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/126829
Interview: Ran~ Mamola On the gas Sometimes tenacity pays off. Ra n dy Mamola ended 1983 with no factory ride and started 1984 paying his own way on the Grand Prix circuit. It would have been easy for Mamola to si t a t h ome or retire whil e waiting fo r a n o ther p aid ride, a n d ma yb e that would have made m o re sense. But Mamola 24 took the chance on spendi ng h is own money to com pe te with th e factories in th e hope th at the ga m ble wo u ld pa yoff with a works ride in 1985. As it turn ed o u t, Mamola went o n to wi n th e Dutch an d Brit ish Grands Prix, finished second in th e 500cc World Championship and was reward ed with a slot o n th e 1985 Rothmans Honda team. Wh en we talk ed to Mamol a almost one yea r ago, in th e middl e o f his pay-your-own-way se as o n a t Laguna Seca , th ings wer en 't so ce rt a i n . H er e 's how Mam ol a exp la ined hi s ea rly seaso n turmo il befor e h e knew how hi s bet would pa y off. " I had sig ne d a co n tract sayi ng th at I'd like to do Donington (the V.S .A. vs. Brita in mat ch races) if I co u ld ge t a bike," Mam ol a said. " T he on ly thi ng left th at I cou ld do was as k H onda, so I flew dow n a n d met with hi m (Hon da boss Oguma ) a nd exp la ined wha t I wa nted to do. We wanted to ru n Doning ton a n d if we co u ld run here (in th e V.S) , beca use I had o fficia lly ret ired . I had said I wa sn ' t going to go raci ng a n d would try to go back aga in nex t year (1985). I mean (Giacomo) Agostini co u ld n ' t beli eve it wh en I told him that I wou ld h a ve to qu it if h e co u ld n ' t give me a bike. I told him th at I wasn 't going back over th ere, aft er finishin g third in the world, as a privateer. " Honda responded with bikes for Mamola to co ntes t th e Match Ra ces, but it later turned into a little more than a two ra ce deal. "We went to Japan in March to test a nd I tested at Suzuka, " he said. " Whe n we go t there all th e bos ses were th ere an d I h adn' t rid den in se ve n m on th s. So I was ridin g arou nd o n th e bik e a n d we had an o the r meetin g a nd as ked th em th at if we got mor e sponsors hip wo u ld it be possible to use th e bike - you see it wasn't even a con trac t it was just an agreement saying they'd give me a bike for Donington a n d Laguna and that's all there is today o n paper. So I asked them if I got sponsorship to run th e bike, if it would be possible for th em to pay th e mechanics and everything. So , they had meeting upon me eting a nd th ey just couldn't do it . They just didn't have enough budg et becau se T akazumi ( Ka tayama ) was co ming back. " So th ey said ' Yo u a re going to have to pa y th e mechanics and get your o wn truck , transportation and e veryt h i n g e lse'. So Jim ( Doy le , Marn ola's manager) went home and tried to work o u t sponsors, bu y nobody had a n y money because it was already th e beginning o f th e seaso n." Mamola didn 't let a min or hurdl e suc h as no sponsorsh ip sta nd in hi s wa y; he did it th e old fashioned way and o pe ned hi s own chec kboo k to go ra a n g. " Peo p le a re a lwa ys as kin g why I'm down here a n d Fr eddie Spencer 's o ver there, " Mamola said. " I a m part o f th eir team , but I'm not really. I'm n ot a full factory sponsored rider. I'm not taking an ything a wa y from Honda because lowe them this season a nd they think I've been doing a good job on their bikes; so I'm paying them back for lett in g me use their bike. I understand their problem and they understand mine. It 's been said th at th ey ca n ' t believe I'm spending mon ey o u t o f m y pocket to go racing when I could sta y home a n d j ust pl a y. My pl ace is not at home; I bit ch a lot wh en I'm over in Europe, but wh en I'm home I bitch because I'm n ot o ver th er e racing." Mamola got the most out of his investment, H e worked hard at promoting himself and his team while going on to take the runner-up spot in the cha m pio nsh ip . "We've started a Randy Mamola Fan Club in England," he said. " And if you write in German you get answered ba ck in German. It's a worldwide thi ng a n d we have people that can translate it and write it back in th eir own language... We're pushing really hard to promote me and this team and it 's o ne of th e best teams I've ever had. I don 't hav e to fool around with an ybody but m y team and we do wha t we want." Prior to la st year's Laguna Seca, Mamola edged Raym ond Roche in a race long battle to win th e Dutch Grand Prix at Assen . Point leader Eddie Lawson was in volved in the battle ea rly on, but later held back and settled for an easy third place finish . Mamola disagreed with the stra tegy th at wo u ld later tak e Lawson to th e World Championship. "Eddie is riding really well," he said. "But he ight be making a mistake mentall y because of the pressure from the things he's saying on television. I have nothing against him, I'm just saying what I feel, but I see he's got a lo t of mid-season pressure. I've felt it and I can see it on him. Now wh ether or not that's affecting hi s riding, besides the tires being not so good, I'm not sure. At the last race he said his tires were bad, but I told Michelin I'd give my tires five laps and th ey'd be sliding a ll over th e pl ace and that 's what it was. So I'm not sure if that 's all his problem o r if the pressure is getting to h im . H e knows we're o ut there