Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

What is the big di££erence between the 1982 Johnson and the new 250cc National Champion? "Maturity and experience - and I used my brain to its full capacity," Johnson explains. "Two years ago when·} lost the championship, I had a 20-pointlead and I wanted to go out in style and win the last race.lu-ied to bea hero and win everything. It wasa stupid move on my part, so this year I knew what I had to do. "Two years ago in the beginning of the first race, Hansen had the holeshot and I didn't want to have him beat me. My main concern was to beat him in that race, so I went after him and my wheel broke and that's how that happened. This year I rode my own race and everything worked out real good. I wasn't worried about winning the race - I just knew I had to beat Lechien. The championship was my main concern." There's no love lost between John- . son and Lechien, both from EI Cajon, California. Both fought for this year's championship and their battles, on and o££ the track, were weJl publicized. "It's not over (the feud); it's kinda at a halt," Johnson says. "At the beginning of the year, we were rivalingand I took him out at Saddleback, but it was after he tried to take me out on the uphill at the start of the race. We've pretty much been going at each other's throats ever since. In Orlando we bumped a couple of times but we kinda patched things up. But when it came down to being so dose for the championship; I don't think we started hating each other bUlit's kinda hard hanging out and being buddies. Going into the last three races we didn't really talk, the racing was more important at that point." Despite some bitterness between the two rivals, Johnson complimented Lechien on his sportsmanship after the final race. "He came up and shook my hand to congratulate me," Johnson says. "I have to give him some respect for that because I don't know how I would have reacted if the situation was reversed." For the last two years, Johnson has been regarded as one of the fastest -::j"l 00 0') l-o Q.) ..0 S Q.) ..... 0.. Q.) Cfj A c at with the champ 250cc National Champion Rick Johnson By Peul Cerruther. Two years ago, IS-year-old Rick Johnson appeared to be a shoo-in for the 250cc national championship. He started the first moto in the final race of the series in Denver • with a 20-point lead over Donnie Hansen, but as the sun set in the Colorado mountains it was Hansen who celebrated his 28 national championship while Johnson could only look to the future. I This year was diHerent. Johnson went into the final national in Washougal, Washington, with only a three-point lead over Ron Lechien. But when the checkered £lag waved it was Johnson who claimed the championship. motocrossers in this country, but his consistency was questioned. But now with his first championship under his belt, he has been rewarded by being chosen to represent the U oited S'tates in the Motocross and Trophee des Nations. "I'm looking forward to it because this is really the last year they are having the Motocross and Trophee des Nations of the pattern they have had it for years," Johnson says. "It seems like I've sort of been faJling into that; you know, getting in before the door closes. I'm glad I get to go over and ride on the team with the other guys. "I wanted to be on the team real bad but I heard they weren't going to pick me. I always knew I should be one of the riders on the team because I've proven myself on a 500 at the Carlsbad GP and I proved myself on a 250 at the outdoors. So I felt I definitely deserved to go. "I think we will sweep it. We will defnite1y get one, two, three and a dean sweep would be unbelievable. I I just want to go over there and win the thing. Not me personally; if something happened and I got a sixth in the first moto and I was leading the second moto and Bailey, O'Mara or Ward came up I would let them by. "I just want to win that gold medal, especially after watching the Olympics. You see Americans doing this and Americans doing that; well, this is our Olympics. The Americans swept the Olympics and hopefully we can do the same." Johnson has made severalu-ips to Japan to compete in Supercross races 'and he has become a crowd favorite. It is all part of a neady-prepared selfpromotion that Johnson feels is a necessary pan of his life. "I enjoy promoting myself," he says. "The better motocross does, the better I do. This is my bread and butter so if it takes off into a mi.l1timillion-dollar thing, I'll make more money. So it would be kinda stupid of me not to try and better the sport and better myself." Johnson enjoys traveling and trips to Japan and Europe areat the top of his list. "I get to meet all kinds of neat pea-

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