Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

co 0') did you let them up going around the outside as you did? In the one with Ole Olsen I was pulling on him aU the time and it was just a matter of when I was going to get him. But he is such a clever racer, with so much experience it's like he's got eyes in the back. of his head and he just knew where I was all the time. I made a few mistakes in that heat and the one where we both lifted together I should have been on the inside but he read me again and it just took an extra lap. It was just a matter of when I was ~ing to pass him and it happened a litde bit late. With Tommy Knudsen, just after he made a good start on me I switched over to the inside and got him. Then I lost a litde concentration, thinking he was too far up and the other two riders would be in behind me and they would be blocking him. I took it a little too easy and he went by me and really startled me. I couldn't believe itll just thought, "Where the hell did he come from?" Then he was really pulling me and I was trying everything I could, gaining on him so slowly it was a matter of down to the last two inches and I just barely got by him. BRUCE PEN ONE foRTItE WORld "I wasjust so happy and I wished my mother andfather could have been there - that was my only gn:pe. But I'm sure they were riding every inch ofthe track with me." By Dale Brown Photos by Mark Kariya the world champiouship. What were your feelings right then? Well, before that heat I knew all I needed was just one point and I didn't want to do anything stupid. I've done that before - when I didn't really need to win, but went out there and tried to win anyway and crashed Dr something and ended up losing altogether. I knew I wasn't going to push Kenny Carter because he and I are not the best of friends, and we've had a few scrapes before. If I would have beaten him off the start, then I would have been all right. But I was too close to him so I decided to ease off a little bit and settle for second. I never once started to push him in that race. I just carried on with two points. It didn't bother me to not have the maximum 15 points. All I wanted to do was win the meeting and that is the way it ended up. We had some problems with my number one bike that I'd ridden the first four heats with. It was going very good but I found metal traces in the oil and that is the first sign that it could seize up. So we opted to go to my second bike but I knew my second bike was just as good as my third bike or my first bike. Ninety-two thousand. That's a lot. Especially when that's the size of the crowd watching- your every move. But on the night of Sept. 5 at London's Wembley Stadium, where the 92,000 strong crowd was watching, 24· year-old Californian Bruce Pen, hall s moves worked. He collected 14 or a possible· 15 points to win the 1981 World In· dividual Speedway Championship. the first American to capture the ode in 44 years, when Jack. Milne did it in 1957. Appropriately enough. Milne was among the Wernbley crowd. The honors came quickly for Penhall. A telegram from President Ronald Reagan. Standing ovations from the crowds at San Bernardino and Costa Mesa when he returned in late September. Honors from Governor Jerry Brown, the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the city of Costa Mesa. And he deserves them. Penhall could have setded into the sand-andfun routine of southern California beach life. but he opted for a grueling regimen of riding against the world's best to prepare himself to win the world championship. Now it's his. We ~ere fortuna~e to .be ~ble to sit down With Bruce durmg his bnef return, and talk about what it was li~e to ha-:e a dream come true. Here s how It went. . . You told us lut year that one moming you would waite up and you would be world champion. How did you feel on the morning of the Wembley final? Well, I wasn't too sure. I felt really ~{ confident and I didn't have a lot .. ... I! .. !! !!! !!!! .. ! !: ~ !! ~ .... : _ .... : .. ! 14 of p~~ on me. But you never can tell until It s .over. Last year before the world final ID Gothenberg I felt very well there too and after I finished fifth, I thought "Oh man, how many years is it going to happen like this?" You could wake up, feel great and still not win the world championship. This year everything went my way and I put it together. I've had a good year over there, winning the Best Pairs Champi?nship with Bobby Sc~wartz a~~ I think our ~eam should Win the Bnnsh League this year. . There were 92.000 people watching you. What kind of pftllUre did that put ou you? It scared the hell out ~ me at firs~. I got there and I went ID the dressIng room a!1d took a nice cool shower, and ~d a litde ~p and then I walked o~t IDt~ the stadium. At Wembley there s a big tunnel and I walked out .of the tunnel to look at the track.. It Just so happened that the supporters from my team were all above the tunnel - 50 busloads of them - and when I walked out in my street clothes they made so much noise it scared me. It startled me and I was wondering how I was going to be able to handle it once everybody was in and the racing started. I just hoped it wouldn't get the better of me. Fortunately I was able to block. it out of my mind and everything went really good. When you c..-d the finish line in the final race where you finished IIeCODd, you had to know you had !! .. ~ .... :. ~ ~ .. ~ : .... ±__ : .... :: !! .. ~ .!'. ~ ...... ! J You got a ltandintl: ovation from the crowd when you had it won. What were your feelings, knowing you were world champion? For the last four years I've been trying to become world champion and it meant so much to me, my family, my close friends and sponsors and everybody who has put in a lot behind my career. I was just so happy and I just wished my mother and father could have been there - that was my only gripe. I am sure they rode every inch of that track. with me. But it was just a fantastic feeling and r could never begin to explain how great it was and what the annosphere was like. The people were just incredible. After I won it it scared me to hear them all with their horns, ratders and screaming. The stadium is so small, almost closed. and the noise boils over and echoes so much in there it was just unbelievable. It sent chills through my spine a few times. They say if you are to win a world championship the best place to do it is at Wembley and I understand why now. It is the best place to win it just because of the atmosphere. You are going to be trying to defend the world champiouship right here in the Loa AngeIea Colileum, where the '82 World Final is IlCeheduled. That's right. I've never really had on my mind that I wanted to continue on doing like Ivan Mauger did - winning nine world finals. The only thing that really entered my mind was to become world champion just once. Now I have another goal: to win it here. I won it over there and I would like to win in front of American supporters. I was really happy to bring it back. to America since we haven't have it in over 44 years. At San Bernardino (the Sept. 25 California Championship) "I couldn't belz"eve z't - a surferfrom the beach getting a telegram from the President!" Obvioualy it workedl Now the two mOlt aciting raca were agaiDSl Ole Ollen and Tommy Knudlen. How I .Me} •• : r , ' ' ' , , ( l , ' . 11 I , ( t. ) , , r J. 'l 1 ) -; l •l 1 )' ~ (I 1i I'

• Cover