Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eINTERVIEW eR Motocrosser Jeremy McGrath By Chris Jonnum 18 ookies are rarely taken very seriously in any sport, and supercross racing is no different. When it comes time to predict who'll be the champion, the established veterans inevitably receive the lion's share of attention. After all, it's much safer to stick with something familiar than it is to go with an unknown. That was again the case this year, as most of the preseason dialogue centered around last year's top two riders, Yamaha's hero and series runner-up Damon Bradshaw and Team Honda's defendirrg champion Jeff Stanton. One new name that did pop up now and again, however, was that of two-time 125cc Western Regional Champion Jeremy McGrath. Even Stanton, McGrath's Honda teammate, pointed to his new cohort as being a wildcard pick for the Camel Supercross Series title. Well, McGrath seems to be on a mission to prove Stanton right, and to put his name on the list of those mentioned when the conversation turns to title contenders. The 21year-old from Murrieta, California, served notice tha t he was for real when he scored the win at the Paris Supercross during the off-season, and he posted creditable fourth- and fifth-place finishes in rounds one and two of his first full Camel Supercross Series in the 250cc division (McGrath contested the premier class in select Eastern Region rounds last year). McGrath then backed up those performances by nabbing his first-ever U.S. supercross victory in front of a hometown crowd at round three in Anaheim, California. Impressive, yes, but McGrath didn't wait long to add to his win list, stringing together three more consecutive victories at Seattle, San Diego and Tampa, and putting his name atop the series point standings. "Paris was pretty neat," says McGrath. "It was a European race though, so it wasn't a true supercross. I mean, it was awesome to win and everything, but it wasn't anything like Anaheim, that's for sure. It's really good to win your first one, but then you're like, 'Can I do it again?' I liked it a lot after the second win, because it kind of backed up the first one. "I thought I was going to be pretty comfortable when I came into the first (AMA) race, because I had some good (off-season) finishes in Europe and I feIt pretty comfortable, but it's just a totally different thing over here than it is in Europe. It took me the first two races (to become comfortable). I mean, I was pretty nervous the third race too, but I tried to overcome that and it worked out. I feel pretty good now. "I feel that it's probably a little harder to get third than it is to win, because everyone's battling (behind the leader). I haven't really had to battle that much yet, except for the first two races. But I feel strong. and I don't think there's any reason I couldn't pass guys. Maybe not • Perris. I turned pro at the end of '88 after Mammoth. It took me a while. I went to Ponca City and got fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh in four classes, but in '90 I went back to Ponca Gty and I won two classes and got a second and a third and I was overall Grand National Champion, but it took me a while before I was better and up to speed. I think racing with those faster guys helps." II: When collecting his two ~ 125cc titles, McGrath was a ~ member of Mitch Payton's ~ highly successful Team 1;; Peak/Splitfire/Pro Circuit ~ Honda effort, but now that he ~ is aboard the bigger bikes, 0. McGrath has been moved up to Team Honda, and is managed by Dave Arnold, a noted architect of champions. "The 125 was really fun beca use it's so challenging. Sometimes the triple jumps are pretty far and you just don't have the horsepower. I don't like winning the 125 class, though, because it's so easy, or at least it was easy for me. I think the 250 is better, because when you win you're on top of the pile. "We did some testing and stuff, but the bike I'm riding now is so much different than anything I've ever ridden. It took me a while to get used to the weight difference between the 125 and the 250. I think that had a lot to do with me getting a little bit stronger. It didn't take me too long, and I'm all right now. I think moving up to the 250 gave me more confidence. Some people say I should have moved up last year, but I think the path I'm taking is pretty good. "It's a lot different working straight through Team Honda than working through Mitch. They're both good to work for - just different. There's a different atmosphere. Honda's maybe a little bit more serious, where Peak was pretty serious, but a lot of fun and games, also. Honda does a lot of testing, but they don't pressure me to win at all. Steve (Lamson), Doug (Henry), Jeff and I all get along really well. Jeff and Steve live pretty close to each other so they train with each other a lot. We ride together sometimes, but most of the time they do they're own thing and I do my own thing. But we get along fine at the races. Jeff treats me really well, but I do notice a little bit of change sifl':e I started beating him. I think I notice a little more of a change in his mechanic than anything else, though." McGrath feels that having a good relationship with your mechanic is extremely important, a belief that has led him to maintain the same tuner through three different tearns. Though he is surrounded by an all-new team at Honda, he will have at least one familiar face in the form of mechanic Skip Norfolk; "We've been together for a while. I rode for (Kawasaki) Team Green in '90, and he worked for them, too, and helped me out quite a bit. He's been working (exclusively) with me since '91, so this is the third year. We're the best of friends and I couldn't ask for a better person. He's a cool guy and we get e elr a aren from last, but Kiedrowski does a good job at it. "My first win didn't seem like it was too hard, really. I just felt really good that night. The second time was kind of hard beca use I was kind of sick the night before. San Diego wasn't too bad because I got the holeshot, but I was kind of mad because I had to ride the semi. Tampa was easy, too. I just got the holeshot and led for the entire race." Unlike many top motocrossers who grew up racing motorcycles, McGrath got a relatively late start in motocross. "I started riding when I was about four and rode till I was 10, but then I stopped riding from10 to 14 while I was racing BMX. I started riding again when I was 14. My dad used to ride and race at places like Hollister, because we lived in San Francisco when I was little. I did pretty good in BMX. I had· a sponsor and got flown to the races and stuff. I wasn't a pro or anything, but I did okay. It was pretty hard to make a main event against all those guys in BMX racing, but I won some Nationals and stuff. I got burned out really bad at that sport because you can race so much. You can race almost every day of the week. I did that for a while and I just got burned out. ''I've always wanted to race motorcycles, but my parents didn't want me to get hurt. They bought me a motorcycle, and I started racing in June of '86 at

• Cover