Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

wher e he could hon e his BMX skills, although it was used as a p lace to play around on with his motorcycle. McGrath co ncentra ted on BMX from the ages of 10 to 14 and even earned support from a bicycle manufacturer. He pi cked up two state titles along th e way before he finally got tired of racing bicycles. On his l-hh birthday, McGrath got a motorcycle and his BMX days were history. ...... 0"> 0"> ...... o ...... ~ ''Just being around someone who's the best gives you confidenceJ' McGrath took the typical path to the position he's at today . After racing an 80cc mi nibi ke for abou t eig ht months, McGrath got a 125cc bike and earned a Novice class title one year at the AMA Amateur Nationa l Champions hips. Foll owin g a short sta y in the Int ermediate class, McGrath made the j ump to the pro ranks at the end of 1988. More su ccess followed and he earn ed a Kawasaki Team Green ride and the (Above) McGrath's backyard supercross track p ushes right up to the back porch of his parents' home. (Left) The McGrath fami ly room is rapidly filling with trophies. And McGra th is at th e to p of the 125cc Western Regi onal Supercro ss Seri es po int sta ndings, 24 points ahea d of Peak teammat e Steve Lamson. In the six events run so far in th e Western Regional series, McGrath has wo n all but two , fini shing second and third 'Hf my dad worked for someone and couldn't have taken the.time off I may not be where I'm at now.I! motorcycle Grand National Championship a t Ponca City last year. " At th e end of th e year, things started happening," says McGrath. " Roger (DeCoster. H onda's team manager ) and R icky (J o h nso n) ca lled, a n d (Ya ma ha team manager ) Kei th McCarty had called. Yamaha made me an offer, but I wanted to be where Rick was at because he's a big hero of mine. Pl us, to ride for Team Honda is a goal I've had for a long tim e." Although th e Peak/Pro Circuit team which McGrath is a member of isn't a 'H was bummed Johnson retired because I wanted to give something back. " fu ll factory Honda ride, it is j us t a step belo w. Bu t it a llows McG rath to mingle with the H on da su pers tars, and his hero J ohnson has now beco me a frie nd. " I try not to treat hi m like he's a hero , but he really is," McGrath said, " Whe n we first met at the Mammoth Moun tain MX in 1988, he didn 't know wh o I was. I didn' t talk to him much unt il he called me. After that we go t together until he retired." J ohns on 's retir em ent , S i nce McGrath has been riding more wi th J eff Stanton and becoming friends with the cha mp. He doe sn 't see mu ch of J ean -Michel Bayle. " J ust being aro u nd someone wh o 's th e best gives yo u co nfidence," says McGrath. "I 'm learning from Stanton. But I don't want to just learn all I ca n and then not talk to him an ymore. I want to help, to put something ba ck for them. I was bummed J ohnson retired because I wanted to g i ve something back." McGrath als o considers his famil y the best. And although he probably didn 't appreciate it at the tim e, th ey made him ma intain a B average in order to race unti l he graduated from Perr is Union H ig h School in 1989. "They gave me all the support I needed," he said . "My sister Tracy, who is 16, is my number one fan . They go to all the close races." H is father, J ack, owns a car repair business where his mother, An n, works as the secreta ry. McGra th considers that another adva ntage to his success. "My pa rents wor k five days a week and take the weekends off to go to the races, Dad used to close the shop to go to the major races and we'd ma ke a vaca tion of it. I' m glad he owns his own business. If he wor ked for som eo ne an d could n' t have taken the time off I may not be where I'm at now," wh en no t winning. Supercros s is one of the reasons wh y McGrath always wanted to race profession ally. " I always wanted to race su percross because of the ju mps," he says. " I' ve always liked to jump, even o n bicycles. I'm a jumpin' fool , th at 's my favorite thing." His ot her reason for wanting to race as a pro? Just to see what the MX stars were doing: Now that he's dis covering what it ta kes to reach th e top, McGrath doesn 't have mu ch tim e for his other interests. Like most all o ther racers he lik es to ride pers onal watercraft, and he still rides BMX for fun and training. " I love to snow ski ," McGrath said, " bu t it 's dangerous so I don't do it any mo re because I don 't want to jeopardize my career." Pra cti cing take s up most of his day, and when he's not riding there are o ther things to do related to racing that take up the rest of the day. Things like talking to teammates , mechanic Skip Norfolk and sponsors o n the phone. "I'm making mo ney at it, so i t's a job," says McGra th . His one-year contract with H onda pays h im a: small salary, bu t he's eligi ble for Honda 's con tingency program. So far his . supercross finishes hav e earned him $27,000 in Ho nda contingency a lo ne , and it 's possi ble for him to earn another $25,000 if he wins the five remaining events in the series. McGrath is having a lo t of fu n at th is j ob , a n d i n ten ds to keep it enjoyable. " I don 't put pressure on myse lf," he says. " I don 't get ma d at myself if I do poorly. I'm looking to progress." One area in which McGrath feels he can im prove is the 125cc Na tio nal s. He o nly competed in two last year, and he broke down in bo th rno tos at one of those events . H e began this season by fini shing eig h th overa ll at Gai nesville, Florida, th en fini shed IOth in the one rnoto in th e mud at Han gto wn in Sacra mento, California. " I haven 't done man y Nation al s, i t's new to me, " says McGrath . " I' ve ridden ou tdoo rs a lo t as an ama teur, but I haven' t had a cha nce to race wit h the best guys o ut there. Riding with the best will make me better. I just need to gai n th e experience. T he Na tio na l tracks are so wide o pen, some times it's kind of scary. It' s j us t a mailer of gelling used to it." Un fort u na tely, McG rath won 't get th e chance to race wi th th e best in supercross such as Stanton and Bayle this year. McGrath pl an s to stay in the I25cc class through next year, and he'd ga in too man y Pr o-Am advancement points if he com pe ted in th e 250cc class a t su percrosses in the East. - ' H'm ajumpin' fool, that's my favorite thing.I! " Ir'Il be that much more experience if I stay in the ·125s an other year," said McGrath . " T here's already guys on the teams fo r th e 250cc class, and there's going to be a lot of gu ys forced to move up af ter this year. I thi nk I'm p layi ng ·it rig ht by staying down . I feel I can go into th e 250cc class now and do well , but I don 't want to go into the class and lose confidence if I do poorly. By then ('93) I' ll be ready." When he is ready, the com pe titio n better beware. There's no doub t that McGrath will have prepared with a lot of la ps in his bac kyar d. .01 -19

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