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/126975
His team provides him a van and room-and-board, they paid him a signing fee he would rather not disclose, and he gets a salary based on the points he scores in each night of competition. Green figures he could gross $30,000-40,000 in this rookie season. The money' aside, Green found that in giving up one form of the sport for another, the biggest difference was lifestyle. "It's really backward over here," he says of his new home, and he goes on to describe his new countrymen, the British, as "civilized, polite and stuffy. " Easing the trauma of transition is the fact that Randy's long-.time mechanic, Carl Blomfeldt, was in a position to join him on the European tour. "I sold my automotive machine shop three years ago," Blomfeldt explains, "and since then I've been working there as an employee and traveling with Randy. This just struck me as a ~ood dpportunity to do something different." ' Impressed with the machines he maintains, and noting another factor in Green's economic equation, Blomfeldt points out that speedway hardware has stayed the same for years and is very simple and inexpensive to keep in shape. Green's support system also includes his parents, though 'his mom was initially concerned about terrorism, a big issue at the time Randy hit the British shore. "I thought about it some at first," he says with a smile, "because the race announcers naturally make a big deal about my bejng an American. But now that problem seems to have died down a little. I don't worry about it." A much bigger concern was the British bureaucracy. Randy recalls going,into London to apply for what we would call a Green Card. He "stood in line with the Pakistanis for , two hours," got his form signed, then had to take an hour-long train trip across town to stand in another line for four hours to get the actual permit issued. But after a bit of settling in, Green's on-track performance during the early season bodes well for his future. Despite his shocking lack of experience, the rookie's points average currently ranks him fifth on a seven-man team, and he is climbing steadily toward fourth. He has also signed on two new sponsors, HLI Lubricants and Shoei Helmets, who join Tsubaki Chain, PFI Sprockets and Hi-Point, his backers before he left the States. But for all his initial success in the speedway world, Green does have regrets. He wishes he'd won 'an American National, and he recognizes that he blew his best chance to do that in his very first try. In 1983 he made his debut, as so many rookies did, at the Houston Astrodome Short Track. He led the firs.t 15 laps of the main event and had put a full straightaway on the field. Then he "rookied out." "I started thirtking about it and immediately slowed down," he recalls. "Terry Poovey and Randy Goss both caught me and passed me and I ended up third. I should have won tha trace. " He also admits that for all its economic benefits, riding speedway is not as much fun for him as American-style dirt track racing. But in conclusion Green dismisses the issue of fun with the same disciplined attitude that made his Stateside career a profitable one. "Racing is a business," says this young man who should know, "and .you have to treat it that way." • CAGI.I'VA DUcaD latois BOUINBACH ENGINEERING CAGIVA DUCAT! 296 Williams Place East Dundee, IL 60118 (312) 428-2800 The Fun Starts Here M.C.C. THE,EUROPEAN ALTERNATIVE 1015 East St. Charles Rolld Lombard. IL 60148 (312) 495-2273 Indiana ATIUNS CYCLE 3701 V, Lincoln Marion. IN 46592 (317) 674·6577 Most Powerful Mid-Size Cruiser . BOB BEAN'S ACTION CYCLE 919 East McKinley Mishawaka. IN 46545 (219) 256-1020 lo",a CYCLONE SUZUKI CAGIYA 129 West Lincoln Way Ames. IA 55010 (515) 233-1100 Most Significant New Motorcycle of 1987 Micltlgan DIRT WORKS INCORPORATED 5290 Alpine Ave N.W. Grand Rapids. 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