Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

in 1982. Phil McDonald the racer was about to be replaced by Phil McDonald the tuner. "At Daytona, Sam led the Formula Two race on his Yamaha TZ250 for four or five laps, then raced Martin Wimmer and Richard Schlachter and ended up third. So then we went to Talladega and got beaten by half an inch at the line ana we were leading the Formula Two point standings. "So one race became two races and ended up the whole series and Sam won the series. It was real gratifying when Sam and] won because we were up against Jim Filice who was a works Yamaha rider at the time. They gave him a motorcycle and had Bud Aksland doing his bike. Even though we went the whole season and didn't win a race, to win the championship was real satisfying." The next year Phil got his first chance to look at racing through a factory's eyes, joining Team Honda to work on Baldwin's equipmeru. Already his extensive racing experience had helped him in setting up his brother's machine and now it was to help him in another way. "It was pretty funny," McDonald recalls. "When Mike (Baldwin) started racing] would beat him and then as I was quitting he was coming into hi own. So to work with Mike after racing with him was nice because he respected me as a racer knowing what he needed. "Being a racer I knew all that he wanted was the bike better and so I figured my job was to make the bike the best it could be for him to go as fast as he could the easiest he could." It was a successful policy with Baldwin wipning one of his,four National Formula One titles with McDonald's help. Baldwin obviously remembered and respected McDonald's abilities, contacting him while the Lucky Strike team was being set up and oHering him a job. McDonald turned it down, but not out of respect for Mike Baldwin. "Riding wise, Mike's even to Eddie, Freddie or any of them. He's had some bad breaks which have hurt him, where I think Freddie and Eddie have made rough situations better than what Mike has," says McDonald. "I think that Mike has a real good chance of winning the World Championship next year, if he keeps on the same equipment. ] think Freddie has a little more of a put it to the limit and ride it over the limit whereas Mike knows where his limit is. I think it's the same with Eddie. He knows where his limit is. Wayne Gardner is a little like Freddie. He can ride to the edge and then ride over the edge and get away with it. Kenny was·that way, Jay Springsteen, too; they could ride over the edge nine times out ef 10 and get away with it. But there are some riders who can't put it over the edge and make it, or the percentage isn't as hot." McDonald is impressed by his current charge, Wayne Rainey, who despite winning six of the nine '86 Camel Pro Superbike races finished second on the season to teammate Fred Merkel, and had a disappointing Fromula One season, finishing fourth in the final standings. "I don't think there is anyone in Wayne's league right now. I think he's physcially and mentally above everyone he's riding with right now. "Kevin Schwantz is too young which is where I think Wayne is ahead of him. Rider-wise they're preuyequal. "Fred Merkel is probably equal to either of them but I thought mentally he was defeated this year. He'd had it too easy with no competition so I thought it would be hard for him to put it back on the line like Wayne Prankster Phil McDonald nails Miss Camel Linda Hellund with a pie at the final road race round in Road Atlanta. and Kevin." McDonald explained that Raipey having to split his time in practice between his Sparky Edmonston and Rob Muzzy-prepared FR750 Superbike and the RS500 meant less time to set the machine up at each meeting, as there is some adjustment time necessary when stepping from one machine to the other. "We madea couple of changes and took the chance at making the RS500 better. They were gambles, and as it turned out, they were wrong decisions," admitted McDonald. "I've felt maybe I've let him down but at the same time hedoesn't hold it against me or feel that I've done something to make the bike where he couldn't ride it, which is good. It's like we took a chance, it didn't work, we learned something, so we'll go . from there." Rainey rode the RS500 this year to prepare himself for 500cc GP bikes, as he plans to return to Europe to compete in the premier class of World Championship racing within the next couple of seasons. In McDonald's opinion he will do very well: "If he has equal equipment to Mike, Eddie and Randy he'll be right there with them. I don't know if he would beat them. He would probably have the same problem learning the tracks Mike is having, but with a year's experience he would be turning in times as fast as they are, if not faster, and pushing them." McDonald has had friendly relations with each rider he has worked for, bu t sometimes he reflects, a friendship can interfere with a good working