have any plans to do anythi ng else? I'm definitely going to stay in New Jersey and try and get some kind of a business going. I like to weld and do shocks and I want to stay in motorcycles, but it's hard to work. It's depress ing to work all week and make a couple hundre d bucks when you can go out in a hour and make the same thi·ng racing. Even if I do quit riding pro I'll stay at it at local races riding semi-pro. Do you have any other backin g besides Maico? Not really. Scott' gives me boots and there's conting ency there too. That's about it. Maico's backin g me fully this year and I'm really pleased with it. •