Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ INTERVIEW 250(( World Champ_ioD_S_it_o_PO_D_S ---:-_ By Paul Carruthers 9I f Sito Pons can somehow manag e to win a 500cc World Cha mpionship he may return to Spa in to find h is ima ge gracing a peseta coin. Out with Kin g Carlos, in with Prince Pons. While Spa in has amassed an imp ressive 21 roa d racing Wor ld Champion "' shi ps, all except Pon s' back-to-back ~ 1988-89 250cc titles have come in th e :;::: tiddler classes. Much like th e Arner.... ica ns have do m ina ted th e 500cc class 0.. of late, the Spa n iards have cont ro lled ~ the 50, 80 and 125cc ranks on and off since 1969 - the seaso n Angel Nieto won the firs t of h is 13 World Ch am pion sh ips. And whil e six ot hers have followed in Nieto's footstep s, on ly Pon s has been ab le to bring hom e a title on a motorcycle larger than.125cc. So it's no wo nder Pon s' first 250cc ch ampionsh ip in 1988 was gree ted wit h such enthusias m in his homelan d . Aft er yea rs o f seeing their sporting heroes win on mach in es wi th simi lar capacity to those ridden by hou sewives to the groce ry store, Pon s' 250cc feat was magnificent. Winning tiddler championshi ps had becom e mundan e, akin to watc hi ng ma tadors fig h t bulls without horns. And now , the 500cc class . . : Ironi call y, part of the reaso n Pon s is ma king the move to the 500cc class is .becau se he feels tha t winning the 250cc title no long er thrills his legion of Spanish fans. T hey want more, and Pons is ga mbling away what could "I changed because I needed a more difficult goal. I also think the Spanish people need this change, and I think my sponsors need.it.I! 16 have been a thi rd successive 250cc titl e in order to give it to th em. " I made the change to 500 first for me," the 29-year-old Pon s said matterof-factly whi le at a Lagu na Seca test sess io n in Februa ry. " I cha nged becau se I needed a more difficu lt goa l. I a lso' think the Spa nis h peopl e need thi s cha nge , and I thin k my sponsors need it. I wanted to move to 500 becau se I've don e everything on a 250. I had already wo n two World Cha mpion shi ps so I needed a more diffi cult objective, a new goa l. Everybod y in Spain has already seen me win in 250 and I don ' t th in k they have the same emotion anymo re. They are no longer .nervou s when th ey wa tch me race because th ey a lways think I will win in th e 250 class. Now it ha s becom e mo re news if I fini sh third tha n if I win. The Spa nis h fan has become accustomed to seeing Sito win ." Thinkin g of the fan is some thi ng that you do wh en you hail from a country tha t su p ports its racers like Americans suppo rt their stick and ball sport ing heroes. It's not out of the ordina ry in Barcelon a to overhear two wo me n at the local bakery argu ing over wh o 's better, Pons or rival Ca ta lonian Juan Garriga. Sim pl y put, in Spa in, Sito Pons is Bo J a ck son , Michael J ordan and J oe Montana all rolled into one. But before Spain starts minting Sito Pons coins, it sho u ld listen carefu ll y to the man h im self. Pons is a realist, and he kn ows tha t success a t the 500cc level will not come easy. Although he's been th ere before, for a rather un successful season aboa rd Suzukis in 1985 - a season tha t saw him gar ner a sevent h place at Le Mans, hi s best finis h of th e year - th is attempt is differen t. H e is now raci ng u nder a mi cro sco p e - a 'two-ti me Wor ld Ch am p ion on top- level eq uipment . Sevent h-place finishes won ' t be taken lightly by the senoritas at the bakery. "T his year man y peop le understand tha t it is the first season," Pons said. "Some, I'm sure, think that I' sho uld win easy th is year, bu t the smarter people rea lize. In all my interviews, I try to exp lai n to them that thi s is ano the r class , that it's more di fficul t. And I think man y peop le understand that. T he pressure comes from myself, no t from the ot her peop le." As if the pressure of moving to 500cc class alone isn't eno ugh, Pons ' move coincides with his rival Garriga 's - and the comparision in the two's . performan ces will defin itely be the talk of the local bakery shoppers. Pons, howe ver, down plays the sign ificance of the Pon s! Garriga intra-Spain battle. " It is importa nt for me to try and beat Eddie Lawson and Wayn e Ra in ey, and Wayne Gardn er a n d Kevi n Schwantz," Pons said. "I race for the win and it doesn 't matter who I beat. If Garriga is second than I am very happy to beat Garriga, bu t if Garriga is 11th , I will be very angry if I finish 10th. Having both of us in the 500cc class is very importan t for Spa in , but

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