Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

wi tho ut th e grea t corpora te back ing a nd su p port that th e Ro th ma ns H onda tea m has to give th eir riders, La wso n does sta n d very mu ch a lone . H e is a lso a very different pe rso n fro m Spencer. He doesn 't ha ve th e gift of th e well-rounded phrase, th e packaged quo te th a t mak es Spencer suc h a n easy person for th e p ress to By Peter Clifford dea l with. Spencer is hi s own PR ma n a nd ha s an y back-up h e need s. Lawson is a guy wh o races m o tor cycles verv fast and o nce th e helmet co mes o rf is the sa me as everyone else with his own personality. " I wou ld have thought by now th at most peopl e would have got to u nderstand me a little, to know when I'm joking and wha t I mean wh en I say things, that Don 't th in k for a min u te Lawson has su ffered th rough th e I'v e got a dry sense of humor. I gu ess I th at th e 1984 C hampion is admust be doing somethin g wrong, but year from a bike th a t is slo w to get o ff mitting defeat; just th e o p poI just tr y to be my self. Ma ybe nex t the lin e, so th at h e is a lways racing site. But what h e is accepting is yea r I' ll have to be different. I'll on ly fro m behind a n d lose s o u t to Spen cer over th e first five or so laps as Spencer sa tisfy people if I' m more like Fredth at wh at ever h e does. win ra ces or ope ns up a lead while Lawson is sti ll d ie. I'm goi ng to try tal ki ng wi thout World Cha mpionsh ips, th ere will be sa ying a n yth ing ." fight in g through traffi c. Spencer a lthose wh o ins ist on detractin g from wa ys look s im pressive from the start So ha s Lawson 's feelin gs a bout th e and deva lui ng h is ach ieveme n t. lack of su p port affected h is riding a nd though La wson ca n hold th e ga p Assen this year was a prim e exam th is sea so n? " I don 't think so . Wh en I or eve n close o n Spence r lat er , th e p le. Lawson cras hed a nd scored no assum p tion is th a t Spence r co u ld go ge t o u t o n th e bike I a m a wa y fro m it. poi nts wh en h e co u ld have remai ned faster if he had to . The poi nt is, th at I a lways g ive 110% a nd I ride just as in a co m fortable th ird pl ace behind hard as I ca n. I have had grea t su psince th e Yamaha is slow o ff the line, Ron H asl am. Manv cri tici zed h im for port fro m so me of the tea m , Kel Carh e wi ll never have to go faster and th e taking H a slam , sa ying th at 10 p o ints ruthers is the bes t and th e mecha nics assu m p tion remai n s untested . would have been bett er. " Bu t," sa ys It is o ne thi ng for Lawson to be have been good a nd Ya maha have La wson, " If I had sta yed in th ird p lace faced wit h wha t he feels is a h ostile mad e a good bike." a nd th en lost the cha m p io ns h i p by Europea n press, but even to th e o utThe Yama ha wa s slow a t the begi ntwo point s th e same people would sider it is obv io us tha t h e is getti ng n o ni ng o f th e season. 10 kp h down o n hav e sai d. ' why didn 't yo u overta ke th e H onda a t Mugell o, bu t by Assen him?' I ca n ' t win." su p po rt from h is ow n team manager. th e ca rbu retio n was sorted o u t so tha t There a re tw o wa ys to look a t a ny Giacomo Agostini in sists o n putting th e machines were more co mpara ble. event a nd a Lawson fa n is bound to h im self forward as the most importa nt Wha t ha s to be rem embered is th a t see things di fferently to a Spen cer fig ure in th e tea m , leavi ng Lawson th ere is more to co me from Eddie en th us ia st. The Spencer follow er sa w and Roche in th e ba ckground. H e Lawso n. just because h e has been last year' s World Championship as even goes to th e lengths of not tell in g World Cham pion once does not mean on e that Spencer wou ld have won but th e tw o riders a bo u t officia l fun ctions h e has peak ed . H e beat Spe nce r racon ly to tu rn up himself a nd a po log for missing races through inj ury ; this in g 250s back in th e Sta tes ea rly in ize for th eir a bsence beca use they a re year's So uth African GP Spe ncer th eir ca reers a n d th en o n Superbikes. too tired or bu sy to a tte nd. It is hardl y would ha ve wo n but fo r th e fac t that H e was a yea r later co m ing to Europe su rp risi ng th a t La wson 's image in th e bike d idn 't handle p ro pe rly; the but lik e Spencer h e won th e Ch am th e eyes o f so me members