Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

I couldn't believe the reception I got - I got a standing ovation and it really made me feel2OOd. . I always thought that they were watching us over in England, but I son of had it in the back of my mind, "Well, they don't thinlt about us that much." Then when I got that reception I was thrilled to death and then I really knew that they were behind us. You won your fint world championship earlier iD the year when you and Bobby Schwaru took the World Pain ~ iD PoIaDd. What did that feel like to:you? That was great, it really was. We were standing on the podium and it was great for us to know that we had won a world championship but we were in . Poland and Bobby and myseH were the only two Americans there. We reaDy wish' we could have shared it with American supponen. They were playing the national anthem !lnd out of say about 50 to 70,000 people, there were only two Americans in the whole stadium, Bobby a~d I. It was a great feeling for us to win and I'm not going tp gripe about that, but it would have been nice if we could have had the American mppon. As far as difficulty of racing, which was easier: the World Pain or the blClividual? The Individual, by far. It is such a hard build·up- I've worked the last four yean trying to become the world champion and it is such a dam mental strain. It works on you. It's physicaDy tiring because of the traveling you have to do during the season and trying to get a 200d build-up toward the world final After the world final is over you feel like your season is finished. I was so mentally and physically drained that when I rode three days later and I won the meeting it didn't mean anything to me because I'd been on a peak for so long and then it just came down. I feel the world champion. ship should be the last meeting of the season because there is such a big build·up.towards it. You've still got two things coming up that we're aware of. Firat as we undentand it, your team Cradley Heath is leading the British League. That's right. All we've got to do now is win three home matches and we've done it and nobody can touch .us. We've won 19 out of 20 matches this year and that hasn't been done before. I've got the British League Rider's Championship as well, where the top man from each team in the British League race at an open meeting at the end of the year. That is the very last meeting of the year and I've been second in that fOT the last two yean running and I'd sure liIte to win that this year. I would reaDy liIte to come back and retain my U.S. National Championship title. I've won the California state title and I was really happy to do that and I would liIte to put a nice cap on the year by winning the Nationals. When will the year end for you? I will be back here for the lIIationals in October and 111 be in California for about eight days and I'll go back to England again for the BLRC and two more open meetings in Gc:nnany. Then I'll arrive back here in the beginning of November. I'll have a two month break where I plan on taking about two weeks off and not doing anything. I'd like to go to Hawaii and have a little vacation. Then I start training again and 'go to Australia in January and New Zealand in February. I'll get back to the States the fint of March and train a little bit more and then race the international series like the middle of March where the Europeans usually come over and race at Costa Mesa and San Bernardino or like they did last year where they had the Americans that are based in Britain venus Americans that race here. Then I'll head back to England around the end of March sometime and stan the season all over again. So actually I've got two weeks off this year before I stan training. Are you still plaDDiDg on riding the Superbiken nent? Yes, that is something I liIte to do. I have fun do it. I can barely ride a motocrou bike anyway, but I have a good time out there and Husky has come up with a bike. I received one from Malcolm Smith, Bel· Ray, John LaDoucher and Mark Blackwell. They aD presented me with a brand new Husky, so I ~Ian on doing a little riding and get m a little practice. But I know there is no chance for me to ever get close to winning the thing. I am just looking forward to having a good time liIte I did last year. I got beat awfully bad, but I didn't expect to do well. Not against those guys - they are fantastic. But I have a good time doing it. Do you lee aDy changes iD your future as far as the ec:hedule you've ..... ClO C') ..... ..... CN ... ~ .g ..., U o let? Well, I'll be going back to England next year because I want to try for the world championship here in the States. After that I really don't know. I might fmish then; it just depends. I'd liIte to get a products line going in the near future. We've got a few things going now: my own speedway boots and the book, Bruce PmluJIl's Stan tmd Bi1ces. It's been a big seller in England. It hasn't gone too well over here but I think it is a pretty good book. "They were play,'ng our National Anthem and out ofabout 50 to 70,000 people there, Bobby (Schwartz) and I were the only A merz'cans. " We heard that you got a call from a Hollywood producer. Do you lee youneI£ getting iDeo moria or acting? I've never even thought about that. I am a racer and I've been so involved in speedway for the last eight yean that I've never even given that a thought. I had a lot of fun filming the movie On Any Sunday 11, doing aD the riding out in the sand with Malcolm and Kenny. It was hard work, take after take after take, but I never even thought about acting. We did get a call and we will definitely ring them back in November. We'd liIte to have a meeting with them and see what they have to offer. But as of right now nothing really has taken off. We undentaDd you got a telegram from PraideDt lleagan? That was something else. My lint night back from the World Final to my home track at Cradley and the stadium was full. It was raining and I received a few other gifts from the owner of the team and the promoter and the supponen club and a few other little things like crystal. My promoter read the telegram, and I didn't know who it could have been from, then at the 'bottom it said from Ronald Reagan. Then we got a letter from them all typed out from the White House with a seal on it and then President Reagan's signature. I was really thrilled to death when I saw that. I couldn't believe it - a surfer from the beach getting a telegram from the President! I thought this is really great, really good. • 15

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