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/126803
( f. t '4 I. WMRRA/Group W's Northwest Sunday: The making of a video By Bruce Scholten Northwest Sunday might have been titled " A Da y in the Life of a Road Racer." It has a natural , chronological focus on three WM RRA rider s - veteran Ra n dy Sk iver , #1 pl ate co ntende r Joe Davis, a n d prom ising rookie T om Marxat Seattle International Raceway for a WMRRA road rac e. Production rider John Davidson floated th e idea of a video project a t a WM RRA dub meeting last winter . Mall Moeller was intrigued and app roached the Group W Cable Company, wh ich offered two ca mera s and crew, p lus their well-equipped editing facility. Moeller drew up a forma l p ro posa l, which GroupW (the W stands for Westinghouse) accepted, and he was named execu tive producer. "At th e time wer e mak ing it, we didn 't know anything about film making," la u g hed Chris Loomis, WMRRA p resident an d co-p roducer with Moeller,"lf it weren 't for Mall's background in th e university drama department, we would have been in worse trouble. For every minu te of film we spe nt a t least a n hour discussin gwhattodo for a scri p t. Originally we pl anned more of a documentary , with a number of intervi ews, but it developed into mor e o f a 'T h is Is Road Racing.' An d personal ex pe rien ce shows it is very effective for explai ni n~ to relatives a nd o ld friends just wh at In blazes you've been do in g for th e last 10 years." That a lo ne mak es it a n ice information pi ece, a nd good P .R . for anyon e con nec ted with motor raci ng. The film has charm and rea lis m even in the staged breakfa st scenes. As Tom Marx sta res into th e yolks of the eggs he' s frying , they seem to exp lode into a dozen motors screaming sideby-side through turn two - a rac e da y morn in g sensation familiar to most com pe titors. The film makers' search for a script ended when they noticed Ra ndySkiver gath ering footage vi a a helm etmounted camera. Totem Lake Honda-Kawasaki owner Gary Correll readil y agreed to su p p ly that film to the project. Although they mak e wild party tapes, that da y's shooti n g wa s unusabl e. The dec k a nd power su ppl y, stra p ped to the back o f Skiv er 's 750 Interceptor, pi cked up' too much vib ration. Wh en th ey'd ins u la ted th e a p pa ratu s with laye rs of foam , Skiver went o u t agai n, in prac tice a nd two heat races, wi th 19 pou nds o f camera an d lead (co u nterweig h t) strapped to h is head . H e returned with smooth footage , a nd it is th e heart o f th e film . Skiver dawdled in practice, and started a t the back o f th e gr id in qual ifyin g heats to film o ther riders. And when Skiver has eno ug h , he ja ms it , reel ing in middle-level riders a t will. The horizon goes far sideways as Skiver works hi s way to th e front. Group W 's public access cha n ne l 29 has shown the film several times in Seatt le, a nd Chicagoans ma y see it soon. Chris Loomis summed up, "It's been a rallying point a n d a mileston e for us this year. I want to thank everyone who helped with it. Next year WM RRA has a t least th ree S.I.R. dates, and will host a Can-Am seri es. There'll be a nother G roup W project . This time we'll focus on th e New Rider Clinic, and we'll have no problem fillin g our cla sses." • Fun begins when you let the clutch lever out. Hi-Point Racing Salutes Women's Motocross CIIC/SIl. . . ._ c:...LJalrt WOMEN'S MOTOCROSS NATIONALS Ad.lento. CA. Dec . 1 s. 1984 Nationel Chempfori LISA AK IN 126 Pro MERCEDES GONZALES 250 "'" US A AKIN u.s. WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS Ca"abad.~.o.c .9. 1984 '26 Pro USA A KIN 250"", MERCEDES GONZALES Top Pro. like the.. rei)' on the ••me HI-Point RKinc .qulpment th.t you eIIn buy from your ....I.r. GO SEE HIM TODAY! MERCEDES GONZA LES 3709 West Erie Aven ue. Lo..in. OH 44053 2650-H M erca ntile Dr.• Rancho Cordova. CA 95670 LISA AK IN 15 , l f J