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/126602
Steve Eklund (Bland Wise dive into the first corner together• Momentala.r, col11llct between the two left Eklund on the ground. don't think he should get all upset. He did say some strong things, but he had to use words. Even if he bumps me as hard as he can and knocks me off, I'm still going to shake his hand at the end of the race . Bob Hannah and I are really good friends. At Unadilla (MX, 250cc USGP) we bumped about seven times a lap, but we could go out for a steak dinner afterwards. These dirt track guys hold grudges against each other a lot. It's ridiculous, we're all -professionals . Go race, and aft erwards shake hands. You don ' t h ave to be friends , but there 's no ne ed to be saying stuff abouteach other, either. "A bunch of those guys probably had their feelings hurt because] was able to do what] did." Do you think yo u were the bad guy when it came to passing at Houston? I'll tell -you. I didn 't bump an ybody. I'll guarantee it , I co ul d h ave tak en everyone o f th e guys do wn th a t I passed , or a t least tried. I pa ssed o n th e in sid e a nd left p lenty of room . But you ha ve to understand a bunch of th ose guys p ro ba bly had th eir feel ings hu rt beca use I was a ble to do wh at I d id . They, don 't un derstan d wh at it takes to be a p rof essio nal mot ocrosser. The guys are in suc h good shape. Mark Barnett rid es five tim es a week and runs five miles a fter he rides. I'm not even dose to being in shape if I was riding motocross, and I didn't get tired riding the TT. Motocrossers just have a better all around style. Granted, if you put me on a half mile I'd get blown away, but I'd adapt quicker than the dirt trackers could adapt to motocross. You were the first to congratulate Ricky Graham when he won the race on a Harley-Davidson. What would you have done if you'd been on a Harley? , I wouldn't have ridden it l H e's a real man. Rick y Graham and Kenny Roberts are th e only two dirt tracker s I can think of who could ha ve been really good a t motocross. You can watch Ricky's style-he' s very aggressive, and that's wh at it takes to be a good motocross rider. There wasn 't really th at much mental or ph ysical strain on me at Houston . I didn 't really feel lik e I rod e that da y. I woke up th e next da y a nd I didn't even feel like I'd been to a race. Now you tak e Ri ck y Grah am o n th at H arl ey, I bet he was sore! I hav e to look u p to tha t man more a nd more. He deserv ed that win . What's your attitude towards dirt trackers after Houston? They don 't bother me, beGIUSe th ey'r e just talk in g , a nd it's a different story o nce yo u get o n th e track . Just lik e the o the r ni ght I wa s wat chin g the Su gar Ray Leona rd mat ch o n T V, a nd aft er th e figh t so me gu y sta rts yacking abo u t how he's goi n g to get into th e ring with Sugar Ra y a n d th at he co u ldn' t unders tand wh y everyo ne back s a way from h im in th e ring. Ju st wait until he gets in th erel It's th e same in racing, the talk van ish es wh en th e two minut e sign'goes up', f really don 't care what these guys think of me , but I'd like to be able to talk to them at th e races and not stay to m yself . " I went to H ouston representing all MXers, and apparently ] made the sport of MX look OK. n Ijust have to tell yo u it' s so different in motocross. You get knocked off in a berm and it's yo u r fault for being there! Like wh en Kidd ramm ed me , it was my fault. I sh o u ld have dosed him o££ on th e inside. No matter what he does to win , that's alright, After the race we sh o u ld be polite enough to sha ke eac h o the r's hand. After your third at Houston you praised the Lord for bringing you to that finish. Are your religious beliefs new or were you a religious person in the past? I' ve been a Christian for j us t six months. So many good things have happened to me, espe cia ll y since I'v e become a Christian , a n d I couldn 't be in a bett er spot right n ow . Are you planning to ride any of the Winston Pro Series miles or hall miles? I'm going to rid e all the TTs, but with Mike Kidd on th e team going for the Number One plate they reall y don't have rirne'towork on an ex tra bike for me. I really don't care too much about the miles or half miles at this point. From what I learned at Houston, I really believe I can win the next three TTs, I believe that. Combine that with the Superbike races, it'll be a full year. Have you talked to Hannah an d some of the other MXers since Houston? I talk to Bob all the time. A lot of the MXers are pulling for me , and a bunch of them will be at 'the Superbike race in Da ytona to root for me . Jeff Spencer, the Team Honda MX trainer, called to tell me about a ll the people who are really happy about wh at I'v e don e. Roger DeCoster called me, which is gr eat because I have such a good rapport with the Honda MX team . Dave Arnold, th e MX team ma nager , ca lled me th e day after . Houston to co ngra tu la te me. T he re 's a -rea ll y g ood feeling through H onda 's ent ire race effort about what 's happen in g , a nd tha t's so me th ing new. All th e mech an ics helped me bui ld th e bik e, plus it wa sn ' t a co m ple te factory effort. Jimm y Stra it, m y best friend down here, a nd Larry Worrell put in a bun ch o f work . Udo Geirl . the ro ad race team man ager, is o neo f the neat est people I'v e ever mel. As far as pull in g for me, he'd do any th in g. An ywa y, th e mot o cro ssers a re wat ching no w. I went to H ous ton rep rese n tin g a ll MXers. an d a p par en tly I mad e th e sport o f MX lo ok OK. Next week: Steve Wi se ta lks about his .' Su perbike debut. • 19