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/126816
retirem ent th ere was no th in g as sa tisfying as building a fast raceb ike.
In cid entall y, mot orcycles th at Woody
bui lt in th e pas t still ho ld records
at Bo nn evill e. Undo u btedly, o ther
peo pl e m ust have similar thoughts.
At th e beg inni n g of H onda 's invol vem ent, some new specta tors staned foll o win g th e Grand Nationa l
ra cing c irc u i t. Ma n y o f th em are
members of clubs that co nce ntra te
mainly o n street touring. T his ha s to
be a plus for th e industry a nd spon.
It is easy to see th e effo r ts o f Am erica n engineering when loo king a t the
new H o nd a d in ra cebike a s onl y the
engine a nd for ks a re imported from
J a pa n . One of th e unsung heros o f
' th is Ameri can eng ineerin g is Homer
Kna p p who ow ns H oll ywood MOlOrcycle Machi ne. H e worked for Gene
as a n outside co nt racto r. The two of
th em burn t a lot of m idni g h t oil during th e winter befo re th e 1984 season
and ma ny of Gen e's id eas became
real i ty in reco rd time.
Men Lawwi ll su m m ed up th e way
most things a re view ed by th e publ ic
when it com es to ra cin g cha nge:
" Damned if you do! Da m ned if yo u
don't!" Perhaps Men 's success with
the Ro ben s-La wwill racin g effor t,
which resulted with Mike Kidd winn i n ~ th e Grand Nati onal number
o ne in \98 1, mi gtu have had so me
impact o n th e init ia l Honda deci sion
to go d ir t track rac ing. Yamaha Mot or
Corp., USA was o ne o f th e spo nsors
for th e Ro berts-La wwill T eam . Looking a t th e p ositive side o f th in gs, as
spec ta to rs we a re fortunat e that o u r
former Grand Nat ional Cham p ions
are so dedicat ed to our Am er ican d in
tra ck raci ng.
Wh en i t co mes to m an aging a
win ni ng din tra ck ra cing ream , those
wh o ha ve won the championship
th em sel ves ha ve proven that th ey
kn o w how 10 do ir. To da te, o nl y
Am er icans have ma naged winning
team s a nd o n ly Ame rica n r iders have
won Grand Na tiona l di n track races.
It doesn ' t appear th a t th ei r dom in ation wi ll be th reatened in th e foreseeab le future.
G en e ha s al wa ys been a n asset 10
mo torcycli ng . Oth er n o tab le th ings
he ha s done incl ude 'jsi ting h and ica p pe d ch il dren in hosp ita ls in man y
cities a ro u nd th e co u ntry and , o n several occas io ns , h e visited L.A . Trad eTech College as a g ues t spea ker.
Usua ll y bringin g a racebike wi t h
him, h e h as a lways given wo rds o f
enco ura geme n t 10 stude nts p lan ning
a career in th e motorcycl e industry.
Dav e Ar nold, n o w m ot ocross Tea m
Manager for H onda , an d Mark Po rter,
n ow ass ista n t manager of m ot orcycl e
testing for Yamaha , were stude nts
when G en e p ush ed h is din tra cker
into th e la bspon ing h is newly ea rned
number o ne pl ates in 1971.
T he messa ge G en e a l ways gets
ac ross 10 a grou p is th atmot o rcycl in g
is fun . eithe r going to th e races o r
riding one yo urself. .
With th e recent release of On An y
Sunday I videos .roday's yo u ng view er
m ig ht li ke to meet G en e in the pits
af ter the races. H e is us u a ll y surrounded by people, but if yo u a re
. patient you sho u ld ge t the opportunity as he is usua ll y one of th e la st to
leave th e p its.
J ackie Stewart is successfu l sell ing
Fords usin g th e knowledge he learned
whi le raci ng. H o pefull y some promoter will ta ke advantage o f Gene's per sona lity a nd cha ri sm a - th en we
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m ight see h im o n T V.
Pat O wen s tuned Gene R omero's
factory -backed Tr iump h race bik es
in th e late 1960s an d early 1970s.
O w en s is n o w an i nst ruc to r in
m oto rcycle mechanics at L. A . Trade
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and pick up a Toyota
Supercross
Super Ticke !
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THE 1985 MILLER HIGH LIFE SUPERCROSS
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TOYOTA OEALER
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