Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

. MXstar ~. ~ ~ .. ( Contin ued from pag r 31) Part o f h aving a good au itud e is kn owing th at you ca n never p redi ct w ha t will hap pen 10 the o the r racers. I went to th e . G a inesville. Flor ida, Nat io na l in '83 with a n a n kle tha t wa s sp ra ined so bad I co u ld ba rely put on the brak e. just sta nd ing o n th e peg hu rt , a nd lan d in g o ff j u mps was murder. All I fig ur ed I co u ld do was ge t some p oints. I was second or thi rd in th e Nati on al s a nd I j ust co u ldn 't bear to th row it a ll awa v, I had th e a u iiude that if I co u ld Just sa lva ge so me points, I co u ld stay in th e runn in g . I en ded up winnin g tha t race with a seco nd and a fifth . H annah wa s the d o m inant force a t tha t time a nd he go t sick a nd d idn 't fin ish eithe r mo ta . R ick j ohnson go t over-excited and fell o ff in o ne rnoto a nd d id n 't do th a t well. Li les th o ug ht he co u ld w in and cra shed o u t in o ne mota. Bu rnw orth go t a flat tire in th e seco n d mot o a fter winning th e fir st race. All o f th ese th in g s happen ed a nd I ended up with th e overa ll. Ever sin ce tha t ti me I rea lized th at wha tever the circu m sta nces a re, yo u ca n sti ll go to th e race a nd sa lvage so met hi ng o u t o f it. Wh en yo u do co m p ete a nd yo u 're not a ble to put o u t 100%, relax . Yo u 'r e probably not even exp ected to be th ere , so you 'll probabl y do even better because th e pr essure will be off. My girlfriend has been reall y im portant to m y a tt itu de. Ever since I met her a t H ouston la st yea r things h ave been great. It had been almost a yea r sin ce I had a rel a tionsh ip w he n I m et Gina , a nd o nce we got togeth er and talked my a tt itude was grea t! I won Houston th at year, a nd th en I won four races a fter th at . It 's really great to have a rel ationship where yo u have so meo ne yo u can talk to , so meo ne wh o ca n gi ve you a boo st an d help yo u get thi n gs done. Some g irls get in th e wa y when th ey do too much for th e rider , especiall y a t th e races, So metimes in th at situation it ge ts to be a nui sance for the mech anic, when a rider's girl friend , a nd her fri ends, a re sitting o n th e bumper o ft h e [ruck a nd he ca n ' t get in a nd o ut of th e truck to work, That doesn ' t look very profession al, an d wh en th e j apan ese bosses show up, it 's bad for everyo ne 's a tt itude. T h e j a pan ese a re no t 'very fo nd o f hav ing gi rlf rie nds in the p its, an d w hen a rid er doesn 't do well , it 's eas y fo r th e J apanese to blame it o n th e rider 's girlfri end. You don ' t see a ba seball pl a yer with hi s wif e in th e dugout; sh e's up in th e grandstands. I get Gina a pit p ass, a nd I lik e to hav e her arou nd wh en th ere's a long wa it between th e heat a nd ma in event. It al so h elps m e wh en I ca n sen d her up to th e truck to ge t me so meth ing I might need at th e la st m inute. Gina 's good for my attitude because she . kn ows wh en to be arou nd a nd wh en to leave me alone. Europe is a prime example o f where a girlfriend is great for m y a tt itude . It's something I can sh are with h er , but it's also difficult trying to adjust. You ca n 't a lways orde r th e food yo u' d like. for in stance. When yo u hav e a .friend with yo u , yo u ca n find humor in may situ ations and enjoy things more. I hope you have an idea of how I keep my attitude in line, It 's mostl y just living the lifest yle I'm th e m ost co m forta ble with , which helps m e focus on ra cing , The n ex t part o f m y series will deal with som e o f m y resp onsib ilit ies o ff th e track regarding public rel ati ons an d p resentin g m yself to the medi a . • "Winning on a Husqvarna CR takes only one thing YOU! ', Danny LaPorte Tak e it from Danny 'LaPo rte, fo rmer National and World Motocross Champ io n who has raced everything from a 125 to a 500. The new 1985 Husq varna 250CR is missing only one th ing to make it a winner and that 's YO U! "There's a new frame which get a lot more, Like an Ohlins rear shockstandard equipment, Metzeler ttrea--standard equipment. Magua levers-standard, Super narrow seatltank combination-standard. Long-lasting forged aluminum piston-" standard. Magnesium center cases-standard, Husqvarna's lim ited warranty-standard equipment, Add it all up and yo u have a class w inner in both performance and value. Danny says it best, " I w ouldn't ride the new Husqvarna CR unless I thought they co uld w in ." Th e 25 0CR will take yo u as far as yo u want to go , From local hero to world champ, Hurry into yo ur Husqvarna dealer and check out the 250CR, The motorcycles won't be there long. Th ey'll be o ut with the winners . Husqvarna Motorcycle Company 49 25 Mercury Street San Diego, CA 921 I 1 Husqvarna is three to four pounds lighter, " says LaPorte, "It's simpler, stronger and easier to corner than the Japanese bikes," After a factory visit in Sweden, Danny said, " Th e 250CR is handmade. They're pretty close to factory bikes but they last longer and are higher quality," What more could you ask for? Well , you THE FINAL S T E P UP 35 (Co nt in ued nex t w rr /t) I' , J ',. '~ . • I • : •• .'

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