Cycle News

P104 W hen the party con- versation turns to the subject of motorcycle racing in America, motocross arrives fashionably late. For many years, the AMA focused its energies on Class C racing, with its well-established dirt track and road racing programs. But by the early 1970s, the organization realized the potential that existed with motocross. They also rec- ognized that it was in need of focused leadership, so in 1975, the AMA hired its first Direc- tor of Professional Motocross. His name was Mike DiPrete. A Rhode Island native who had little experience in motorcycle racing, DiPrete would steer the sport for the next eight years. Di- Prete sought to bring in a sense of order and a new profession- alism to motocross; along the way, he found himself planted squarely in the middle of one of the most infamous incidents in moto history! Michael DiPrete's first involve- ment in the two-wheel industry came in 1970, when he was hired as plant manager with the New Hampshire-based Rokon company. The company of- fered just one basic model, the two-wheel drive Trailbreaker (still sold today). Rokon wasn't a player in the motorcycle world, but thought they could be, so DiPrete was tabbed to take the company to the next level. "It was kind of a screwed-up place" DiPrete recalls today. "A lot of relatives of certain employ- ees had been given jobs; fathers had found jobs for sons, etc., and it just wasn't working very well. I had some experience in the manufacturing business and so they brought me on board." Rokon was failing miserably. In DiPrete's words "It was awful! There would be a bunch of guys sitting around doing nothing. Welders would be ready to weld up vehicles, but they would have to wait for somebody else to go find the right parts for them." Streamlining is never easy and DiPrete made some difficult decisions as he began trimming the fat. When he was done, he had eliminated 40 percent of Rokon's workforce, "which didn't make me a popular guy." But the new, leaner Rokon also saw the manufacturing side increase and with the ship righted, the com- pany announced plans to build a new dirt bike. "The engines for the new bikes were snowmobile engines, which came down from Canada. I had wanted to build a 250, but the price was going to be too high, so we had to make it a 340. The bikes were kind of heavy and there were some issues in extreme conditions. If there was a water crossing, the riders had to really go through it quickly or else the torque con- verters on the bikes would fail. "But it was still a good mo- torcycle. We put together an enduro team and even went to the ISDT a couple of times. We tried some motocross with Don Kudalski. He wasn't an official team rider, but we gave him bikes and parts." DiPrete had been at Rokon for nearly five years when a friend named Tom Clark recommended him for a new position at the AMA. "Motocross was really growing at that time" DiPrete remembers, "and I saw a need for improve- ment in a lot of areas." One of DiPrete's changes resulted in an almost sacreligious remake of the sport's two-moto format. "At that time, the Supercross series was still running a pro- CN III ARCHIVES THE FIRST CZAR OF MX, MIKE DIPRETE BY KENT TAYLOR

• Cover