Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Above) Eddie Lawson at speed on an FZ750 at Daytona. 18 mean th e differen ce betw een winn in g a nd losin g th e cha m pions hi p - a nd Lawson knows it. " It 's (the bike) go t a problem," he sai d. " Some times I can sta rt it right a way a nd so me time s it just doesn' t want to start. Wh at we have right now is a carburetion problem . It doesn 't want to clear ou t rig h t a way . It has been startinga littl e bett er th an last year, but it just doesn ' t wa nt to clear o ut ." La wso n is in fa vor of cha nging th e European trad ition of p ush starts, but he rea lizes it probab ly wo n 't happen. " It's a case of tradition before salety," h e says. "Nowadays a 500 in first .. ~.. .. . , gea r - by th e time yo u let th e cl u tch o u t a nd yo u have 12,000 rpm o n th e tach - yo u ar e doing 60-70 mph. If you clip a rider while he' s runnin g beside hi s bik e, I think th at 's dangerous. At least with cl u tch starts a ll th e bik es ar e ru nning a nd th at 's wh at we n eed. You kn ow everyo ne is go ing to get a way from th e lin e. I mean ho w man y clutch sta rts have we h ad in America , and th ere haven 't been an y real problem s at a ll. It 's much sa fer." Wh at will it take to rega in th e 500cc World Championsh ip? " It will tak e a good start, a good bike - because I kn ow H onda d idn 't sit st ill this winter - and I kn ow I'm goin g to rid e better th an I d id last yea r, " Lawson sai d . " 1keep learn in g. We were closer last year an d th is year we will be even cl o ser , so hopefully it will put us in front . There's goi ng to be five g uys right the re thi s year, so the racing will be a lot beuer th an last year. But wh en it co mes right down to it , Freddie will be th e o ne we have to bea t." One o f the things that has separat ed Lawson from most of th e topnot ch roa d ra cers is h is abi li ty to ride a ny kind of m ot orcycle o n a ny kind o f su rface. H e h as won th e mult iterra in Superbikers event two tim es a nd fin ished 21st o vera ll o u t o f 1200 entries in th e recent Ba rsto w-to -Vega s o rr-road race. " I just enjoy ge tt ing o u t o n a m ot ocro ss bike and goi ng ridi ng a nd p layi ng. " h e sai d . " I like motorcycles and it doesn ' t ma tter wha t it is, I like it. Just beca use I'm a road raci ng specia list , doesn' t mean I' m not a llowed to go and ride a mot ocro ss bi ke every now a nd the n . I just enjoy it. I' ve gone through two , . m otocro ss bikes this winter ." At times durin g h is three years in Europe, th in gs h ave been far fro m enjoyable for Lawson. He is o ften m isunderstood a nd h is " dow n- toea rth " style o f co m m u n ica ti ng with th e press o fte n h as ca used him problem s. He kn o ws an d admits he's no p u blic rela tio ns ma n, bu t h is rac ing record speaks for itself . H e spe nt 1983 in th e sha dow of Kenn y Rober ts in the Marl bo ro Yamaha ca m p, but in his seco nd year h e eme rg ed with th e World Championship. In 1985, h e fi n ish ed runner-u p to Spencer. In his short, three-year Grand Prix ca reer h e ha s finished fourth , first and second in th e most prestigious cham pi on ship seri es i n motorcycle ra cin g but it never seems to be eno ugh. " I sa y certa in things a nd it gets twi sted a lot," Lawson sa id. " O ne o f th e rea sons why I th in k th e press and I h ave maybe had so me problems is because I don't beat around th e bush, I don't a lwa ys sm ile a t th em a n d I d on 't a lways say every th ing is wonderfu l. If I've got a probl em and I don't want to talk right the n, I'll tell th em to ge t lo st a nd I don' t bea t around th e bush . I ta lk to th em th e same wa y I talk to everyo ne el se a nd th ey don 't know how to handle th at. " Whe n th ey learn to dea l with th at, a nd reali ze th at I wi ll sit down and talk to th e press a ll day if it's th e right time. It seems like the re's a lways been certai n tim es whe n th ey co me u p a nd as k me q uestions a nd I' m th in ki ng abou t somethi ng else. I'll tell them not righ t now an d th e next thi ng I know is that I' m an idiot a nd a ba d guy beca use I didn't want to talk to them. .. .... . ,. .. " With th e Rothmans team, th ey h ave a guy lookin g after th e riders say ing, 'O kay, we 're go ing to hav e a press co n ference a t thi s time,' and th e ri ders ar en 't bothered by th e press until that certai n time. In my cam p th ey just fling o pe n th e rnotorhorne door and walk in . Th ey don't knock o r a ny th ing else, th ey just walk in . I th ink th ey a re sta rt ing to understand me a little bette r now a nd real ize th at I'm j us t kind of a down to eart h and th a t' s th e kind of p erson I am. If th e bike is reall y good, I'll tell yo u th e bike is fan tas ti c, bu t if th e bike is ga rbage, I'm goin g to tell yo u that too. A lot of rid ers don't do that. Everyth in g is wonderful a ll the time a n d they a lways have a big smile on th eir face, but I'm not like th at. They go to press conferen ces in a threepi ece su it and a tie. They a re looking good. I go in my Levis and T-shirt and if th ey don' t lik e it, th at's too bad." It was well publicized th at Lawson had hi s problem s last year with Marlboro Yamaha team man ager Giacomo Agostini , but those problems have been fix ed a nd Lawson just wants to go raci n g. " I rea lly don 't have a ny problem s a ny more," he sai d. ".I sat down with Marlboro a nd Ago and we stra igh tened o u t th e co ntract a nd what I th ought was wro ng wi th it. All of th at is behi n d us now . I'm read y. "At th e end o f th e seaso n wh en you're all th ro ugh yo u j ust think , 'G od, I don' t wa nt to ever look a t anothe r mot orcycle agai n: but now it's like, I want to go . I' m rea dy . I jus t wa n t to get o n the bi ke a nd go rid e it." •

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