Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

deliver m ore spee d at will. " Bob does ha ve a n exce lle nt a bilitv to pull o ut th e sto ps th a t are necessary. I think th e m ost impressive thi ng I ever sa w h i m do was at th e Bu rnt H ick or y track when he a nd Marty Smi th were battli n g down to the wire in th e 500cc class. " He fell in the first tu rn an d go t up , but the cl u tch lever wa s j us t hanging down . H e gra bbed it and held it in h is hand for th e wh ol e moto like it was p art o f the grip . After ta king off in dead last, h e wo n th e mot a . I'v e never seen any body ride so much faster than a ny one else. The guy did so many handstands, just out o f cantrol , a nd sa ved it so many times it wa s like yo u co u ld feel wh at he was feelin g as h e ro de th e tra ck . Ma ybe that is wh y h e is so popular. That a nd he is excit in g to wat ch. H e always puts on a sho w. It doesn 't m atter whether he's in fir st or seco n d or last , th e g uy tri es." Bail ey sees th e thresh ol d he stan ds at now as similar to others, he has faced, even th ough th e competition is much higher now. " When I firs t turned Pro I lost m v co n fide nce. I' d li ne up a t th e line in ~ p lace that I didn 't thin k tha t I wo uld get in a firs t turn cras h, because I knew I wasn't going to get the holesho t. T ha t was stupid, because I'd end up in it an ywa y. I kn ew I was , so I'd look for it then magnetize myself rig h t into it. I'd go to th e line and COUIll th e guys I knew were faster than me so I could see about what place I'd get . That was th e hardest time because I'd break, twist and sprain stuff, the bike would give up and I' d get in crashes a ll the time. I just decided, ' hey, I like motocross , too much to give up here.' Then I was trying to make up seconds. That was easy . Making up IOOths of a second at th is level is harder tha n seconds were . Now it's go tten to where if you m iss a day of trai ning or eat so me thi ng stupi d, it makes a di ffere nce whet her you win or lose," David Bailey is a genuine an d frien dly person . H e has a read y smile, an d claims tha t he tries to treat th e peo p le w ho spo nsor him th e way he w an ts to be treated. H is concerns n ow are for th e friendsh ip and w ha t h e h opes is mutual resp ect h e and Bob share can con tin ue in light of th e com pe titio n that is bound to arise between th em th is year. "I th ink Bob is go ing to wi n a few more races . He' ll be ri ght in th e to p because o p portun ity always goes to the person who pu ts in 100%. Besid es, he has a lrea dy ha d hi s share of bad lu ck thi s year. I th ink th at j ohnson and I are going to sta rt pushin g past h im. Bo b m igh t sta rt falling down a lo t of peo pl e said I little bi t. wouldn't even need to wo rry about j ohnson, bu t I kn ew he wou ld come bac k strong. T here wi ll be track s around w here the pa ssin g is a little easy a nd we are goi ng to be a ble to p us h past him. I thi nk th at by the en d o f th e year I'm goi ng to be a ble to bea t him. My goal is to wi n th e Grand Na tiona l tit le, a nd to do th a t I' m goi ng to have to win th e S upercross or th e Na tion al series . T he points are closer in the Nat io nals , but I don ' t kno w what wi ll happen . I do kn ow tha t it will be so me good racing. " T he o ne th ing I h o p e is th at Bob a nd I ca n stay budd ies, so to spea k. I have a lot o f respect for him . I don 't kn ow if he does fo r me, but he see ms like h e does. I kn ow he wouldn't run into me, an d that h e's really-sm art. Also he h at es th e o the r teams. I don 't kn o w deep down if h e does, bu t o n the o utside he rea llv doesn ' t li ke any body . You ca n see i t in p racti ce; he goes ou t o f hi s way to move i n fro nt o f guys and race with th em a nd try to d isco urage them . H e has a n amaz ing a bi li ty- to di scourage and .... .... - 0... ~ psych people out. H e's a clea n racer reall y. H e proved that in his second mota race wi th joh nson at Hangtown. T hey were rea l close and he n ever made co n tact. " It 's goi ng to be hard. I' ve got my foot in th e doo r for winn in g so me tit les, mak in g some money and ful fill in g some of th e goals I have set. " He's go t a few years left a nd h e wa nts to win, a nd h e reall y does n't wa n t a ny body to sta n d in h is way. I ca n predi ct a lirle ten sion go ing o n a nd rna vb e a bit more isol at ed rela tionshi p. I'll si t in my co rner a nd h e'll sit in hi s an d we' ll ta lk whe n it's appropria te, and not du ring the race. Af ter talki ng serious ly, Bailey 's face breaks back int o a lighter mood, '" don 't feel bad wh en' bea t h im becau se I kn ow h e loves to bea t me. H e loves to win, and whe n ' lose, h e j us t kn o ws that it d rives me nu ts and that I' m trying everything. H e does n't care how much h e wins by as lon g as h e win s." T h en , baek on a serious note Bailey talks about two other motiva tions. "I th ink that I have reach ed the level' have because o f m y da d's coach i ng a nd th e switch to Hon da , Dad didn 't teach me how to ride a n d mak e me what I am, but he goes a lo ng to most o f the races and films me and th e g uys h e thinks are faster th an me, We wa tch it a ll a nd ana lyze what I do a nd wha t I need to do. I think' wi ll co ntinue to im prove beca use of it, a nd I'm lu cky to h ave h im to do it. I think tha t coachi ng in mot ocro ss is good; I th in k th a t o ther riders shou ld have it. l I just hope it ta kes a 100 g time for the m to figure it o u t. Also , there are n 't m a'ny pe o p le around, like m y dad, wh o are q ua lified to tell so meo ne like Bro c G lo ver o r Ha n na h or joh nson wha t th ey n eed to do. " T he ot he r th ing tha t m otivat ed me last year an d th e beginning o f th is year was the mo vie R ock y 1/1. It so unds fu n ny, bu t I sa w h im lose th e first fig h t because h e was being a bi g shot. Thenhe won again by ge tti ng back to basics. I decided' wou ld ge t back to basics rathe r than j us t rid ing laps. I started p ract icing with left turn s, no matter how bori ng th ey see me d. When I first sta rted trying tu rns arou nd a trash ca n fast, I suc ked, I co u ld n't even do itl It 's somethi ng tha t is so simp le, but I sta rted do ing it and it h el ped o n the race track. I practice turns a nd sta rts . T he sta rts h ave reall y h elpe d." Kn owledgeable spec tators w ait in goose bum ps for the 250cc race to start at th e Na tio na ls. Th ey k now th ey will see h ist ory as one of tw o inevitable possibilities come to fulfill m ent . Either Bob H annah w ill be push ed to his limits by you ng lion s Bailey and R ick Johnson and th ey will wi n, or Ha nnah will ex tend h is lim its beyond his present indomitable spee d, W hicheve r, the u p pe r limits of mot ocross speeds will be ex ten ded again. Dav id Bailey th inks th e winner m ay we ll be h im , but i! was n't alwa ys th at w ay. • 29

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