Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

along great. He doesn't get all stupid and throw the chalkboard like some mechanics. He's good for me. If he didn't work for me, then I'd get a new mechanic, but he's a great person and a great mechanic, so I plan on having him for a long time. He mainly just works on the bike and lets me take care of the rest for myself. He does check up on me to make sure I'm going to the gym and doing my thing, but that's about it." Besides the switch to Team Honda, McGrath has also had another recent change in his life. Last June, he left his parents' home in Murrieta and moved into a new house in the same community. He now lives with a roommate in a modest tract home, close enough to his parents' home that he can still easily visit and ride on the supercross track on their property. "1 moved in here just before Mammoth. I just figured I'd buy a house. I didn't know what I was gonna do. I didn't know if I was gonna rent it or move in or what. I just grabbed all my stuff one day and left. My mom was crying and pretty upset. I didn't like living by myself at first, but I like it a lot now. 1 just thought it was time to move out. I think it's a good investment. It's pretty small. A lot of guys go out and buy these big houses, but we're gone so much, I don't think I need that, so I'll just save that part for later." Though he says that he doesn't feel a great deal of pressure from Honda, McGrath admits that it is hard to ignore the increased attention from the media and the public that has come about because of his recent win streak. "You always think about the pressure of living up to people's expectations, but I just wanted to go out there and do the best I could. The only one I thought I might have trouble with was Bradshaw, because I never raced against him in the off-season. Jeff (Stanton), shoot, he's an awesome rider, but I knew that I could beat him on occasion, at least. "It's really surprising to me that I've won four races in a row, because those guys are experienced and they're fast, too. But I don't know, I'm just putting it all together. "The pressure doesn't get to me at all, since I've won the two 125 championships. Sure, there wasn't that much pressure there because it was pretty easy, really, but I'm leading the points race right now and 1 really don't care at the moment. I'm not worried about it. I just want to do good in each race and win races, and I think if it comes down to the end and I have to do a certain thing like Damon did (last year, Bradshaw needed a third place finish at the final Camel Supercross to clinch the title; he failed to do so), I'll do okay." While McGrath has gone on an earlyseason tear, last year's primary contenders have gotten off to relatively slow starts. French hero Jean-Michel Bayle has moved on to road racing, and Bradshaw has just two wins. Stanton, meanwhile, has yet to score his first victory of the season. The established stars have been known to start slowly in the past, however, and McGrath doesn't think that we have seen the last of Bradshaw and Stanton. "I don't think they're going out, I just think we're coming up with them. Those guys still have some years left in them for sure. Damon, of course, he's younger than me. I was talking to Jeff the other day, and he said the series is harder than ever. There's a lot of people who can win. "I think Jeff's pretty tough. Swink's been tough, too. I raced him in Europe - and I didn't think he'd be that fast, but he's shown a lot of people that he's' good. Kiedrowski's pretty good, too, ~ "1 don't think anybody is in as good Q a shape as Jeff," admits McGrath. ~ "Kiedrowski's probably right on his tail for shape, maybe even better, I don't ~ know. Everyone's different, though, and o I do what it takes to get me in shape. I ~ like to ride a lot. I ride almost every day. 0. I ride my bicycle a couple times a week and run probably once or twice a week. I go to the gym almost every day for cardiovascular, and I work out maybe two times a week with weights. That works for me. I've been working with a trainer named Taylor Marcell from PASS (Professional Athletic Sport Services), and we're doing fine. I don't know if I'd compare me to Bayle, I mean he was pretty awesome, but I think the main thing for me is riding. That's what I concentrate on the most. I just play it by how I feel. "I can last 20 laps in a supercross no problem. Jeff needs to train like that. I mean, that works for him, which is fine. I'm not one that's gonna go out there and kill myself like he does. I train more now than I ever have. I'm really not known as being some big trainer, but I feel I'm in good shape and I'm good for what I need. You need to be in better shape for outdoors. Nationals take more . strength because they're longer, but now that I've been riding 25Os, it's a little bit longer. In supercross, 125s only go 15 laps and a 250 supercross is 20 laps. I feel pretty good right now. I think I'm gonna be fine for the Nationals." Many people are looking forward to seeing how McGrath will perform at the Daytona Supercross, as the race in some ways resembles a tough National MX more than a Supercross. The course is long, and has been known to get muddy. Conditioning often becomes a big factor at Dilytona, as proven by . Stanton's wins there for the past four years. "I've only raced at Daytona once," says McGrath. "That was last year, and it was pretty muddy. I got some dirt in my goggles and I think I got 20th or something (McGrath did finish 20th in the 3D-rider 250cc main event). I did pretty bad, but I'm looking forward to racing this year. Last year was my first race on the 250s and it was pretty muddy, and I crashed, so I don't really count that. I know Daytona's a long track; It's more like an outdoor track with jumps. It's tough and if it's muddy it's even tougher, so I know that Jeff's gonna be going fast. I think I can do as good as everyone else, though, that's for sure. I'm not really known to be a mud rider or anything, but I think I'll be all right. I'm gonna just approach it like any other race. I know Jeff's hard to beat there, but if I can get out in front of him and stay there for a while...