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/127406
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A FARMER TO KNOW YOUR DIRT E IT R'S DO MEGAPHONE By Paul Carruthers ayne Rainey is home no~,. his second 500cc World Championship secu re. Sadly, though, his return trip from a demanding Grand Prix season featured a stopover in San Francisco and an opera tion on a badly broken right leg. Consequently, the likeable Californian isn't able to enjoy his well-deserved off-season in the manner he'd like. Instead of playing golf, riding his motocross bike, or driving his go-kart, Rainey is spen ding his days going through intensive, eig ht-hour-a-day rehabilitation sessions in an effort to bring streng th back to his broken leg. A pre-race crash while testing tires in Malaysia was the unfair conclusion to a splendid season, but Rainey's spirits remain high as he prepares for an assault on a third world title in 1992. . "I' ve got some time off, but this isn't the way I really want to spend it," Rainey said in between rehab assignments from his home in Downey. "We've got some time: so we're just easin g in to it." Rainey isn't a crasher, never has been. His squeaky-clean record sparkles. "It , was my first cast in 22 years of racing, so I've been real fortu nate," he says. When crashers crash, no'one looks for reasons wh y. When Rainey crashes, the question has to be asked. What happened? "I got offline and it was slick," Rainey explains. "(Niall) Mackenzie called me last week and he was the only one that saw it, He said it looked like my leg hit' a curb. I don 't know , it just shoo k the bars out of my han ds . . . . "I don 't thi nk my concentration level was as high as it sho uld ha ve been. It was in a test session'; I was trying new Japanese Dun lop s that nobody else was interested in testing. I gu ess I ju st wasn' t at a high concentration level." The first step to normal ity is complete - the cast has been remo ved, and the leg "feels pretty good." The next ph ase of rehabilitation will requ ire hard work, but Rainey's used to working hard. And he won't do it alo ne. Marl boro Yamaha trainer Deal Miller is curre ntly a working house guest. It's likely that Rainey's first ride on the Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 will be in pre-season tests in Ja nuary , tho ugh he's not goi ng to make the rrtistake of getting back on too soon. . "I don 't want to ride until I know I can put my knee down, un til I know I could crash and not hurt myself. I'll on ly do it when I'm 100 percent," First things first, And now Rainey is just , " looking forward to walki ng around again." The racing will come soon enough. In the meantime, Wayne and his wife Shae will make the best of things. The grou nd was recent ly brok en at the construc tio n site on the Monterey Peni nsula where they will soon begin building their new hom e, al most in the same neighborhood as Laguna .Seca International Raceway - the site where Rainey won his third straight U.S. GP in April. Through it all , there's one thing the broken leg hasn 't changed. Wayn e Rain ey is still 500cc World Champion. "That's the best part of this whole mess." 0' W %:1':::~ (!2 BUZCO TRAK..PAKSe.Jies ~ A.M.A. GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COLLECTOR CARD SET 48 Riders in Full PA CJ