Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Freddie Spencer: World Champion By Pete r Clifford Freddie Spencer clinched the 250cc World Championship at Silverstone and then headed for Sweden determined to wrap up the 500cc title there. "I'm going to leave the 250 parked in Sw eden because I wa nt to win th e 500 and make sure of the championship. I want to go a ll -o ut and not ride 3 in the reserved wa y th at I hav e wh en riding both bikes," said Spencer af ter th e ra ce a t Silverstone. " Win n in g both cham p io ns h ips is something that I have been thinking abo u t since last September," Spencer co nti n ue d. " I' ve spent h ours just going over every th in g i n m y m in d j ust working o u t anything tha t ca n be done to m ak e it h appen. No w th a t winn ing both is getting cl oser it seems h ard to imagine it ha p pening . It 's so me th ing we h ave been working towards for so long." Assuming that he does win 'bo th ch ampionships Spencer is n ot sure that he'll race in bo th cl asses next season. " I a m n o t sure wha t I will do , Ru nn in g both bikes has been a stra in o n me and a lot of ot her people a nd I will wait u ntil it is over before I think about next season. Fo r th e moment I just want to enjoy th e mo ment and if we get the 500 Cha m p io nship th ere will be a lot of celebra ti n g." It was th e challenge of doi ng so me thi ng difficu lt - which has never been done before - tha t made Spencer take on the double in the firs t place. " A lot of pe ople said it could not be done a nd that I would get tired after a few races a nd I have enjoyed tryi ng to prove th em wrong. There have been a lo t of memorab le races as well. I particularly enj oyed th e 250 race in Ital y because I ca me fro m behind a n d had a great ra ce with Carlos (La vado) , who always rides real hard, Th e 500 a t Silverstone ga ve me a great deal of satisfacti on because th e conditions were j us t so diffi cult a nd demandi ng, " When Spencer won hi s fir st 500cc World Championship in 1983 h e becam e th e yo u n gest man ever to do so, H e also bea t Kenn y Roberts in a year- long battle th at got so despera te a t th e seco nd -to- la st race in Sweden that both o f them ra n off th e tra ck o n th e last lap with o n ly o ne co rner to go, Then 21, Spe ncer said , "They always say th at winn in g th e first Worl d Cham p io n sh ip is the easiest, but th is h as certai n lv been ha rd a nd I a m no t sure it's goi n g to ge t a ny easier." Th e fo llowing year proved him rig h t as crashes an d proble ms with th e new f , ~ .o b.b i o f a ny chance h e mi ght hav e had 'o f beating fa st -an d- consi stent Ed die La wso n . After th at. tak i n g o n th e double pressure an d responsibil it y o f th e 250 a n d 500 World C ha m pio ns h i ps seeme d like as ki ng for trouble. Bu t pencer was brought up raci ng m an y different bikes in the sa me day as h e did ba ck in 1977 when he wo n fo ur Western/Eastern R oad ra cing Associat io n Nat ional Cha m p io n sh ip s. At the time h e rod e an amazing num ber of machines, includ in g a 125 H onda forthe200ccGP class. twoalmos t-iden tica l bikes for the 400 a nd 410 P roducti on classes , a G S750 Suzu ki a nd a T Z250 Yamaha, a nd he was o n ly 15! " I used to ride 10 races in a day. I' d ge t off th e 750 a n d go o u t o n th e 125 with out even taking m y helmet o ff. I lo ved th e cha llenge a nd th e va riety. " It may be a tall o rd er to swa p bikes a t Grand P rix level, but Spe nce r h as been a ble to develop th e 500 and 250 Hondas around himself and tr y to minimize th e differences. Th e si milarities bet ween th e tw o m achines are obvious with th e twin -spar aluminum frames and en gines th at share th e sa me bore a n d stroke as well as cylinder a nd single-crankshaft layout. The 250, in fact, preceded th e 500 a nd was tested a t Suzuka towards th e en d of th e 1984 season a nd th en a t Surfer 's Paradise in Austra lia in December. Spencer tested a 500 at Surfers but that was th e old , ra the r-un successful '8 4 500 with th e gas ta n k under th e en gine. What Spencer di d th ere wa s to ride th e 500 wi th lea d weights added to i t so as to cha nge the weight di stribut ion a nd giv e the e n g i neer