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/126774
Doing the best that can be done Warren Reid: Seriously By Rex Reese Well, not very, to be honest. Unlike many riders, don't expect Warren Reid to take himself very seriously, because he doesn't. Warren is as famous for his off-beat humor as he is for his racing. This is the guy who's worn nicknames like "Joker" and "Warren In" on the back of his leathers. And 22 he's equally adept at impersonating Cellow riders, from Bob 'Hannah to Ricky johnson. But Warren's deadpan wit is what trips people up the most. A classic Warren Reid gag occured last year during a press conference at the second annual Tokyo Supercross in japan. Announcer Larry Huffman was introducing each of the American riders who had come over for the event, including Reid who appeared at the conference in punk drag. "As I was interviewing him for the japanese press," recalls Huffman, "Warren announced that he was changing his last name Crom Reid to Serious. Naturally, in the translation this was confusing to the japanese. I' asked Warren, 'Are you joking?' And he replied, 'No. I'm serious.' " After some further translation, the japanese Cinally caught on to the joke. But things really did become serious Cor Warren during the trip to Japan: word had been received that his two year old son Jarrett had suddenly fallen ill and had been rushed to the hospital. It was bad; the boy was unconscious and in intensive care. Under normal conditions (if you want to call an almost permanent traffic jam normal), the trip from downtown Tokyo where Warren was staying to the airport takes almost two hours. But Reid was able to get to the airport, through customs and onto the the next plane home in lli hours flat. j arrett Reid is now three and his illness is still a mystery. And this is where Warren Reid is serious, because family life is just as important - if not more - than racing. "I like racing," Warren remarks, "But you have to think of a family, too. That's why a lot oC racers are irresponsible - they don't have any responsibilities. I can race with responsibilities, but I'm not going to pursue it (racing) at the expense of my family." For the time being, family life with wife Cinda, jarrett, and sevenmonth-old Alden - is where it's at for Warren because some time will be needed before he's fit to race again. Warren broke his right leg at the Wrangler/Insport supercross atAnaheim in january, immediately ending what was promising to sh"pe up as a good racing season. While the injury happened to be Reid's first bad break in his nine years of racing as a Pro, it wasjustone more chapter in a career that's seen as many highs as lows. Last year Warren Reid worked his way into seventh place in AMA supercross and 10th place in the outdoor Nationals, becoming the top Yamaha privateer and even top Yamaha rider when the factory riders failed to get into the money. Warren didn't win any races, but by his own account he was doing better than a lot of other riders. Yamaha didn't let Reid's efforts go unrewarded, and towards the end oC the season he was given a works bike and plane rides to the races. The switch Crom' stock YZs to factory machinery produced immediate improvements in Warren's placings. Things began to look up, and Warren believed that a contract for 1984 was a deCinite possibility. But when the factories began signing up riders for the new season, Warren Reid wasn't one of them. Something seemed to be wrong. "I was kind of surprised that I didn't get a ride," says Warren. "Last year was pretty good, I thought - a lot better than some people who were getting paid a lot of money to race. "Sometimes it's not fair about who gets a factory ride and who goes privateer," Reid continues, explaining why a factory ride has continued to elude him. "If I had won some races last year, then I would've (had a contract) for sure. I've been around too long to get a ride based on good performances because they (the factories) want to win. They'd rather get an unknown guy who's going to create a lot of exci tement in the press. " But factory ride or not, Warren doesn't discount himself from ever winning races or getting a championship. "I know there's a Number One plate waiting," he declares. "It'll just take the right circumstances to put it on the front of my bike. And i£ I don't have a legitimate chance at pursuing a championship here, then I'm going to make myself available for special overseas races in other countries. " That's all in the future, perhaps a year from now. Warren's right leg was severely damaged at Anaheim, a real bummer of a night that won't be Corgotten for a long time. That it's about half-an-inch shorter than the left leg serves as a graphic reminder of the experience. Despite what Warren was expecting of the season to come, his night at Angel Stadium just wasn't working out. Warren tangled with Danny Storbeck in a qualifier, got up last and had to ride his buns off to finish fourth. Another run-in - this time with Team Tamm's john Whelchel - in a semi was the one that finally did it. "He hit me from the inside," states Reid about the incident. "And that's when I broke my leg." . The result was a spiral fracture of the tibia and fibula, just above the ankle, and the only thing that was keeping the shattered bones from sticking through the skin was Warren's Hi-Point boot. It was obvious to the medical personnel·that a serious injury had been sl,lHered as Warren laid on the floor oC the stadium in agony. Such situations then involve shipping the injured rider to the hospital immediately. But surprisingly enough, it was decided to treat Reid on the spot. "They didn't cut my boot off," recalls Warren. "They pulled it off - and it was obvious that it was broken bad. It didn't hurt until they started pulling, and then I screamed. I could feel my leg getting longer." Later that night in the hospital, Warren considered retiring from racing. The sudden inactivity Cor a person who had always been in constant movement was frustrating, but it did give him time to think about a lot of things. ''I'd already decided earlier this year that I wasn't going to spend all my money to go racing," says Warren. "Yet, I wasn't going to quit racing, either." Careful investments in real estate, and wise advice from his mother Carol Rosenstiel and his accountant, had left Warren in a fairly comfortable financial condition. Money that had been made while riding for Honda, Kawasaki and later Suzuki had been salted a'Yay during the fat times in preparation for times of need, and this was that time. Nothing had been purchased on credit, there were no expensive toys like sports cars or boats to drain resources, and even Warren's house was all paid for. Unlike many Pro riders who've blown all their cash only to be poor at the endoCtheirracingcareers, Reid didn't have to worry about anything. With no crushing financial problems hanging over his head, all Warren had to do was heal. With time on his hands, Warren considered the possibilities that lay before him. The idea of retirement was soon dropped, and two avenues of opportunity presented themselVes. Cinda proposed that Warren teach riding classes, an idea which was received with mixed feelings. "I didn't want to do it," comments Reid, "because so many people do. But I don't really have a school, I have a class. "Something that I offer that maybe other people can't," explains Reid, "is that I've been out there· racing supercross. That's the style that's taking over - the super aggressive (riding) style, being aggressive for the entire moto. You don't just go out and ride a moto, you do speed racing, you have to have endurance, you have to do jumping, cornering, and braking. All of that has to be incorporated now because racing is that competi tive." Warren goes on to say that he tries 10 apply the training techniques of other sports to motocross and that those techniques can produce positive results with a learning rider. "A rider has to be dedicated to make it to the top," Reid says. "But I can show them how to reach their full potential and be at peak performance all the time." Reid teaches'one-on-one and small group sessions on a half-day basis. And unlike other riding schools which