Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Have you been approached by any of the factories about a contract for 1988? I have been approached, but that is as far as it has gone so far. My first job was to co mp lete the job in this year 's cham pionshi ps, then we can talk to each other seriously. Whatever happens I will give priority to Honda. They have helped me this year. I have been 'very happy with the bike, so I don 't want to change unless I have to. H as your approach to the G rands Prix changed this year? Yes, in fact my build-up had to be a lt ered thi s yea r because I wa s injured at th e start of the year. That meant th at I could not prepare myself physically as well as I would have wished. After Austria, I started to get back my co nditio n and th e pain in my neck was gone. I was th en abl e to pr ep are myself physicall y o n the same model as last year, but the change from Kawasaki to Honda also dictated a different styIe because the bikes a re very different in handling. Was it difficu lt to adapt after th ree years on Kawasaki ? The neck injury from th e Geneve Stadium race in January made it mos t difficu lt , but even after I felt better physicall y, it still took a couple of months before I felt properly adapted to the new bik e. I still don 't think that I am 100% in tune with the Honda; I can still change my style a little to achieve that, but I will leave that until next year rather than take risks with my form in th e remainder of th is season. Your resul ts in normal intern ation al races this year have not been so good. Have yo u conscio usly changed yo ur ap proach to those? I think it is important to realiz e th at top riders give 100% at GPs, because that is th e onl y way to b e a champ io n. But it is impossible to give that effort every week. When I go to an international race and th e track is good and I feel good in myself , th en I try to gi ve my best. For example, I rod e at Belves in France between the G Ps in England and Holl and. It was a very nice track a nd I won th e race; I put every th ing into th e race because everyth ing felt rig ht . But wh en I go to a race and the track is bad and some of th e other riders are trying to go faster than th ey are capable of, then I have to be careful. Just look at the long list of injuries in th e sport this year. Just look at th e way my in jury from Geneve affected m y ear ly season form . I co uld not afford to be injured again during th e season a fter I had gotten into a position where I co uld be World Champion . Just look at wh at happened to me in Hoeselt , Belgiu m. T ha t was my own fault becaus e . I was n' t co ncentra ting,because I felt sick and I just did n 't feel mo tiva ted that da y. I can' t try to race 100% when I do not feel good or I will h urt myself. I have learn ed th at th e hard way. I disloca ted a rib in H oeselt and it was very painful in Germ any one week later, but I ha ve also learned from experience that it is better to accept the pain than to hav e an inj ection; once you start with th ose, then it's much wor se afterwards. Even then it was not until the Dutch GP in - Heerlen that I was not getting some pain from my ribs a nd that was seven weeks lat er. Do you intend to con test all of the sta dium races during th e winter? I am not certai n which races I will cont est yet, but I know for certain tha t I will take a good lo ng holiday this autumn. I must rest for at least a month. But I don't expect I will be racing this winter. I have raced Performance By Design Performance begins on the drawing board. Through meticulous design and testing an idea becomesreality. The all new Radial Rat Slide Carburetors are now race track proven. Mikuni's winning tradition connnues . . . The RS series Carburetors are available in a full range of sizes: (32, 34mm soon), 36, 38, 40mm now to accommodate most in-line four cylinder motorcycles. Kevin Schwantz Wins With Mikuni RS Series 1st " Loudoft Classic, June 21 1st • Road America National, June 28 1st . Mid-Ohio National, August 2 1st . Memphis National, August 9 - Superior Horsepower Gains - Maximum Flow s~ Design - Adjustabl e Accelerator Pumps - Insta nt Low End Response - Compa Cl Desig n 2S% Lig hter • Tuneable With Srand.'lod MikuniJets • - Quick Jet Needle Adjustment - Complele sen- On Kits Staning at 5529.95 KEVIN SeHWANTZ Wias witlt /IfikUltI RS Series c.rlluretors onllle Yoshimura Suzuki G5I.. SuperlJike NEW MIKUNI RS SERIES · Legal in California ONLY for racing vehicles which may NEVER be used upon a highway. 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