Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ INTERVIEW Eddie Lawson I "I'm aracer ••• By Adam Duckworth Photos by Renny Ray Abrams and David Goldman a ke one normal human being male, prefera bly - a nd shrink h im a bit. Nex t, g ive h i m a colonial accen t, a sta nda rd-issue side pa rting and a taste in casual cloth ing that vari es all the way fro m polo shirts to jeans. Then he needs th e u ncanny abi lity to cli ck into sponsorspeak a t any given tim e and hearti ly tha n k h is publ ic for being " soooo good." Plus he. needs a pe ncha nt for glittering , expe nsive wat ch es a nd o ther trinkets o f nouveau wealth along with a desire to o wn th e swa n kiest motorhome a nd fast est, most impracti ca l ca r th is side of the Grand Ca nyo n. Oh yes, don 't forget th e com plete cha risma b ypass surgery. And finall y, a lib eral dose of th a t certain something tha t wou ld sell a mill ion times over if it were o n sale - th e a bil ity to ride a powerful mo tocycle to its a bsolute limi t. Good Lord, I' ve crea ted a mo nste r. T 24 f've crea ted a World Champion roa d racer for the ·90s. O r that's ho w it would seem . Bu t th e su per gods who defy the la ws of two -wheeled dyn amics with amazing regu larity ar e norma l peop le. .Well , normal-ish . They ha ve feel ings, opin ions a nd asp irat io ns, even th ou gh th ey ar e o ften shrouded by a single-m inded dedi catio n to become th e best in th e world. Edd ie Lawson is o ne o f th ese men . H e's wo n fou r World 500cc Ch amp ionships, earned stac ks o f cash a nd owned th e classiest mot orhome, But now he's o lder - 33. H e's seems to be tir ed o f th e G P circus th a t the you nger riders th rive o n. H e's mo re withdrawn, more of a loner - a nd, more oft en tha n not , m isu nderstood . Sp ectators see h is o n-track p row ess wi th th e sa me no-f rill s rid ing style a nd sheer determination th at ha s tak en him to th e very top o f hi s cho sen sp ort and back down aga in. But in th e paddock , he's th e m ystery man th at everyo ne loves to hat e. No ne more so th an the journal ists who seek him he re, th ere a nd everywhere. Since hi s swap to PR ig norami Cagiva, he's not even had to endure end less press con ferences , where he's abs o lutely fo rced into blab bi ng . Every GP hack has his ow n Lawson story o f how he's ru ined th eir featu re by being 'unavai lable' or simp ly ru de. " H e's in the sho wer righ t now" j ust doesn't was h with all th e people, a ll th e time. Perh aps it was a sim p le fluke th at he decided to gra n t me an interview. " Let's just say, f'1I tal k to you th is time," he th reatened, almos t zap ping a hole righ t th roug h me with his pi ercing stare, In a way it made a pl easant cha nge from the rest of the int erview where he gazed around the inside of his motorhome, occasiona lly glancing a t CNN News on his sate llite TV set. Don ' t ge t me wrong tho ug h, he was to ta ll y civi l th rough out th e ordeal a nd a n swe re d ever yt h i n g with a well th ou gh t o u t retort. Somet imes pe rha ps too well th ou ght ou t. J ust abou t th e o nly thing that even sl ig h t ly r u ffle d Iri m wa s a notun expected question abo u t hi s relatio nsh ip with th e pr ess, After hi s usu al co m me nts like " thev bl ow it a ll out of proportion" and "' it j ust go t o u t o f han d ," he se ll led d own a nd was a ma zingly open about what he rea ll y th inks. " T here a re a lo t of different characte rs in rac ing a nd I'm o ne of th em. It's'good tha t there is a nd I'm certai nly not going to cha nge. I kn ow people sav I' m a n asshol e a nd I wo n't ta lk toan yo n e, Well that 's fin e by me, let 's keep it going. ·" We ofte n have a pr etty good lau gh a bo ut it. We o pe n th e door to someo ne a nd tell th em to pi ss o ff a nd th en have a good laugh as th ey storm off fuming. " Some o f th em knock a nd walk o ff before you ca n a ns wer." H e co nt in ued: 'Tin no t as easy as so me of th e o the r rid ers wh o'll talk a nywhere, a nyt ime. I'm just not th at way. There's a ri gh t tim e to talk to me but some times wh en f'm pissed off, I won 't ta lk a t a ll. " Peop le ju st n eed to u se th eir com m on sense. And I don 't see a lot o f that arou nd th e paddock ." It 's a real br eath o f fresh a ir th at Ca lifornian La wso n reall y do es manage to see th e paddock as a n outsider with a sem bla nce of a grip on rea lity, whatever th at is. Although he' s a Grand Prix man ' through a nd through, hi s perception of racing a nd th e people within it in cluding h is peer gro up, if th ere is such a thing - is different to the norm. " T h ey b u y m oto rhomes, I bu y prope rty . They b uy toys, I in vest in p ieces of dirt. " Su re, I' ve had th e Porsch es a nd ot her stu ff a nd I still a p preciate q ua lity a nd hi gh-tech thi ngs. I've had it a nd ma y not ge t it a ll agai n. Still, I may buy a nother Mercedes or a Ferra ri if I ca n get a good dea l." Wh en yo u earn an estim a ted . $5 million for you r Cagiva deal , th e price o f an Ital ian exo ticar isn 't too stretchin g. You go ua live, rig h t? "Tha t' s right," he said. "To me, happiness is bein g success fu l a nd acco m plishi ng goa ls. And I'm happy." T o tall y ha p p y? " Well , of co u rse I'd li ke to be Worl d Ch am p ion o n a Cagiva. And I think event ua ll y I'd probabl y lik e to get married. But not right now." C u e th e qu es ti on o n La wson ' s reputat ion as a lad ies' ma n. " Well, I have a gi rlfr iend a t home so I'd bett er wat ch what I say. Sh e's a good g irl. I brought her to th e races a co u p le o f times and she said 'never again' so I kno w she 's pretty sma rt." Sma rt cha nge in tack. . " She' s one o f the reasons I go hom e so mu ch - as o ften as I ca n. I've come to a p p recia te close friends a nd fam ily a t ho me, " I've gotten tired o f livin g o u t of hot el rooms a nd motorhomes for the past eig h t years . It's ni ce to sleep in your own bed. I do n 't fly hom e to

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