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/126783
$10,000 for winning the title plus a $10,000 raise in salary. However, while money is cenainly a motivating factor and he would love to have a chance at a whopper of a bonus, Goss puts money aside when the talk gets around to beating Honda. "Hey, what bothers me most," says Goss with dead eriousness, "is when Ricky or Bubba blow by me on the straight on a mile. I want to win the championship worse than I want any money. Actually, Honda's involvement has helped me because Harley has upped our racing bonuses although they still don't come close to what the Honda riders get. I'm happy to see those guys making the money because it will probably begin to spread into the rest of the sport sooner or later. On another level, Honda's hiring Ricky and Bubba opened up some good rides for other privateers. "I guess the only thing I don't like about Honda's approach to racing this year is that they started out the season by calling themselves the underdogs. You can't be the underdog when you've got that much money to spend on racing. If Brent and I win the championship it'll be something worth remembering for a long time. Beating Honda would be sweet." Harley's decision to buck the tide and masquerade Rotax single-cylinder, four-stroke engines in orange and black and call them HarleyDavidsons so the factory riders would have stronger weapons for short track and TTs got Goss' overwhelming seal of approval. "That move definitely saved my bUll. Without the change I would be out of the hunt. I've used the same chassis and engine combination to score 61 points this year. If I had to ride my XR 750 in the TTs or the old 250 (two-stroke) in the short tracks it would have probably cut my points in half or more." To the casual observer, Goss always seems relaxed and some probably think he spends his time between races fishing, water skiing or pursuing some other leisure time activity to kill the time before the next National. Nothing could be fanher from the truth. He could, but he doesn't. The Michigan resident would probably be classified as a workaholic if he was a pan of the normal business world. "Lately, I've been racing the Wednesday night program at Santa Fe to get ready for the TT National there. I also spend time with Brent working on special projects at his house when there's time. In addition, I like to get in at least two days of training a week, but that's been a problem lately. The running and training pays off at Peoria, because that's a very physically demanding race and it always seems to sneak up on you." No mailer how hectic things might be for Goss, he always has time for fans. They cluster around the banners outlining the Harley pit area before and after the races and ask Randy for an autograph or to pose for a picture with one of them or to tell him about the last race they saw him at. Mostly, they wish him luck and tell him they want to see him win the title again. It was no different at DuQuoin. As soon as Goss climbed down from the Harley truck, a crowd of fans, the oldest no more than eight or nine, asked for autographs. Goss, with a pile of race posters, obliged until it was time to suit up and get ready to race. Regardless of whether or not he wins the championship this year,the kids will be back next year for another autograph. And Goss will be ready to show them he appreciates the support of each and everyone of them. He's a champion no matter what number graces his bike's number plates and his leathers, but you can be sure he prefers Number One. • SO-CAL NATIONALS AUGUST 26 CARLSBAD RACEWAY - CARLSBAD, CA See The Stars ... Or Be Onel Palomar Airport Road, 7 miles east of 1-5, Carlsbad, CA Top FHI To TropIIy Classes All Classes! KiiIKiil Chillen,e E.T. $$$ NItiOlllllnd Westen Relioul PollIts Plul Record Ralll! Spectator Admission Just $5.00 After 1pm Sunday. 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