relationship. "When it's a rider-mechanic relationship then it's just you come to the track and do your job working on the bike, they do their job by riding the bike and then that is pretty much it. "When it turns into a friendship thing then you expect things like if they're getting free jackets - they owe you one - or helmets or boots. "I don't really feel that way. I feel that I get paid by Honda to do my job, he gets paid to do his and I have to do mine to the best of my ability and he has to do his. He doesn't owe me anything except to go out there and ride the motorcycle 100%, because when my bike is out front in my own glory I'm the star. I'm racing Kel Carruthers or whoever and if I'm out in ITont of them then I did the better job." McDonald acknowledges that he and the rest of Team Honda are in a very secure and pri~ileged position compared to the majority of members of the Camel Pro paddock. Having competed for so long as a privateer himself he sympathizes enormously wilh them, particularly in Superbikes where three factories are now racing. In particular he cites the example of expatriate New Zealander Gary Goodfellow who has putin a number of sterling rides on Vancouver Suzuki's G XR750.. "He's one of the hardest riders out there and the privateer equipment he has is just inferior. I think if he got onto a good bike he would be up there with Wayne and Kevin, or at least giving them a lot more trouble than he has!" . McDonald would like to see the current Superbike racing- class replaced by a less modified form of production-based racing, ala England's Superstock series. "Then the factories wouldn't have such an advantage and it would be better for everyone. It would make everyone more equal and it gets down more to the riders and a clever mechanic working to come up with something, to get an edge." McDonald pointed out also that a closer-to-production class might attract more riders out of the clubs, where box-stock racing is very popular at the moment, thanks to contingencies being put up by the manufacturers. "Club races right now are getting 400 to 500 riders and what are Nationals getting? Maybe 30 to 40 riders per class. That's nothing; when I was riding there would be 100 riders in the Formula Two class. "But it's just got to the stage where they've made it unfavorable for the local guy. ow a guy can go get a GSXR, or FX, and compete and have fun without all the pressure." McDonald has also noticed a spectator down-turn at a couple of Nationals this year, attributing that to' the cost of a ticket for the weekend: "If they maybe went for less of a spectator gate fee and draw more people I think it would come back a lot better." He also feels fans "lose a little bit with Battle of The Twins and some of the other things which are thrown in." But his main concern at the moment is that Formula One doesn't get thrown out, despite the opposition it is facing from some influential members of the racing fraternity, notably the Daytona International Speedwav owning France organization. "Formula One to me is what the real race is. Superbi ke racing is just trying to fill a gap. It's just a shame there isn't any more equipment made available from Yamaha or Suzuki so we could have good Formula One racing." Part of that feeling is prompted by years or two-stroke experience, both racing and tuning, in particular his most recent machine, the Honda RS500. "The RS500 is the easiest, most well thought out and best bike to work on in my opinion, in terms of maintaining them and doing a lot of races without replacing parts. I've never worked on them bull was looking at the YZRs and that's a nice motorcycle. As far as they've done some of the equipment, it's brilliant." That doesn't mean that he'll be calling Baldwin up to get ajobin Europe thougb: "If Honda decided to quit racing here then that would be the next step. But the job I have with Honda now and I'm enjoying it, Europe is not a priority." McDonald is content with the Camel Pro pi ts. He finds quite enough pressure, and of course people, intruding on his work there: "You have to deal with people, other competitors, the AMA reps - who are sometimes the worst to get along with," he says bluntly, "and do a job which you have to do 100%. "It could cost your rider a tough time in the hospital or worse if you don't," he concludes grimly. . But get McDonald out of his cage and oU pit lane and the story is diHerent. He's a party animal - the court jester and self-appointed entertainment director wherever the Camel Pro circus rolls. He's "pied" everyone. frdm superstar racers to Miss Camel Pro. "You wait till you're out of the pit gate and then you let the pressure off and let the rent-a-cars have itl" His eyes light up, and there's a grin on his face, making him look more like a 16-year-old with some sort of practical joke planned. Look out. The animal is loosel • 15

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