Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

,.- .. really homesick an d I ca n ' t co nce ntrat e o n racin g. I sta rt think in g about home, and wh at it's like. I can regr o up rea lly well by goi ng hom e; it reall y m ak es a difference. Right after the Washo ugal Nation a l in 1983, I had a ch ance 10 go 10 Sun Va lley , Idah o, wit h H annah a nd m y m ech an ic (C liff White) a nd so me o th er poepl e to go tu bin g and hi king. It would ha ve been a grea t p lace to vist, I'm su re. I decided 10 co me h ome in stead. I hadj ust wo n th e Supercro ss title, a nd I was lead ing th e 250cc Na tiona ls a nd the G rand Nat iona l Cha m pionsh ip. It loo ked lik e I wasn 't goi ng to have too much trouble winni ng everyth ing , un less I had a DNF. I'd been a wa v fro m h ome for q u ite a wh ile, a n d 'I j ust wanted 10 go ho me. I foll owed my own orde rs a nd went h ome. Not h in g reall y specia l happened tha t week , I was even j ust a li tt le bit bored , bu t I was h ome a nd it was relaxing. I went 10 th e Nati ona l in Co lorado th e next weekend an d wo n both m ot os. so a t th at p o int I knew I did th e ri ght th ing. Hannah went to Su n Vall ey a n d go o fed aro un d , a n d I co u ld tell in pr actice th e nex t week th a t he wasn 't reall y with it. He wa s in a p osi tion to win th e 250cc National Champ io n sh ip , but he cra sh ed in th e fir st mot o , th en had bike tro uble th e next ti me o ut. It 's im port ant 10 have fun, bu t it's a lso important 10 think about wh at will put yo u in th e best frame of mind for racing. Don 't a lways go wit h th e flow and do wh at o th ers th in k is best for yo u. I h ave people as k me 10 co me by their pl ace 10 stay , and o ffer m e th e us e o f the ir home, ca r a nd pra ct ice tra ck, but I h ave 10 listen 10 m yself a bo u t what 's right. Usua lly , when I d o what I th ink is ri gh t, it works o u t for th e best. I t's very diffi cult 10 perform a t 100% everv weekend. I race a bo ut' 30 10 35 pr ofessional races eac h yea r, and everyoneofthem isimportant. When H onda sends me to J apan to race, I ca n' t th ink tha t th e race means anv less th an an event in th e USA. ft would be eas y 10 thi n k a bo u t ho w hard I'v e been ridin g a nd trainin g during th e Su percro ss a nd National MX races, and to let o ff a bi tin J apan. You hav e to g ive it a ll yo u have! You hav e to ride har d in cha m p io n sh ip ra ces, yo u have to ride har d in Europe . You mi ght spr a in yo ur wri st, a n d th e next three weeken ds in a row th ere a re Na ti onals. It 's real eas y a t th ai point to give up o n th e cha mpi onship. Th e th ing is, I'm not p aid 10 giv e up. You have to beas tough as you can and get rig h t o n the p roblem and mak e your wrist the best yo u ca n and try and h eal it. I hav e 10 hang tough because thi s is what I do, I'm a professional mot o cross ra cer. I don 't want 10 gi ve less than 100%, and let Honda see that. When my co nt ract is up th ey won't be interested , a nd th en a ll of a sudden I take a dive. I go to Suzuki a nd see if they have a ride for me because Yamah a and Ka wasak i are filled up, a nd then the Suzuki isn 't quite as good a s what I'm used to . Prett y soo n I do worse, and th en I'm in Europe tryin g 10 ra ce, th en I'm in So u th Africa tea ch ing ;\IX schools. T ha t's not th e wav I wan t it , I want to win more cha m p ionsh ips. If you start m aking excuses because you 're hurt , it's no good. I was fortunat e that in 1983 wh en I broke my foot, 'it wa sn 't so me th ing rea ll y bad. I was abl e 10 rid e, even though it hurt, a nd things kept going my way . Ever since I experienced being able 10 perform whi le I was hurt, I kn ew that I co u ld do it agai n if I needed to . (Co nti n ued to page 3; ) - - ~ SLIP-ONS for Both the 900 &600 models $199.00 I See your local dealer or call _lIEilKER1·800-423-5246 (Calif. 1-800-382-3689) 7900 Deering Ave•• Canoga Park. CA 91304 31

• Cover