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/127215
finishes first of a gu y," Kiedro wski adm its. " We spent so me time in Ital y (for a n interna tional race) to gether a nd talked a little bit. If we didn 't race it wou ld prob ab ly be d ifferent." It seems Kiedrow ski has trouble holding a grudge, a nd it's no wonder since he's so ni ce wh en he's off th e track. At th e Mot ocross des Na tions in Germany th e track a nnounce r carn e to th e American pi ts to find o ut more abo u t him so that the German fans cou ld kn ow more abo u t th e little-known Am erican rider. After a brief intervi ew, a t a time when he was co nce nt ra ting o n wh at he had to do, Kiedrowski th anked him for takin g the tim e to co me over a nd do the interview. He th en wa lked over a nd signed au tograp hs for th e fans lini ng th e banners, with a sm ile and enth usiasm. H e's no t just ni ce to foreign ers, either. At a recent Nati ona l, Kied rowski pe rso na lly th anked th e prom oters for runnin g a prom in ent photo of hi m in the event program. And wh en he has tro u ble o n the track, he a lways exp lains his problem s an d manages to do it with a sm ile, even when he's obv iously disappointed. "I always rem ember one yea r when Ha nnah raced at H o lli ster ," Kiedrowski reca lls. " I was there wa tching and h is bike bro ke. Usu ally wh en a , By Nate Rauba Photos by Kinney Jones and Rauba .... , 8 Z (Abo ve ) Kiedrowski was chosen as a la s t -mi n ut e replacement for the U.S . Motocross des Nations team and helped the team to victory by w inning the 125cc c lass. (Left) Kiedrowski 's ' 8 9 Ho nda support ride d idn 't provide a salary; he was g iven a lump sum for expenses and to hire mechan ic Shane Nalley. (Be low) Kiedrowski made up for his one-point loss in the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Championship by winning the $10,000 Camel Shootout in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum . gu y breaks he .throws it dow n a nd wa lks away, th rowin g his goggles a nd helmet. H is bike bro ke all th e wa y o n the ot her side of the tra ck and he pu sh ed it a ll the way across and still signed a utogra phs for th e fan s alo ng the way. My dad said to me, 'Yo u rem ember that whe n your bike brea ks; don 't act like a foo l a nd throw it down. Nobody likes t h ; I always rem em ber that." Hi s fam ily has always helped him keep up a posit ive a tti tude. "I try to keep everyth ing as positive as I can , because o nce you have a negati ve a ttitude you go down ," says Kiedro wski. " So I try to keep everythi ng as hi gh as I can." T ha t posi tive a tti tude kept h im go ing on hi s first trip to Euro pe for the Mo tocross des Nations . " It's hard getti ng used to the foo d, sleep ing, everything's j ust d ifferent so you feel like go ing horn e" sa id whe n, with two ro unds to go, he failed to ca pita lize o n Bradshaw's problem s. Cra sh es kept Kiedrowsk i 19 pain ts behind. " It was giv en to me a nd I co uldn' t do anything with it," he said. " I . tho ught maybe I'd lose it th en ." . More m ista kes by Bradsh a w pu t Kiedrowski up by six points over H onda teamma te Guy Cooper a nd V I I over Brad sh aw going into th e ..0 fin al rou nd. Although th e lead was slim , Kiedro wski clai ms he didn 't V feel much pressu re. ;:> " I went to th e race towin a nd get o points," he says. " I j ust tried to ride and n ot think a bo u t th e champ io ns hi p." Alt ho ug h th a t cham p ions hip was in th e back of h is mind thro ughou t ' th e season , Kied rowski wouldn't have been too d isa ppo inted if he didn 't win it. " Honda o nly expected me to get top five," he had sai d while in Germany prior to the end of th e season. '" set m y goals to win a nd do th e best I can , bu t for right now I'm a head of what I' m supposed to do . It 's not go ing' to h urt me (if I do n 't wi n ), everyo ne's lost before." Since he d idn 't lose, Kied row sk i says he's goi ng to celebrate by ta king som e' tim e to relax, and stay off a motorcycle for a week or so. H e's plans on getting in a little bit of fishing or hunting with his father , or maybe even go sur fing. H e also plans to get a new tru ck wit h some of his H o nda bonus money. T he n it 'll be time to p repare for the Pa ris (Fra nce) and Geneva (Switzerla nd) Supercross ra ces' and the new season, which will see h im move u p to th e 250cc class for the Camel Supercross Series. H e wi ll retu rn to ' the 125cc Nationals to defend his title.' 'And in stead of hearing his Ho nda teamma tes tease him abou t ha vin g a Na tio na l number that co uld be a teleph one a rea cod e, Kiedro wsk i wi ll be proud ly d isp la yin g the n umber ' o ne pl at e o n his factory CR 125. • Kiedrowski. " In Ital y I felt th at wa y, I didn 't want to do an ything. That's probably wh y I didn 't do well th ere. You 've just got to go and hav e fun , sig hts ee and stuff like that. Yo u get bett er that wa y." H is positive thinking also helped him throughout the lo ng season, one tha t saw him co nsta ntly in the hunt for the cha m p ionsh ip. T he low est point Kied ro wski reached in th e standings was fo urth , but he was on ly five points from th e lead er at the tim e. Hi s lar gest poi nts defi cit was 27 fo llowin g the 10th of 13 rou nds and hi s ti tle hopes a ppea red to be fadin g, but Brad sh aw fail ed to score points in two of th e six remaini ng motos wh ich a llowed Kiedro wski to o verta ke h im and win the title. £f th ere was a poi nt whe n his co n fide nce wavered, it was after the Steel City Na tio na l in Penns ylvan ia 13