s a n idea of wh a t he needed . So impressed was h e with th e 250 th at he si mply asked for a 500 just like a big broth er to th e li tt le twi n. That 's what he go t a nd both bikes h ave been de veloped side-by-side . Alth ough he points o u t th a t th ere are o bvio us differen ces bet ween ridi ng the two bik es bec a use of th e sheer power i nvolved , th ere h ave bee n in sta nces where ru n n in g two bi kes h as been an ad vant ag e. "The mos t o bvio us is wh ere it has been wet beca use racing o ne bike on th e circu it has given m e a good idea how much tra ction th ere is wh en it comes to th e other. The 250 is qui te oft en fast er aro und a certa in co rn er in th e wet because the 500 has to be tu rned soo ner if you want lagel the.PQ~'e~ Q .E 'en in the ... . .. ' . d ry th ere are sec tions where I am quicke r on th e 250; th e secret with th e smaller bike is keeping th e momentum u p around the turns beca u se it doesn 't have th e power to dri ve o ut. O n the 500 I h av e to use different lines and th e corner speed ca n n ot be as h igh because yo u h ave to ge t th e four tu rned ea rl ier in th e co rner so it's po inted in th e righ t direction wilen yo u put the p o wer o n . T h at 's whe re th e Yamaha is a little better than the H onda because it drives ea sier and the H onda ten ds to spin th e rear wheel. Spen cer points out that the 250 has been m ore fun to ride than th e 500. " Yo u ca n no t sa y the 500 is fun to ri de although i t is very sa tisfy ing if yo u get th ings right. Early in th e year it was hard on th e 500 beca use the han dling was n ot right. I co u ld no t use the ra dia l front because I h ad chatteri ng proble ms a nd I did n o t race with i t until Mu gell o. By th at time th e engine o f th e 500 had been mo ved forward, which made it po ssible to ge t th e suspension righ t a nd let the tire work. With the 250 it h as n ever been a problem to use th e ra dia l a nd th a t ma de thi ngs better fro m the begi n ni ng. Al th ou g h it is ha rd er to run a co n sistently-fast race all th e wa y thro ugh wi th th e 500 beca use of the sheer p hysical effort requi red , th e 250 is in fac t more i ntense as fa r as co m p etitio n goes even if p hysically i t is m ore relaxed and I am a ble to loosen up a bi t. The 250 guys are h ard ri de rs, a n d sometimes I wish Carlos would ease o ff. H e never gives up, like in Yugosl avia h e pushed me a ll the wa v, H e's th e hardest o f th em a ll ." . It was o n ly when he rode the 250 i n practi ce at Dayto na that he an nounced th at he would co ntes t all th e Grands Prix. " I wanted to before th e start of th e yea r. After th e test s a t Suzuka they im proved th e bike before I rode it in Australia a nd th at was ba sically as I rode it at Da ytona. Ther e I realized th at I was n ot go ing to ha ve to work too ha rd to get th e 250 to work and therefore I co u ld race it as we ll as th e 500." Daytona was th e first time Spe nc er go t th e ch anc e to ride th e new version o f th e 500 a nd that experien ce he descr i be d a s very sa tisfyi ng. " Even th ough the bi ke was no t pe rfec t it was a lo t better than th e '84 mach ine an d I was very p leas ed and relie ved beca use tha t was the bike I h ad as ked fo r a nd I was going to h ave to live with it ." At the Sou th African G rand P rix he shocked the rest of the co m perition with h is ridi ng skill o n a 250 and with th e speed of the machine. No o ne was more disappointed th an Toni M an g, rid ing the Ma rlboro H onda . M ang had sig n ed to ride for H o nda th inking h e wou ld be th ei r numbero ne man in th e 250 clas s; M ang did receiv e a m achine (as did Fausto R icci ) th at wa s a cu t above th e p ro du ct io n bike, with special sus pe n sion fro n t an d rear a nd a m orepowerfu l engine featuring di fferent cyl inde rs a nd p ipes. It was still based on a roa d bik e, thou gh, and no mat ch for Spe ncer's . Spencer wo n th e South Afri can 250 GP co n vinci ngly, H e was lead ing th e next ro u nd in Spa i n wh en an exha us t pi pe broke an d he finish ed n inth. H e was bea ten bv Martin Wimm er faira nd-sq ua re iil th e pouring rain in Ge r many and it looked as th ough th e champio ns hip would be a real