Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ ~ t:l a: w - 1XI Z w o :::! :I: 1= « ~ >- 1XI 0 ..... ~ 0 00 O'l :I: n, ...... ~ O'l e-r >ro ~ Bailey: "Thinking ahead is a big part of being a winner." David Bailey has claimed six championships so far in his career and is one of the nicest guys on the track - he's truly a motocross star. How to: Be a Motocross Star! By David Bailey with Thomas Scott Part one: How to build a motocross career I'm David Bailey, and I' ve been pre tty successfu l at racing motocross. Over th e next few weeks I'll be giving yo u some inp ut on various factors which influe nce th e way I race and how I perform. I'll also be giving you some tips on sponsorshi p and how to spe nd yo u r m on ey on ce yo u make it. L ife on the road and m y resp onsib ilit ies as a factory rider are also important, so I'll cove r th ose areas. 14 I th ought we'd sta rt o ff w ith how I got going a n d what it took to get th ere. First o f a ll, I don 't co nside r myself a sta r. I' ve m ade it a li tt le fu rther than so me othe rs who had th e cha nce. I' ve been lu ck y at tim es, but I've a lso had the n atural tal ent wh ich I u sed to the best o f m y a bili ty. T hrough the coachi ng of m y dad (Gary Bailey) I've become o ne o f th e top m or ocr osser s in the world , a nd I've tak en a bunch o f cham pions hi ps. When you pu t yo urself o n track for a p ro fession al ca reer, th ere a re many decisions to m ak e, a nd to m e. most of tha t stu ff almos t seems li ke lu ck. Th ere were a bunch of g uys I raced agai ns t w he n I wa s a n ama te u r, friends o f m ine, and somethi ng ha p pen ed to th em . T hey weren ' t a ble to keep p ush ing, th ey d id n' t ge t th e righ t breaks, o r th ey got in j ured ari d never recovere d. A lo t o f un fortunat e thi ngs seem to ha ppen to th ose peop Ie w ho ha ve a cha nce of mak in g it. a nd man y of them are n ever a ble to reali ze their goa l. The big secret-is that a lmost a nyo ne ca n turn out to be a MX star. If yo u ha ve any n atural tal en t a t a ll,. if you ca n think for yo u rse lf, if yo u know wh a t it m eans to really be in good physical shape, if yo u ca n create new riding id eas a nd techniques, a nd if yo u ca n learn to ride smooth o ver varyi ng terrains, yo u ca n be a star. Tha t's w hy I th ink I' ll be racing for a long time; I kn ow w ha t it w ill tak e to w in if it 's h ot , or if it's dust y. I ca n ada pt to a ll co nd i tio ns, a nd th at gives me an edge o n everyone else , S tart o u t with small a nd real istic goa ls, o nes th at yo u ca n reach . T oo m any ti m es I've seen rider s who have tr ied to ge t into the Ex pe rt class too q u ick ly so th ey ca n ru n with th e fa ster g uys, because they fig u re they'll ge t faster by racing wi th faster rid er s. T hese g uys a re so much slo wer they 're no t eve n o n the same la p as th e Expert g uys. All they 've reall y lea rned is that th ey'r e in last a nd that they ha ve to go faster - I co u ld ha ve to ld th em that before th ey mo ved u p to th e Experts! Mv thoughts a re th at w hen yo u 're raci ng Ama teur, stay in yo ur class unt il yo u ca n wi n it co mforta bly. There's no sense to move u p unti l yo u've learned a ll yo u ca n from riders a t yo ,ur ski ll level. ., • • ,. . • I also thi n k tha t j ust bein g a plai n kid until you're 13 or 14 is im porta nt. If I co u ld do i t a ll over aga in, knowing what I kn o w no w, I think I' d wait until I was th a t age to start raci ng (I raced for t he firs t-ti me when I was 10 ). To ma ke th at th eory w ork , though, you ha ve to be o u t r iding and enjoyi ng it w he n yo u're yo u nger, just trai l r iding wi th fr ien ds for th e e njoyme nt o f it . T he things I' m agai ns t are going to P on ca C i ty or ot her a ma te ur nationals a nd a rg ui ng w it h th e parents a nd o ther kids a nd ge tt ing pro- ' tested a nd a ll th e r iga marol e tha t goes o n a t a ma te u r events. I think it 's importa nt to h an g o u t with yo ur fri ends a nd have a social life and be a kid whil e yo u ca n. You shouldn't ha ve to be racing a nd not d o ing as well in school a n d mi ssing school sports. Th e key to gettin g good, and then better, is to get in so m e qual ity practice time. At th e ver y lea st practi ce tw o times a week, a nd I like to get out to practi ce three o r more times eac h week. The problem for a local Amateur ra cer is that h e u su ally h as only o ne bik e to both practice a nd ra ce on. so if you ca n only practice a co u p le times a week try to get yo ur fir st practice in ea r ly in th e week . Then tr y to pra cti ce th e day befo re ra ce day . Even though it seems like yo u' re using energy a n d gett ing tired, yo u 're proba bly be tter off because o n race day you'll be more loosened up and you'll 'be