Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

WMSAlMercedes Gonzalez Women'sMX School and before I know it, they're doing things like d ouble jum ps and tabletops," said Gonzalez . "I t's neat to see them pump their fists after they have accomplished a certain technique. "It seemed that most of the women needed work with their cornering techniques," said Gonzalez. "Things like body position, thro ttle control, braking and how to gas it out of the tu rns. Most women really need to wo rk in these By Tony Alessi M otocross schools aren't exactly a new idea . In fact, MX schools have been around for a long time. Gary Bailey started it all in this country in the late '60s and he still holds classes today. Bailey was a top National MX racer and his stepson, David Bailey, went on to become a multi-time Natio nal MX and Supercross Champion. Af ter Bailey, there was the Suzuki School of Motocross tha t was conducted at southern California's Carlsbad Raceway during the mid-7 0s, that featured a variety of top MXers of tha t time, including form er 500cc "N a tio n a l Champion Mark Black we ll, as instr ucto rs. The Suzuki-sponso red schoo l was uni que in th at it su pplied well-main ta ined Suzuki RM motocross bikes for the studen ts. MX schoo ls soon pop ped up all ove r the' place, most of them featuring instruction from top N ati onal MX racers and many former Nationa l Ch ampions, such as Tony Distefano, Donni e Hanson, Gary Sernics, Steve Wise, Rick Johnson, Marty Smith, Jimmy Weine rt and Russ Darn ell. Most are still in business. areas." sk ills, no matter what th eir skill level alread y is. "I wanted to find a way to increase the number of woman motorcycle riders, and b eca u se the m en don't teach the entry level woman what they need to After the first hour or SO of riding. the students took a break out of the sad dle whi le Kawasaki Team Green techrucian Jerry Camp bell worked wi th them on basic bike setup and maintenance. "Mos t of the girls needed softer front fork springs," said Cam pbel l. " We found after install ing the new springs the girls rode sm oother and their riding abilities improved ." One of th e d ay 's sessions included ju m p ing, in volv ing both tabletops and d ouble s. One yo ung lady who mad e rapid improvement in her jumping skills was 20-year-old Ashley Keefer, who started the session by rolling over two jum ps that she would later learn to double. "I started racing abou t one month ago and now I feel super co n fident, " said Keefer. "My mother really wanted me to M OTOCROSS ~ go to a school, actually, she supports all learning institutions. So here I am , and I have really learned a lot from this school. "I've also met a lot of other girls with the same interests as me and we have discussed plans for practicing and getting together after the class," said Keefer. Some of the students have atte nd ed other MX schools bu t felt they learned more from the women's-only school. "Other schools have no t been helpful for me ," sai d 29-year-old Lydia Couch. "They are too general and not very personal. This clas s was great; it was very personal and really put the perspective on the woman's aspect of racing. '1 think I'm read y to beat some of the guys now," said Couch. "I really learned a lot and can't wait to race!" Following the jump session, the class turned to passing techniqu es, which benefited at lea st one r id e r - 13-yea r- o ld Jasmine Reid, who admitted that she is a little in tim ida ted by th e g uys w he n it comes to passing. "I've been racing for three mon th s now, but I'm a little scared of the boys," sai d Reid. "Her e, Llea rned more about how to pass and think I'm ready to try out what I learned in my next race." The final lesson was p rop er starting procedures. When it w as all over, th e s tu d en ts assembled for an informal graduation session in which each student received a certificate. "Just wa tchi ng them improve from hour to hour is amazing," said Gonzalez at the end of the day. "The girls rea lly want to do it, but they ge t down from time to time because they think certain techniques are a 'guys only' thing, but then they see other girls do a double jump and they realize, 'Hey, I can do this.' "This is a nice birthday present," said Gonzalez. "I tum 30 tomorrow and it makes me feel great to see so many ' women in terested in getting involved with the sport of motocross." 'W e plan to d o one more school at the tail end of 1993," sa id Rice of her future plans. "The n we want to take the school on the road in 1994 and hope to hold at least six schools at various locations across the country." And what is th e cost to en roll? Accordin g to Rice, the price is $30 for WMSA members and $40 for non-members: For mor e information, yo u ca n ca ll 909/ 734-2278, or write to: WMSA, P.O. Box 984, Norco, CA 91760-{)984. 1.. ... ~ R e:> (of') 0\ 0\ rl 00 5J ..0 ~ ~ 2 0.. Q) If) Gonzalez and WMSA founder Ta mi Rice (center) handed out cer tificates to the students. .Mercedes Gonzalez, five-time AMA Women's Amateur National M X Champion, teaches the fine art of motocross racing technique to the all-women's MX school. A new motocross school rece n tl y emerged on the scene and hel d its very first session at Perris Raceway in Perris, Cali fornia, this su mmer. But this school isn't your average everyday MX school. What makes it different is that it is for women only. Southern Californian Tami Rice, who fo r med th e Women 's Mo to rs p o rt Association (WMSA) several years ago, is the b rainchild behind th e WMSA/ Mercedes Gonzalez Women's MX School, which is designed to help entrylevel women racers get started in the sport of motocross, provide women with information they need to compete in m o tocr os s events, generate more in terest from women in the sport, and, perh aps the single-most important reason, to improve each studen t's rid in g learn, the wo men benefit far better from peer group instruction and encouragement," said Rice. The inaugural one-day school attracted 30 riders. Par t of the lure of the schoo l was no do ubt the fact that theinstructor was five- time AMA Women's Amateur National MX Champion Mercedes Gonzalez. She was assisted by fellow racers Brenda Hannah (no relation to multitime Supercross a nd Na tional MX Champion Bob Hannah) and Rice. During the course of the day, Gonza lez demonstrated a variety of proper riding techniques then stopped and talked with the students and answered questions. Each student then would try to duplicate the demonstra ted techn iques by going thro ugh the obstacles over and over again. "I give them a little encouragement 39

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