of th e press Yugoslavian GP would ha ve been p ionsh ip in h is second season . Spen cer 's but for hitting th e ha ybal e ha s suffered. " I am lea rn ing a ll th e time, " sa ys with h is kn ee. Lawson makes no secret of th e fact Lawson , " Wh en I first sta rted G P Th e othe r sid e o f th e co in is th at th at h e ha s no tim e for Agostin i. racin g I di d hardl y a nyth ing righ t. Lawson wo n th e World Ch ampion " Ago and I a re fini sh ed , I will not Ro berts was already steeri ng the bikes ride for him again . I wou ld have sh ip in '84 because h e raced hard enough an d d idn 't fall o ff. H e, too, liked to be fri ends but it isn 't go ing to o n the back tire, sp in n in g it through happen now . H e th inks he is more th e turns a nd th at is ho w yo u h ave to has lost races because o f uncompetiim porta nt th an a ll o f th e rest of th e ride a modern 500. I didn't rid e lik e tive ma ch in ery and in Yugosla via he team put toge the r a n d th at he is still tha t hard ly at a ll a nd I h ad to mak e managed to avo id th e sa me ha ybal e th e World Ch ampi on , I th ink th at th at Spence r hit. The Yugosla v inci th e adj u stment. I u sed to ride like Christia n (Sarro n), rushing into th e wh en I have been retired from raci ng de nt ir ks La wso n particu larl y. " It 10 yea rs I will n ot be going arou n d as was go ing to be a great race, I rod e co rners, I h ad to expe riment without ,. . fjl~ter th an I did in practi ce a n~ I was . . th ou gh I a m still C hampio n. " fall in g P f 1111 th e ~ i me and. I really 0 1 fident"o r oeating hi rrr: ,t . - • • • a . _ ." "-ft-m • { l:hfIic"ult iooel ieve ~ but -" • th in k th a I " ill go n "sor eooDl Eddie Lawson: The man who cannot win " I cannot beat Freddie Spen cer. I know i t a n d I've accepted it," said Eddie La wso n o n the eve of losing his 500cc World T i tle to his arc h -rival from Shreveport, Louisiana. 34 towards th e end o f las t year. Now I a m a lot h a p p ier o n th e bike. I feel tha t I am in control. even if I am not," h e adds wi th a gri n. " And I don 't dread th e n ext practi ce session wonder ing h ow I am go ing to stay o n." " I am riding be tter this yea r a nd I will be faster next year but I h ave to en joy it. That is very im portant to m e. I love racing. being on the bik e an d being at th e race tra ck , or a t least I did . Wh en I was ra cing in the Sta tes I used to look forward a ll week to going to th e races, but now I dread getti ng on th e plane beca use I've go t to face peop le li ke Ago at th e o the r end a nd it has j ust taken th e en joyme n t awa y." At the end o f th e seaso n it will be crunch time as far as Lawson an d Yamaha are co nce rn ed . " I a m going to japan to exp la i n h ow th ings have gone thi s year a nd to poi n t o u t th a t I wi ll not rid e fo r Ago again. I wou ld love to stay with Yama ha and have Kel work with m e, bu t if th ey do n ot want me , th en I will have to go somewh ere else. I wi ll race a Suzu ki , a H onda or a Kawa saki but if n one of them want me, I will just go hom e to th e Stat es a n d race th ere. I'll ride for less money , bu t I will enjoy it." T he re ha ve been tim es whe n Lawson has felt that perhaps even Yamaha was n ot be hi n d him. " I would like a very frien dl y relat ionshi p with Yamah a . We do ge t al on g well bu t it is st ill bus iness a nd to a certain extent, it has to be, but I would rather it was someth in g more. Ken n y had much more tha n th at . I wou ld Iike to work towards it a nd I certa in ly don 't want to go swappin g teams abo u t but you ca n ge t kind of di scouraged a bo u t things, I read th at Doi-san , the j a pa nese g uy from Yamaha, ha s sa id if! don 't want to ride for Ago then I will have to get bikes so mewhe re else. " If I do stay wi th Ya maha , I ca n wi n th e Championsh ip ba ck , At least I have beat en Spence r , a nd I don ' t kn ow wh o else th ey a re goin g to get because no o ne else ha s. Law son is und erva lued by many and as he p oints out not th e lea st of those is Spencer himself. " Freddie is a ver y good ri de r a nd I would n ot tr y and ta ke that away from him. I ra te h im very high ly a nd I res pe ct him. He doesn' t rate me, though, a nd that will be h is downfall • in th e en d , because I am go ing to beat e' h im."

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