thri ller. But fro m th at p oint o n Spe ncer sta rted a n un beat able run o f co nvin cin g victo ri es th at left hi s p u rs ue rs stra n ded , The fact th at Sp en cer 's 250 is a o neo ff wo rks spe cial shou ld n o t de tract from h is ridin g skill a nd neither Lavado, Wimmer or Mang would suggest tha t he wo n sim p ly because tb ~ P1'l.CN~ \' bl:u~. ;'I t i a ;'~~. good machine that h e rides very, very well ," said Lavado. "And he does it 100% of th e time, o n every lap. H e must hav e a ver y sens itive relationshi p with th e ma chine because he o n ly does a few lap s a t a time in pra ctice. H e m ust work o u t very quickly what ne eds to be done because he gets th e bike to work very well." Martin Wimmer co n fir m s that it is a n all-around package th at made Spencer suc h a for ce, " Every p iece of his team is perf ect. The wa y he rides. The bike a n d th e rest of the team . I know h e rides fast but I have ha d few opport uni ties to work o ut how h is style is so effec tive because I normally on ly see h im when h e p asses m e o n th e stra ig h t. I just hope he rides in th e 250cc class nex t vea r because now th at I hav e seen th e new 250 Yamaha I think it would be a lot fairer." If h is rival s have not been able to wo rk ou t quite how Spen cer 'man ages to be so st u n ni ngly, co ns is tently fa st , he ca n put into so me sim p le words h ow h e rides. " I ride co m pletel y by feel , I don 't use braking m arker s ever. Early in p ractice I use th e rev co u nter co mi ng o ut o f corners to judge h ow good a drive I am getting but I think everyo ne does th at ." It is n o secret tha t p art of Spencer's suc cess can be attri buted to the spe cia l relat ionsh ip he ha s with Er v Kanern o to , who wi ll time every practic e session - even when Spencer h as sti ll to arrive a t the track - so th at he ca n keep track of th e opposition . " En' and I a re frien ds a bov e every thi ng. We understand each o ther so well that sometimes I don't even ha ve to tell h i m what is wrong with the bi ke. H e in stinctiv el y knows." Tha t specia l rela tionsh ip incl u des th e rela ying of secret information, " W hen I co me in from practice I o n ly ta l k to Erv beca use wha t I h a ve to tell h im is in fo rm a tio n we have wo rked ha rd to get a nd i t is impo rta n t to keep that to ourselves, I someti mes wo nder about th e radial tires tha t I h ave devel oped that now get fitted to th e Yarnaha s." Spencer a nd Kan em o to learn all th e time. " I th ink th a t I have improved on bot h the 500 an d 250 this vear and ho pe I contin ue to do so , 'W he n I sta rte d raci ng the tw in I had not rid den a 250 since '70 exce pt for Daytona in 1980, But I h ave worked a t it. I h a ve been a bl e to u se th e ex pe rience gained over the last few yea rs of GP raci ng si nc e I sta rte d on th e three in '82 , The early bike ta ught me a lot abou t choos ing gearbo x ra tios beca use the p o werband was narro w an d Erv a nd I wou ld sit fo r ho urs tryi ng to sort o ut a gearbox th at would wo rk." Ka n em o to h a s been with Spe ncer si nce ' 78 an d before th at it was Freddie's fath er who worked o n th e bikes. Spencer ra ces in Euro pe because that is wh ere th e to p raci ng is. It is th e biggest chall en ge , H e ma kes no preten se at liking th e co u n tr ies h e races in and will fly home at every o p portunity to Shreveport, L ouisiana , where h e sto p s bei ng th e ultim at e professional wi th a ready smile for th e ca mera and a carefu lly -co nsi dered q uote for th e no tebook. The reserved, private Spencer , th e Chris tian, the la y preacher wi th th e pretty girlfriend Sari seems hard to co nnect wi th th e h elmeted figure who will p ush a racin g machi ne as hard o r harder th an a nyo ne else , Other riders m ight claim th a t he ha s a faster bike, None will claim that they ca n ea sily make up th e lost tim e o n th e brakes or ' ro u nd th e corners . As Eddie La wso n sa id, "Yo u can not tak e a ny th ing aw ay from h im. H e is a ver y good, very fast rider." And Lawson gi ves a wa y p ra ise to Spen cer no easier th an he gives away race£' . r C JI c ; 0I! • C ) ., , t" . {. . -

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