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/126846
. . 4"_ ·e .. ! ~ 00 O'l ~ eo ~ .... v ..0 E v > 0 ~Z M any old machines,.like this BSA t hu m per. made the event . They were run t ogether with the newer bikes, but raced "just for fun ." Motocross reunion Karsmakers wi,ns Belgian vet race By Peter van der Sanden It used to be differen t in the old days. How (Above) Roger DeCoster, still on form w ith his Honda CR250. (Bel ow) Heikki Mikkola rode a Yamaha YZ250 at the Belgian vet race . often do yo u h ea r tha t remark fr o m a p erson wh o's not a ll tha t satisfied after a motocross even t? Bu t w ha t is i t that h as ch a n ged ? The riders, th e spectators, th e motorcycles, the so u n ds , the circuits and th e a tm osphere have indeed changed over th e years. A tech- (Below) Joel Robert (left) and Pierre Karsmakers share war stories bef ore the start of the event . Karsma ke rs went home the w inner. .' 30 ni cal sp ort by definition does n ot sta nd still. In o rde r to revita lize th e form er motocross g lo ry and th e acco m pany i ng atm o spher e, J ohnn y Str ij bo s came up wi th th e idea an d o rga n ized an internati onal veteranscro ss in LommeI. Belg ium. An d what an effo rt h e m ad e! Strijbas sa id , " Whe n or ga n izing a regu lar race. yo u co n tact a manager , fix a fee a nd th at 's th at. In th is case, th in gs were q u i te di ffere nt ; one had to co ntact each rider individuallv, So metimes it too k weeks befor e I managed to co n tac t th e man in q ues tion . It was not d ifficu lt a t a ll to get th e former cvclists inter ested i n th is venture, th ough . Nea rl y a ll o f them agreed to participat e rig h t aw a y, and fees were o u t of th e q ues tio n . Of co ur se, th e foreigners received trav eling expe nse s - even tha t so me ti mes involved large su ms ." Sten Lund in . World Mo tocro ss Cham p io n in 1959 a nd 1961, stro lled th rough the paddock wit h a rad iant sm ile. H e enjoyed being asked agai n for h is a u to gra p h a n d hav ing to p ose for a p hoto gra p h every o the r mi n u te. " I love th e wh ol e idea ," Lundi n said . " It must be a t lea st 10 years since I'v e met any o f th e lads, I'm not h ere to participa te, m y p erf orm an ces a re far too poor for th a t. I wo rk a lot in Western Afri ca in th e tourism branch and th ere I on ly occasiona lly rid e an o £f-road. Motocro ss is a closed bo ok to me; I' ve had a grea t time , th ough . It 's been pa rt o f my life." Not forg otten A mo tocro ss for veteran s in Belg iu m without Roger DeC ost er is unthinkabl e. Therefore. p reroga tive number o ne for th e orga n izers was to get him to appea r. Since h e quit racing, DeCoster has been ac tive in the world o f motocross through America n Honda. " Mister Motocross" recei ved cheers in Lommel as if still in his h ey-days. Hi s m ost prominent o p ponent , H eikki Mikkol a , was less in th e limelight after h is ad ieu . At first h e was a regular visit or at th e CPs for Yamaha. "There's n o tim e for th at a ny more. I' ve got a 220-acre farm , whi ch means a 'lo t o f h ea vy work and tha t suits me fin e," were th e words of th e uncha nged Mikko la . Doesn't he feel nostal gi c a bo u t hi s m otocro ss years? " N o , no t a t a ll. I have left it all behind m e. Occasionally , I go to a ' race an d do so me tra in in g , but not on a bike. I focu s on m y life ahead , but I th ink it's marv elous peop le haven 't fo rg o tte n a bo u t me. Belgium used to be a seco nd hom e co u nt ry for me ." Som eo n e w h o n ever seems to cha n ge, exce p t for h is fig ure, is J oel Ro bert . H e used to win CPs as if with out a ny serio us effort. H e j ust h ad the knack a nd th a t was enough in those da ys. Now h e would ,defin itely need a lot m ore. It was a pi ty th a t Robert was o ne o f on lv a few to a p pear in Lommel with ~ vintage bi ke, a CZ with sus pens io n of - to say the lea st - da ys go ne by. Min ut es be for e the sta rt, he was still in th e bar, with a ciga re tte ha nging from hi s mou th. Robert is still a free-and -easy person ; he d idn 't exactly save hi s motocross ea rn in gs - despite hi s co ntacts with Bel -Ra y - but still enjoys life th e way he a lwa ys u sed to . Nowad a ys hi s lif estyle would mo st certa in ly sta n d in th e wa y o f a CP career. T h e sc o r e A number of veterans came from th e Netherl ands, suc h as Cerri t Wol sin k and Pierre Karsmakers . Initiall y, Wol sink wanted to ride his old works Suzuki , but it soo n became clear to him th at it would lack power. But , he managed to lay his hands on a Honda; it was o bv io us that Wolsink had