Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

We ran four superbikes and two 600s an d I now share that 'How does Rob do it?' Personally, I th in k Rob is like th e Duracell rabbit - he ke eps going an d going and going, because his principle motivation in this world is racing. Yet h e stands there, w it h a fleet o f superbikes and riders and me chanics asking him questions, calmly ea ting an ice cream cone or talking with spectators as if he's at a trade sh ow. I don't understand it. However, it is much easier, I would think, to eat ice cream and chat up the spectators when you have Scott Russell or Doug Chandler riding for you. I hope to know tha t calmness one da y. be one of the major talents we'd be discussing. Going back to the Big Show with the tea m that he chose, unfortunately, wi th th e benefit of hindsight, did not prove to be the boon that it promised. Rob Muzzy. Rob is the word focused . Anything he a p pli es h imself to doing, he does so with such diligence and such profes sionalism that the rest of us stand back in awe. I overheard a comment from the Suzuki garage at Daytona. Some manager in Yoshimura's op eration apparently looked at h is garage and said, 'H ow does Rob do it?' Tha t's what they were saying when they were running their four superbikes. Tom Kip p. Tom is a qu ality yo un g man. He has a Ia rger-than-life personality. At races now , people co me up to me and ask where is Tom Kipp and why isn't Tom Kipp rid ing for us? That's a very difficult and p a inful subject fo r m e to address because riders are so mewhat like family. I haven't really become, or learned eno ug h to be, a bu sinessman; to distance myself from these young men. The y become part of yo urself. Tommy is from such quality roots, and his parents a re amongst the most ma rv elous people I've ever met. Tom is a true competitor and he is still a very young man. I certainly hope that Yoshimura doesn't Special Value Offer! Get a Vanson Limited Edition .. Leather Jacket Free! plus an Eclipse nylon tank bag and a deluxe motorcycle stand with the purchase of a newOucati* The red steel bike stand is fitted with wheels. It's adjustableand attaches easily. Yourparticipating Oucati dealer has an excitingoffer on selected new motorcycles. For a limited time... while supplies last ...you can get a handsome tailored leather jacket with thepurchase of a new Oucati. This exclusive hand-made jacket of thebest top-grain U.S. hides, a retail value of $399, is styled by V anson. You 'll also receive a conveni nt and easy-attaching stand foryourOucati and a zippered e three-compartment black nylon tank bag. ou Y can see these great gifts ... a $600 retail value ... and the full line of Oucati Motorcycles atyourparticipating Oucati dealer. But actfast, the Ducati Special Value O ends on April 30, 1994. ffer The deluxe black tank bag ofdurable nylon hasa zippered compartment and a removable mapcase. Itfeatures a 3-point quick-release mount anddoubles as an over-theshoulder tote bag. The black leather jacket features the Ducati logo on a red band across the shoulders andthe 1993Superbike AMA Championship badge on the front With a zippered front. sleeves and pockets, it's the ideal jacket for a Ducati rider. Stop byyour participating Ducati dealer for a FREE set of five limited edition Ducati posters while supplies last. Please ride responsibly - don't rideunder theinfluence of drugs or alcohol. Always wear proper protectiveriding gear. iC 1994 CagivaNorth America, Inc. have a long contract with Tom because the opportunity may come about for US to re-employ Tom a t so m e particular point. Doug Chan d l er, when he rod e you r Twins bike . I ha d kn own Doug from his dirt track days, and we had talked when Paul Lewis was riding for us at Laguna in 1988. Doug came over and said, 'This is re a ll y an outstanding motorcycle, I w oul d really like a chance to ride it.' Unders tand that in this particular juncture, Doug wasn't really the force tha t he became in road racing. He was an excellent, outstanding d irt track rid er, but he wasn't particu la rly se tting the woods ablaze in road racing. But we're talking about pe rsonali ty and conviction here, and Ray Plumb and myself foun d him to be so motivated , and his want to do this was so grea t we should give him a crack. In his first opportunity on the bike he goes out and beats Dale Quarterley straight up, and Dale was the major force in Twin s racing then. That was Doug's first National w in and it was our first National win. I guess I've always been a little sad that the circumstances never permitted that we could work together when we raced su perbikes - very much so in 1990. TheAMA. What we need to do is come up with a sanctioning bod y that is focused on the promotion of what we do. The AMA has a view (that) because they have so much on their plate and it is so wide, that it is impossible for them to apply themsel ves to the task at hand. There are too many distracting influences. What's need ed in this sport is marketing. Now they have a g rea t g uy in Tom Mueller b u t, once again, we have a relatively muddy poo l politically, and the window of opportunity and necessity for marketing ou r series is just minute. There are all sorts of people out there begging and looking for sponsor dollars. Motorcycle racing is ch eap. It 's very cheap. It's also \'e ry exciting because there are so many passes and it 's very stimulating - it ' s two d imensional. Motorcycle racing is two d imensi on al, as opposed to car racing. In car racing, the car doesn't bank, the horizon doesn't tilt. There's just nothing m ore e xci tin g to me t h an seeing a m o torc ycl e going around a corner lea ned way over. The passes and th e drafti ng, this stuff is just made (fo r) mot orsports entertainment, the pe rfect medium for motorsports entertainment. The wea kness is that you have a relatively small signage area for a major sponso r. But the AMA is not looking for spo nso rs for bikes, they're looking for series sponso rs - and to do SO one has to ad opt a profess ional entertainmen t approach to go to these people. I think that's where we have really fallen down - we ha ve this club and democratic associa tion menta lity which is in conflict with the marketing requirements. Tha t' s a ma jor prob lem with the AMA - but they're getting better. Th e ga tes are go od and m ost of the promoters we have are quality promoters, and most of the rema in in g venues a re q u a lity ven ues. Bu t we need leadership, folks and Salesmanship. The thing to me that would be nice wo uld be to see an allia nce of the promoters get toge ther, much as they d o in supercross, where the promoters would create a more viable series built around a s ta r sys tem with sufficien t purses, exposu r e and sponsor ali gn me n ts to keep' the major stars we ar e try ing to keep . Under an AMA umbrella, bu t having marketing people, promotionoriented people steering the ship - that's the wa y to go. £x ~

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