Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Kenn~ Roberts "tthe erossrOGds: One more ~"r1 allDO$t 200miJes of getting only a ~~ofIenny R.oberts as he streaked off intoilie distance,. we finally caught up to the three-Iim.e World Champion at the end of the HiP Sierra Jtoad R.aHy and aSked tum a few questions about the past season and his plans. for the future. 'PJel.. .llG _dIelllOlt..,.,.;ting m recent SDOI'Y. Now tbat a IIIODIh bas pa8IlIsinc:e.-1IaoIa fiaal, what are YCMR illrpasi_ or the aeaIOD? Well, it was a good season. I like gettingdowD in theelin and trying to scrape up du:ee or four points. That's what mates it fun- what it's aU about. In spite of all the time away from home, I had a fun year. It's just that any Juckthat fell, (Freddie) Spen- cer got 60-'10 percent of iL As far as the aetual riding, he won six and I won six, and the rest was just luck that feU on his side. You've hem pI8aued in recent year's by ilI-bmlIIIinROi GiiilltxpswaedlllOlOrc:ydes. How&dyowecp'illIIIft\tsaadt up this year? It was the first season URCe 1980 that I've had a motorcycle that was equal to or better than everybody else's. Yamaha did a really good job on the motorcycle this year; it didn't do tankslappers and it didn't chew up tires, It was like the 1980 season where [ could just ride it 100 percent and that was enough. In 1982, I went 120 percent and still couldn't keep ~ thing on the track. Q(' coarse. &be pivocal point the or ii _t? : wasSpeacel"F ~asia:I . JIUIbdlewinatdleSwectirh • Aay adclicioDal thoughts about f~'syoungandbel1adabelluva lot of pressure on hiuJ.. and I just t1Wlk be forgot where he was. Every- one makes mi$laltes DOW and daen. Hadit happened in thesecond race of :M:;~t:;:~~~i:; 'Yliat ly ticked me off was that the cflampionship came down to that. 1\at's why I was so hot about it. I qoD't think that's the way you win world championships. He apoJ~ ~terwards; had he not apologIZed. I'd have probably run him right off the track in ltalv. You've hiated that, win 01' lose, the 19lB season would be your last. you give it aaotbel' shot IleJtt y~? Well. if I'd have won the championship this year, I would have definitely retired. R.igbt DOW, I have no plans. but if YamaJaa had.given wm me3ootber'~afler&beSwedish GP, I woaW);;; sIped OIl.rigtK -~ The main reasoa I'm thinki~ about letiring is that it's just taking lilOmudi time. There is no off season aaymore. I've gal: to go to France now, thenrigbtafter I get back I have to go to Japan for a TV race. If I race nat year, I'll probably have to start testing in Decembcs'. The first race wiD be in early April, and '84 schedule will be even longer than this year's. WeUDde ....... yoawiUbegianeptilItioa with Yamaha IleJtt month about the 1984 season. Can you comIIIl!IIt on what you'll taUt about? They'll probably make three pr0posals. One will be going to Europe and racing, one will be racing in the Swes and the other will probably be beJpingout the teams, both in America and Europe, as an advisor. [ just havetori1alte upm,. mind which one I want to do, but in don't get enough ti~ off, I won't do anything. If you .,. in the U.S.,is theft a chaace that _'II be seeing Kenny Roberts • on the cIirt tracks? R.i~t ~ is no talk of dirt raong. I did Houston (short track and TI') last year and that was a mistake. I went down there and they (the promoters) didn't advertise the race. which made me mad. so I won't be going back. When I do make a commitunent to do something lilce that and they don't s~ a nicIteI on advertising, I feel lilce I'm wasting my time. When I come to Laguna Seta, &hey spend money to tell people thatI'm COIIlinR. We'vebeard1bat Yamaba ...,&elcla S..-h..'It. tam b 19l15.IsdlatFOlllle- = ,-r--'re imeresa!d in? . you . . we're looking at It, obviously. W But I don't thiak racing Superbikes 1$ the way I want to go out. We'll"ve to wait and. see, it's a little hard to pI'edict right now. • you do decide to race in Europe DeXt year. do you tbiDk it'll be a lepl!lMof chis year's batde between you tmd Speoc:er? Yes, I think the competition would come from Spen(:er and I think it would be a rough year. I like competing against Freddie because he races all the time. HedoesD't make excuses and he races from the first lap to the last. I like that better than having ~ see me and give up. He's a racer. Thl$year, be was unbelievable, ilut allier some riders win the title, they telidlOsiowdown. We'D haveto see. . • Fox Su~erShox . National Superbike, Challlpions Again . 'MIlA SuperBike National Champions 1983 Wayne Rainey ITeam Kawasaki' Fox Factory Twln

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