(McGrath pauses). Even if he does beat me, I've just gotta make sure I don't screw up so bad I get last or something." McGrath's early-season tear netted him a substantial points lead after last weekend's Atlanta Supercross, and he has suddenly become a very real threat for the series crown. It still remains a question as to whether or not McGrath will fold as the season nears its end, but McGrath doesn't seem particularly concerned. ''I'm not worried about it (the title)," says McGrath. "I think there's a definite possibility. Everone's saying that I'm a rookie and everything, but I think I have as good a chance as everyone else. I don't think there's ever been a rookie that's ever really been in title contention for their first year. Well, Matiasevich was a little bit; Damon won some races when he came in there, and Bayle did, but he wasn't really a rookie. I don't know, I think my chances are as good as everybody's. I'm not concentrating on that right now." (N '1; and he's always there. I think Damon's going to come on strong too. A lot of people say that he's really not worried about this year, but I think he's gonna come on." With the amount of success he has already enjoyed and the huge potential that the future seems to hold, it is only natural to wonder if Jeremy McGrath will have to soon trade in his helmet for one that is a size or two larger. After all, it isn't easy to subdue a young ego when you receive the amount of attention that McGrath has, a fact that has been proven repeatedly by several past champions. To this point, though, McGrath has remained extremely downto-earth. "I jack around a little bit with my friends, but I try not to let the success bother me," explains McGrath. "When I'm at the races, I just try to act like my regular self. I try and act like I never won a race. r don't think I'm going to have a problem with getting a big head." McGrath's mellow approach is especially apparent just prior to race time. At a period when most riders understandably feel the need to concentrate and be by themselves, McGrath is normally quite approachable. "I've watched Jeff and other people, and I think they need to be by themselves," says McGrath. "I like being around my friends. That kind of stuff really doesn't bother me. I don't have to sit down and be by myself. I like to listen to some Metallica on my headphones. Usually before a main event I'll go run for about 10 minutes to get warmed up. Then I get dressed and try and warm my arms up before I go race." While no one can doubt McGrath's skills on a stadium course, his ability to win in the National Championship MX Series - the "outdoor" Nationals remains a question mark. McGrath finished the 1991 125cc National MX Series in fifth place, then slipped three positions to eighth the following season. For this reason, Honda has opted to keep the supercross specialist on 125cc CRs when the Nationals start, and Lamson will join Stanton in the 250 and 500cc divisions_ "I really wish I could ride the 250/500 series this year, but I have to ride the 125s," says McGrath. "Maybe next year I can ride the big bikes. I asked them (Honda) if I could ride the 250, but they wanted Steve to ride, I guess. Whatever. I mean that's fine. I want to win the 1.25 Nationals, too. A lot of people think I can't win in that series. I think maybe (that lack of success) was a little bit because we were riding virtually stock bikes last year. We had the Pro Circuit motor and Pro Circuit suspension, racing against those factory bikes. It wasn't really fair. There's a bigger difference outdoors than in supercross, for sure, because in supercross you just have to get your bikes stiff, because there's really no bumps. It's all smooth with big jumps. Outdoors, you've got to have you~ suspension work on big bumps and small bumps. I think our bikes will be good this year because they're factory, so I think 111 do pretty good." McGrath admits that his lack of success in the Nationals isn't all due to the machinery, however. "I'm sure it was partly me, too. I mean, all my life I've been looking forward to supercross; It's my main thing. I love it so much that it's probably partly my fault for not being really into the Nationals. "Also, the Natiorals are pretty tough. It's a pretty long ~es. You've got to be up for it, and I really haven't been. I'm gonna try and change that around this year and try to win some races." When insiders speculate as to the reason for McGrath's relative lack of success in the Nationals, many have pointed to his physical conditioning, or lack thereof. After all,lasting 20 laps in a supercross race isn't as demanding as enduring two half-hour motos on a demanding natural-terrain course. True, McGrath is no John Candy, but at the same time his fitness isn't in the same league as 250cc National Champion Stanton or 500cc title-holder Mike Kiedrowski. However, 1991 triple-' crown winner Jean-Michel Bayle was similar to McGrath, preferring to concentrate on riding instead of strenuous cardiovascular workouts. 19

• Cover