more fam ili ar with th e bike. You 'll us e less energy in the long run because you 'll be relaxed a n d less ner vous a nd tense, a n d you won 't feel lik e you 're learning to ride all o ver agai n when yo u ge t to th e ra ces. When yo u have th e goal o f being # I, you have to take ca re o f yo ur bod y a nd yo u r eq u ip me n t. Make sure yo ur bike a n d gear is prepped a nd ready to goon ra ce da y. You sho u ld be a ble to res t a n d th ink th in gs o ver between mot os, ins tea d of having to sea rc h th rou g h yo u r gear ba g for fresh gogg les or g lo ves. T h in king a head is a big p art of being a w inner. When it co mes to yo ur body a nd subseq ue nt in j u ries, a lways get a second op in io n wh en a do cto r wants to pu t a GIst o n. Unless it's a brok en fem u r, neck or ba ck , yo u p robabl y don 't need a ny p las ter, and most sports med icine docto rs will tell yo u th a t. Yo u ha ve to keep racing if yo u want to be the cha m p. Too ma ny • • times I'll pick up a MX magazin e a nd so me top rider will be sniveling that he had ever ythi n g going h is wa y, but th en he got injured . In m ost cases yo u ca n ride if you 're injured , unless it 's quit e seri ous. Nine o u tof 10times a sports m edi cine doctor will have yo u co m petiti ve a nd ba ck on th e tr a ck a t lea st two weeks sooner than a ny other do ctor: so meti mes th at two weeks. will m ak e th e difference in winning a cham p io ns h ip o r letting o ne slip by. When yo u set a goa l o f bein g # 1, yo u're talk ing a bunch of dedi cation, There a re a bunch of g uys who have sa id th ey were a fte r the sa me things I am , but man y o f them laid o u t when . injuries or o th er h ardships ca me alon g . Yo u have to m ak e the best out of every si tu a ti o n . Don 't let things get yo u upset, because you ca n' t put in a top race p erformance if yo u 're in a bad mood o ver som e thin g . I can' t imagine what it would be like racing if yo u r wer en 't getting a lo n g with yo u r mechanic, for instance. The thing to remember is to co m m u ni ca te with th e p eople a rou n d yo u so th at everyone understands eac h o the r. I beli eve in proj ect in g a p ositive a tti tude. It h el p s yo u wa n t to do well. I l ike to start o n a Monda y, the week before th e race, Thin k a bo u t the track yo u' ll be racing o n, if yo u've been there before. or ma ybe so meone will hav e so me video from that track. Wat ch th at, gel a litt le bit p sych ed, a nd th en try to p ract ice situa tio ns yo u might encou nter a t that race tr ack . R un th rough the race track in your head a nd vis ua lize yo urself ra cin g there. T hi nk o f bei ng in co ntrol th e whol e da y - it's a po sitive fo rm of mind co ntrol. R eally wan ting to do well , a nd th ink ing about it a ll week , m ak es me m or e co n fide nt o n Su nday . Eve n wi th a ll th ese good inten tio ns. thi n gs will sti ll go wrong a t certa in races. You ca n ' t affo rd to waste time feeling so rry for yo urself, or thinking th at yo u wer en 't treated fairly. Your race results for that da y a re history, so yo u have' to move a head to th e next race immedi atel y. I 've had my sha re of problems during the start of th e '85 season, but I hav e to keep up a positive a tti tude for my self a nd for my spo nsors. Many tim es I'll have to sig n a u tog ra ph s a n d visit with fans a fter a n ational or Supercross, even though I go t knocked down or crash ed in th e race. I ca n ' t affo rd to be rude or beligerent to anyone. because I'm a professional a nd I have a jo b to do both on a nd off th e tra ck. R emember that people a re always watching you. II a potential sp o nsor sees you o u t shaking hands after yo u 've h ad a miserable day at th e races, he'll remember yo u because of your maturity and attitude, II you 've just won both rnotos, yo u still have a responsibilit y a fter th e races. That same potential sponsor might know yo u 're a winner , but if h e sees you complaining because you o n ly won by half a lap, h e'll remember that a lso. Sponsors don 't want to berepresen ted by unpredi ctable cry ba bies . They need to know tha t yo u're going to do your best -in a ll situations. I hope th at yo u 've been a ble to get inside m y head a bit through th e fir st p art o f m y ser ies. T here a re many things which will lead you to being a MX star, a n d not a ll o f th em a re so o bvio us . I'm hopin g th at yo u 'll be a ble to se t u p yo u r o wn ga me plan a fte r yo u digest th e t hi ngs I'm explai ni ng. T he nex t part o f m y series o n 'How To Be An MX Star' wi ll be abou t h ow I live o n the road, th e wa y I tra vel, what I lik e to d o w he n I'm a t the races, and many o the r th ings involved with traveling aroun d th e Uni ted .S ta tes a nd the world " . _ ,_

• Cover