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/127218
that I thought you could go all the way in a few years and be a World Champion. He smiled, agreed and said he wa s very happy for you. He is impressed by the wa y you have developed. That is not a bad person to receive praise from , especiall y since yo u are one of hi s tough test co m p etito rs. I fo llowed Bobby since I was a little kid, but I never really kn ew him. Th is yea r we ha ve become pretty good fri ends. H e has helped m e. Bein g th e Wo rl d Champio n is my ultimate dream and I do p lan on getting th ere so me da y. It is going to ta ke m ore time a nd I st ill have a lot to lea rn . Bobby Schwartz ha s bee n there, knows what it ta kes and how to do it. I have lea rn ed a bit o ff him a nd he has been quite hel p h.. this year. You had an offer to go to England to race in th e British League this yea r, b ut yo u tu rned it down. Why? I h ad an o ffer b u t I felt th a t I wasn ' t rea dy fo r it: My co nfidenc e level wa s not up e nough wh ere I co u ld ~o over there and do da mage. Racin g I S qu ite different in th e Briti sh Leag ue. I had a 101 10 learn over here. I st ill do . I felt I wou Id be better off if I stay ed o ver h ere a ile m or e year. I plan o n stay ing here next yea r as well. One nigh t in July, yo u p asse d a maj o r sta r at Costa Mesa in the Sc ratch main. In th e next t urn he knocked yo u down. The race was rednagged and he was kicked out for dang erous riding . Has winning caused an y resentment from other competitors? I rel l yo u what, yo u fi nd o ut who yo ur frie nds a re a nd who th ey a ren' t, real fast. That incident (Costa Mesa ) was ha rd. . The fans are rea lly sta rt ing to react Billy Hamill. 19. was one of the winningest racers on the 1989 southern Cal ifornia Speedway circuit. scoring more points than any other rider. to yo u. T h ey still h ave th eir o ld favorites. bu t when vo u are on th e tra ck then many of them are cheering for yo u . I fig u re o ne da y' I am goi nl-: 10 be in a no ther rider's shoes. Let's say I a m goi ng to he in o ne of th e o lde r rider's shoes. A yo u ng hot kid is goi ng to be coming up a nd he will go arou nd th e o u tside of m e. I will be going , " Ma n, I rem ember wh en I used to do that." The fa ns will be cheering for th e new kid. I hope wh en I a m a litt le older , I ca n hel p g u ide that kid . I would support him, you kn o w. You talked about an old rider. You a re 19 now . When can yo u se e yourself hanging it up? I pl an o n doing it as long as I have fun. I s ti ll have a 101 of goa ls to accom p lish . I -do pl an o n accom p lishing th em. Wh o kn ows. ma ybe so me da y I ca n ride to Bob b y Schwartz' age (laughing). Bobby is onl y 33. The t990 HiPoint calendars and posters p rovide maximum coverage and excitemen t for your walls. Four incredible calendars ( unfol d' 1012" x 24 ") and four outrageous posters ( 24 " x 30") are excellen t gifts for the motocross, streetbike, watercraft an d beautiful women enthusiast, Stan the 90's in st)1e! See your IOClI HiPo inl dealer o r send check or mon ey order 10 HiPoint Racing. 11249 Sunco Drive. Ranch o Cordova. CA 9 5742. Yeah. What do you want from the rest of the 1989 season (This interview took piace before the end of the campaign)? I wan t to have fun . I wa n t to meet more fans. I want to win th e poi n ts fund (he d id ), th e Nationals a nd the Slate (he fini sh ed seco nd in both ). Basically. have fun. Billy Hamill wins a lot of Handicap mains. He makes a lot of Scratch mains. H e usuall y finishes second in Scratch mains. Why not win? I still have a lo t of dues to pay. L ook how long Bo bby Schwartz has bee n racing. H e has a lot of experien ce u nder h is belt. I think that so metimes I learn more coming in second. Sometimes (a s far as learn in g ) second is be tter tha n first. I look at th a t as a learni ng experi ence. Don 't ge t me wrong, I am a lways tryi ng to win. Take a second and think about this. A few yea rs ago, yo u were riding you r bic ycle pretending to be Kelly Moran racinl; speedway. Right now. there are kids riding their bikes around pretending to be Billy Hamill. In your wildest dreams co u ld you ever imagine that happening? No. I sti ll ca n ' t believe it. I j ust can 't believe it. It seems like j ust yest erday I was th ere. I would ha ve 10 see it to beli eve i t. I m ean, I sti ll ride b icycle speed way, You still ride bi cycle speedway? Where at? Ri gh i o u t in th e stree t in fro m of my house! Bill v wo uld like to th a n k Great Wh il ~ L im ou si n e Serv ice, J &J Rep a ir, STP, Quaker State, Bieffe H elmets, Mesa Muffler, Monrovia Diesel, Mom & Dad , K.K., Carlos, Da ve Bra n t a n d " De va s ta ti n g Denny'.' fo r th eir help a nd su p port. • Call 1( 800 ) 824,3872 for Visa or MasteeCard orders, Calendars: 58.95 each plus 53.00 shipp ing/han dling Posters: 53.95 each pl us 51.00 shippi nglhandli ng 27