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/126597
What will we sec in the way of the Superbike effort? Well, we are going to run the same bike with a few little refinements. I have better brakes than I had last year, which is hard to believe because we've really had good brakes. The frame will be the same, and as far as the motor goes, we've been playing with carburetion and different things that hopefully will help us a little bit. But the bike worked so good last year we're just going to stay with the same thing. With Freddie Spencer going to Europe, who do you think will be the toughest competition as far as the Superbike series? Well, Wes Cooley will be the main guy. He'll be real tough and of course there will be Mike Baldwin. Roberto Pietri is right there now ; he is really riding hard. You don't want to rule out anybody because you just never know , but Wes and Baldw in for sure. Those guys are going to be tough . I'm going to have to ride my butt off to keep up with them, "I'd rather stay here, to tell you the truth. But the ultimate goal is the 500cc World Championship, so eventually I've got to do it. " What was your reaction to hear that Steve Wise had gotten a Superbike ride? I think he's got a lot of ta lent; we've seen that at Carlsbad. But there is a lot of difference between sliding a 450 or 500 Honda single around a race track and taking a 5uperbike and riding it around there. I'm sure in time he's going to do real well, but like I say, I never want to rule out anybody. He could just adapt right to it and take off, but I think it is going to take him a year to really get in the groove. So I'm not too worried about him this year , but next year or the year after, look out. He 'll be ready 'to take off. You say that it takes a while to get adapted. I guess you would say the same for yourself after Europe last year, where you didn't have a whole lot of success. Yes, we had some trouble with the bikes, just little things . We had the ignition go bad on us one time and other things that you just can't forsee, I also fell off one time in the rain on a real slippery corner where a whole bunch of us went down. We didn't finish a race, but we qualified real well. Livin over there and .n to adapt to all the different things , the language or just getting around , is really tough. I didn't care for it at all . The level of competition is higher. The equipment is a lot faster over the re . We 'd be going down a straightaway and th ey'd just come by me like I was stopped! They were on Kawasakis as well . It was unreal. I like the racing over there, but I don't care for th e hassles of getting around and going through the borders. Your tentative schedule as we understand it should include at least a couple visits to Europe. I am hoping that maybe I will get a couple of races on the 500cc over there if they don't conflict. This'll be the first time, since Daytona last year, that you've had a teammate, Wayne Rainey. Think that'll be a help to your efforts or just a help to Kawasaki in general? I think it will be a help to Kawasaki in general. It's always good for them to have two riders. As long as we've got the manpower to do it, which I think we do now , there won't be much of a problem. We've got enough mechanics and enough spares. Last year would have been difficult because we had just enough for myself . This year Gary has a bigger budget and we've got more spares and it'll be good. Wayne's riding real well now and he'll be right there . The two of you almost have identical backgrounds .•. Yeah. We both started in the same area dirt trackin' and we ell' u to- gether, I just got into road racing a little earlier than he did . but I'm glad to see him make the change because he has the ability to do it and do it well. I think it' s going to be a good season for him as well. Do you miss dirt tracking? Not really. Road racing has been so good to me . It pa ys well and it's fun . I enjoy it. It seems like I just get out there, ride around and do fairly well at it . Dirt track is so hard. Those guys have to go out and ride so hard just to qualify, and for what it pays, it doesn't seem worth it to me. I think the riders ought to all get together in dirt tracking and go to a 500cc rule at least . Then they could have factory rides. There could be a lot of factories in there and they could be flying to the races like I do and have a rent-a -car and a hotel waiting and they wouldn't have to pay any of their expenses. It would be a good thing for dirt tracking, but they want to stick with that Harley. I don't really understand it . To go out there and work that hard and make that kind of money just doesn't seem worth it to me. So in that respect I don 't miss it. It is fun. I enjoy going out there and riding it , just a sportsman -type thing once in a while , just to keep my foot in it. Houston will be fun. I'm looking forward to that. TT and short tracks are always really competitive. I don't mind doing one or two a year, but I don't miss it to where I'd want to go back and t to do it for a livin . Can you explain how it is that most of the top road racers in the United States today have at least some dirt track background? It helps a lot . You're out there and you've got the ability to ride that bike sideways on the di rt, pu t it anywhere you want it even when you're doi ng a big feet -up slide. If you can control a bike doing that , you can surely keep one going straight and on the pavement. If you can dirt track , you can road race. Try to take a road racer and put him on a dirt track, just forget it. It 's not going to work . But you're out there on the road racer and you're sliding it around and you're skidding it through the corners and it helps to know what's going on underneath you. You know when it's going to come around too much and when it's not. Just to have that ability to feel the tires underneath you ; you can feel the adhesion better than if you hadn't had dirt track experience. It 's just all-around better to have that experience. You've had quite a bit of success since you have got into road racing. How has that changed your life? It hasn't really changed me any. I feel like I'm the same person , but it's nice to have my own house now and a nice car. I can go out and do things now that I hadn't been able to do before, but as far as me , I'm still the same old person. I think some people have changed towards me , but I haven't changed. It 's nice to have toys and do thin t ' t feel that I've 2I