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/126780
riders who can do very good; when I have luck I can win. My conditioning this year is the best I have ever had. I also started thinking about the first time I won a GP, back in 1982 when I was on the Yamaha. I won in Italy then never won any more that year. I boped things would go better this year." Heinz Kinigtulner GP )IX sJuJ.er 'n' lNI.er By Tom Kolnowski It would be quite difficult to imagine one of the top American MXers - such as Broc Glover, Jeff Ward, Johnny O'Mara or Mark Barnett - working behind the scenes at the corner bakeshop, kneading a mound of dough into what would become a panful of delectable pastries. ow picture, if 18 you will, a small family-owned bakery near the picturesque city of lnnsbruck, Austria, where you will find a tall, somewhat muscularcountryrnan happily turning out a staggering array of baked goods. That's Heinz Kinigadner, a man with a commandingpoint lead in the World Championship 250cc MX Series, and a man in a de perate struggle to stay in that po ition. Kinigadner, in his prime as a MXer at 24-years-old, is backed by the KTM factory in Austria in his attack on the G.P scene. But all the factory backing in the world can't win a World Championship when the rider is riddled with .injuries, and Kinigadner has had his share in 1984. Just past the midpoint of the GP season, and with a staggering 61-point lead over Englishman Jeremy Whatley, Kinigadner sustained a serious injury to his right knee at the Italian round. Three weeks later, and on the heels of knee surgery, Kinigadner came to the U.S. for the Unadilla round. But the pain in his right leg was still great and he spent his time between motos at Unadilla with his leg soaking in a tub of ice. He then injured his left leg in a crash on one of Unadilla's many hills. Yet he remains optimistic about his chances of becoming World Champion. "I am hoping things go well through the rest of the season"'said Kinigadner, "and that I keep making points. The pain is still there, yet I feel confident about becoming World Champion." Kinigadner pent years trotting around Europe. first riding International MX and then, beginning in 1981, GPs. He's also been through the full range of machinery, starting 14 years ago riding KTMs, as you wouLd expect since they are one ofthe "domestic" brands in Austria, and then "riding all of the other European 'bikes - Husqvarna, Montesa, Ossa, Puch and also a Yamaha. I've been back on KTMs since the start of 1983." While Kinigadner obviously does not fit the stereotype of the American factory MXer - since he holds down a regular job between GPs, isn't paid a megabuck salary, and doesn't drive an exotic car - he does get theopportunity to travel. Ironically, the two trips he made to the U.S. in 1983 ended in disaster. "KTM thought it would be good for me to get in some practice before the start of the 1983 GP season," said Kinigadner, "and I came to America to ride the Golden State Series (in California). I gOI a broken arm. "I was in a cast until a week before the first GP, and did not have any time for training or to work with setting up the bike. My condition was not so good, but it got better and better and I started to finish higher. When I came to the Canadian GP I was able to score poims, but the next week at Unadilla things were not so good. I fell down hard and injured my kidneys. The season was over for me - I spent two weeks in the hospital and did not ride for a long time...ยท "I wasn't able to start training again until the middle of December," said Kinigadner, "but could not ride the bike until February this year. My conditioning program is very important. I do a lot of running, and when there is snow I cross-country ski all that I can. The conditions in Austria are some of the best in the world for skiing, and I can do it near my house. I also have a small body building room and spend two, maybe three hours per day there." The 1983 250cc World Champion, Belgian Georges Jobe, moved up to the 500cc wars for 1984, as did 1982 250cc World Champion Danny Laporte, who finished out '83 in second. When asked if he was disappointed to see the top riders no longer in the 250cc class, Kinigadner said, "Yes, I am not happy to see them gone. Taking the good names away means the racing is not as good. Jobe, LaPorte and Kees Van der Ven won many races last year; I would like to see them back on 250s." In France, the first 250cc GP of '84, Kinigadner finally gOt everything together with the result being his second career GP win. "I was feeling very good," said Kinigadner, "but it was difficult to say at that time if I had a good chance at winning the championship. There are s::" or eight He won the first moto in the next round in Austria, but was knocked out of the point lead by Dutchman Gert-Jan Van Doorn after getting a flat tire on the first lap of the second moto. In Yugoslavia, things also did not go very we II. "I got second in the fi rst moLO, but fell down in the second moLO since the dust was so bad. The handlebars got pushed into my stomach, and I was not able LO breathe for a minute. I did not Einish well." Then came Czechoslovakia. "It was very muddy and I was feeling good. I won both motos. and lapped all of the riders through third' place. I do good in the mud since in Austria .when it rains the mud gets very deep, and I bave spent much time learning how to ride in it." Whatley won the next round in his native England, but Kinigadner turned in a solid 3-6 ride to recapture the point lead. Heinz then utilized his wet weather skills once again in Italy and slithered through the mire to wins in both motos. "I was very happy to be in command once again, but my right knee swelled up for no apparent reason after Italy. Two days before the West German round I went LO the doctor and he withdrew water from the knee. "In the Saturday practice in Germany, I made a little mistake and fell down to the right, and injured the knee more. I went to the doctor on Monday and had a small operation. My level of conditioning was not as good as it was earlier in the season. "I felt good for three days then the knee swelled up again. The doctor again extracted some water from the knee." Kinigadner then turned to a rather strange method of therapy in the days before the U nadi Ila round. "It was an old remedy I learned from a farmer," said Heinz. "You take a very hot baked potato, cut it open, and place it over the injury. My knee is feeling better since doing that." Whether the questionable therapy actually helped or not, Kinigadner finished both moLOS at Unadilla to the tune of an 8-10 tally - good enough to increase his point lead over Whatley - but he headed back LO Europe with pain in the left knee as well as the right after falling vic. tim to the rough Unadilla course. "I have found the American tracks to be much rougher than the tracks in Europe," said Heinz, "and to do good on them will require lots of practice. I plan to come back next year to ride the Golden State Series." Leisure time during the GP season is a scarce commodity for Kinigadner, who also has a few years of marriage under his belt. "I have little time LO relax once the season gets going, and when I do get home I sleep or work in the bakery. If there is some extra time I will go fishing, and I like LO make movies with my video equipment." With the GP season two-thirds complete, we wouldn't expect Kinigadner to "kick back" just yet. "The injuries have set me back, but the season is far from over. I do know I very much want to become World Champion." The likable Austrian may not be a shoo-in for the title. You can, however, expect the baker from Innsbruck to continue cooking to some fast times in the remaining GPs. And who knows; his recipe just might be the winning one. -