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/126532
Rand)! Mamola "I wasn't looking up to the Kennys and Barrys anymore. I was riding with them." By Dale Brown Photos by Lou Martin and Charles Morey Smooth riding in the two 1OOkm heats of the Laguna Seca Champion Spark Plug 200 gave Randy Mamola. riding a year-old Suzuki RG500, his fint AMA National road race win. At the fairly young age of 21 , not bad. But when you consider that Mamola has the best chance to bring the 500cc World Road Racing Championship back to America, the win at Laguna Seca wasn't really that surprising. Not too long ago. Randy was a freckle-faced fast kid from northern California who, like Kenny Roberts before him. benefitted from the sup' port of Pan~1\D.Py~tJ~~.Doyle; ~ter Mamola had enjoyed some success in American road racing. Doyle helped him ink a contract to race Bimota Yamahas in the 250 and !l50cc World Championship Series in 1979. Randy's Daytona appearance that year was the last time he would be seen racing in the U.S. until Laguna Seca. Mamola started off strong in his European effort, running up with the likes of then 250 and !l50cc World Champion Kork Ballington. Late in the season, Mamola switched to the 500cc class when he got a ride on a privateer Suzuki. Two runner-up finishes in the final rounds netted him a factory ride through Suzuki Great Britain when Barry Sheene opted to switch to Yamahas. In 1980 Mamola won two GPs Belgium and England - and wound up second on the points tally as Kenny Roberts took his third CODIeCUtM title. Mamola started off 1980 with a win in the season opener at the Salzburgring in Austria and another later in the sea· son in Yugoslavia. COnsistent high placings had him leading the point standings for awhile, but two DNFs and a strong mid·season su~ by Marco Lucchinelli left Mamola 16 points out of the lead with three rounds left. Despite the intense battle for the World Championship, Suzuki gave Mamola permission to ride Laguna Seca, and he responded with a win in front of 45,000 people. "It felt great," said Randy in an mterview two days later. "I didn't realize it was my fint National win until a day ago. There .w quite; a ))'t of Dretlure, being there 'I"~ .. ~ .. I I .~:t!i;I' on one of the only Suzuki 5001 against Freddie (Spencer) on a factory Honda and Kenny (Roberts) and his factory bike, but things really worked out well. "It defmitely gave me a lift. Especially since I was riding last year's bike. It was really bad compared to my Dew one. It was hard to get used to, but now that I'm going back to the good bike I should be able to ride it very easily." The fmal l~ in the quest for the World Championship is in August. when riders meet at Silverstone in England August 2, followed by a race in lmatra, F"mland on August 9. and the season ender in Andentorp, Sweden on August 16. Does Randy have a strategy for the final three rounds? "I'Ve been taking things race by race. I haven't ~ thinking ahead on ;1& J(lr~'~sll',,'