Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

250/S0OCC World Road Racing Champion Freddie ~ncer: Double trouble By Henny Ray Abrams Freddie Spencer went to the opening round of the FIM World Road Racing Championships in Kylami, South Africa, in March of 1985 in an effort to regain the 500cc World Championship he had surrendered in 1984 to Eddie Lawson. Spencer was also set for an allout attack on the 250cc World . 14 Championship. When lhefinal round of lhe lille chase was over, Spencer had succeeded in doing bolh. He was lhe 250 and 500cc World Champion. Spencer. at age 23, became the firsl man 10 ever win both lhe250and 500cc World Championship titles in one year by decimaling lhe competition in bolh classes and in doing so became the winningest American grand prix road racer wilh 27 vicLOries (20 500cc and seven 250cc), moving lhree ahead of Kenny Roberts. Spencer won seven of lhe II 500cc GPs this year, finished second in three, and was knocked down and out of one. He also LOok seven 250cc wins, a second, a fourth, and a nimh. The fourth-place finish came at SilverSLOne,w here he wra pped up the 250cc lille. A week laler in Sweden he owned a second 500cc crown. Spencer waS named the AMA Rider of the Year, lhe Imernational Sportsman of the Year in Venice (Iasl year il was won by four-lime Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis), picked up lWO Golden Helmet of lhe YC'dT awards from llaly's MOLOsprinl mag-dzine, the MQLOrcycl is! of. the ~ ear from Motorcyclist magazine and was named MOlocourse Riderohhe YC'dr. Although he didn'l clinch lhe 500cc lit.le until AnderslOlp in August, the tit.le chase was, for the mOSl part, decided al a tesl session in September of 1983 at Surfer's Paradise in Australia. II was there that Spencer first rode the radical NSRSOO V-four with the gas lank under the engine and exhaust pipes under the chest. Even though it had LOp speed in spades, il was difficult 10 ride, almost impossible to race. After the lest session, the thickness of the frame wall tubing bad to be inaeased for strength, making it heavier and compounding its problems. What the bike wouldn't do was turn, plus il didn'l willingly wanlLO stop, and lhose are two lhings a rider needs toconlrol when enleringcorners at 150-plus mph. "From the time the '83 season ended it was a struggle," Spencer said recently. "II was such a radical change. I jusl suffered through the (1984) season and never felt comfortable. 1£ I made il back to the pits in one piece it was an accomplishmem. It reaIly affected my attitude more than 1realized al the rime." The ever-cheerful Spencer became moody and cynical, a trail he jokingly blamed on his association with journal- ists. "My first impll5Sion was the thing's hC?vy. Just too heavy. •Vi~ were 100 sluck. To get the gas lank on the botLOm and make it a true 'V' made the frame real funny and it had to be heavier to be stronger. II was more or less a helpless siluation. We still won five races on it. Ron Haslam rode il (in 1984) and afterward came over and shook my hand. Ron and Randy Mamola both kept putting il back i.n the garage. "After the first couple o[ races of 1984 we decided to change il [or 1985. I was stiIl working on lhe engine and it did gel better, bUl by then I'd already broken my collarbone and my season was over. We knew lhe engine was prelly bulletproof so we could pUl work imo the · chasslS. " Having suffered the pain, both physical and mental of 1984, Spencer was determined 10 recapture the 500cc crown he'd IOSI to Eddie Lawson. Allhough few doubted his abilities after the captivating 1983 season, there were some who thought his inconsislency and crashes of 1984 more the norm. So for '85 the chassis was made more conventional with the gas tank and exhauSl pipes back where you'd expect 10 find them. Back to Surfer's Paradise in the [all of 1984: "We simulaled what lhe new bike would be like. We changed the gas lank around, bUl you could only ride it a lew laps at a time." Slill il was encouraging. The first time Spencer rode the completed machine was at Daylona, where . he SWepl to easy victories in lhe Formula One, Formula Two, and Superbike finals, a feat that will likely never be duplicated due to Daytona's reluctance to again stage Formula One races. The firsl Grand Prix was at Kyalami and a lew surprises cropped up. "I rode the bike at South Africa and I thought the one I rode al Daylona must have £aIlen out of the plane on the way over. Kyalami brought OUI problems in the bike that DayLOna didn'!." From end problems to be precise. So after finishing second to World Champion Lawson, and winning the 250cc race, Freddie and crew chief Erv Kanemolo wem off to test at Rijeka in Yugoslavia. They changed the amount of weight on lhe [rom end by moving the engine forward and made the [rom end stiffer by going to a differenl metal compound. The bike was crated up and sem back to Japan where the changes were effected, and when it was finished so was the competition. "The best result was being able LO steer with Ihe Yamahas through the comers. ~ Yamaha has two cranks (the SR Hooda has one) so they can put the weight in lhe cemer o[ the engine. It gets in themmer and chariges direction beller. The Yamaha flicks over and turns. fd get into a comer and the bike wouldn'l tum and with the radial tires it would stick so well that the frame would flex. It lOOk a lot of time to get it righl" The improvement in romer-exiting speed was so great that with a longer run 10 tbe next comer Spencer picked up 6.5 mph on top end along lhe from straighl of the Mugello circuit near Florence, Italy. Many doubted a frame change could add so much to the top end speed. One disbelieving competitor remarked that he'd "Been racing 100 long to believe that changing a from end could make that much difference." He, like many olhers, was certain there was a new engine at the heart of the machine. Such is the disquieting power of unmalChable progress. Because he was riding [our di££erenl machines a day, two 250s and two 5005. Spencer had to develop a system 10 sustain the progress. "What I'd do is practice the 250 and then get on the 500. I'd come in afterwards, know what changes had 10 be made and 1 would think of a key thing LO say 10 Erv.lt was like learning how to speed read You get the key points and expand on them. Each race track tx-ought OUI different problems and we'd have 10 go through it again." The teamwork paid off. Ten times he was on the pole position for the 500cc race and four times he won both the 250 and 500cc GPs on the same day. "A lot of what I went through and the hard work of '83 and '84 paid off. I think going through '84 makes me appreciale lhis season even more. It's a differem awareness apprecialing what you have. The older I've gotten the more imense I [eel. It's jusl growing up. I don't [eel a letdown now. I already feel physically ready to go [or neXl year. I'm in as good shape now, upper-bodywise, as 1was all season. Mentally, I'm nOl ready and I'm glad that it's still a couple o[ momhs away." Those lew months will be Spenl most.ly at home in Shreveport (Louisiana) dirt riding, working at his Honda dealership, sifting through his business offers, playing tennis, and playing a lot of basketball, a game he has a certain passion for. "The guys I play Wilh don't care how many races I've won. To them I'm just one of lhe guys, which is the way il should be." And if he tries to camp Oill in the lane they'll find a way to move him out. "If I play much more hoop I may nOl be able to race." That isn't likely. The ankle which he hyperextended three different ways this year is slowly healing and the 1986 season should see him at top form from the first race of the year. He's already tested next year's Superbike at Daylona and quickly got under his old track record. With the signing of \lp-and-<:oming Auslralian Wayne Gardner 10 ride the NSR500s with him under the ROlhmans Honda banner, Spencer 'will have extra support against the Yamaha onslaught of Lawson, Christian Sarron, Randy Mamola, Mike Baldwin and Rob McElnea on the various cigarelle-sponsored learns. "The biggest complimem and whal means the mosl 10 me is when the enthusiast appreciates and respects my accomPlishments." _ •

• Cover