Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

· W.tl~RE.:·A.~E:rtleY~ NQW~1.: · Former MXer Danny Chandler . little over eight years ago, the career of oneof this country'sgreatest motocross racers came to an abrupt end. Theaccident came at a time when Danny Chandler wasorvt" of the world, fulfilling his dream of chasing the 500cc World Motocross crown. He had just signed a three-year contract with Kawasaki, andwas confident in his ability to become the next 500cc World Champion. Chandler's accident shattered those dreams and put him in a wheelchair, but "Magoo" didn't give up. He has simply shiftedhis goals, which he now pursues with as muchcompetitive spiritas heonce displayed on a bike. We recently got the chance to sit down with Chandler in his Northern California home, to talkabout his life, old times, and whathe's been doing for the past eight years. As could beexpected, "Magoo" was as candid as ever. By Jack Nabors rt:; '- How do you feel, knowing hat afte not racing for eight years, pe Oie sUI talk about you and wonder how you're doing? It's nice to kno w that many of my fans out there - some that I know personally, and some that I d on 't - really care and still think about me. It helps to restore my faith in peo ple. I believe that how you treat people even tually comes back to you. I always tried my best to be kind to all my friends and fans, and because of that, many of those same people still care . about me today. That's a grea t feeling. How . d id you get the nickname "MagDa?" That was along time ago. I was jus t a kid, and my dad th ought I looked like Mr. Magoo, the cartoon cha racter. So he began calling me "Magoo" and it just stuck. What prom pted you to begin riding; and then to move on to motocross racing? My dad was the person who ins pi re d me to begin riding d irt bikes. When I was about two years old, my da d was working for Branack and Tieger t. He was working as an oiler, at a number of new dams that were being built in the Foresthill area. And th e quickest way for him to get to the job site was on a motorcycle. 50 he bought one, a n d began riding to work, as well as riding in the hills on his days off. After a while, he decided to give racing a try, and he loved it. Soon after that, my mom began riding, and by the time I was four, we were going on family rides almost every weekend. When I was about six, I got a minibike and bega n riding. I eventually heard of other kids in our area wh o ha d bikes, and were doing a lot of ridin g. So I began racing my dad and their dads, in the hills around Michiga n Bluff. Before too long, I was smoking them all. Then one day when I was about nin e, my dad said to me, "I don't believe there is anyone a ro un d w ho can beat you ." 50 I wen t to my first minibike race and won. I raced off and on for the next three years, win nin g all 15 races that I entered. Then in 1972 when I turned 12 years of age, my dad bought me a 250 CZ. I went to a District 36 motocross, lied about my age, and began racing in the 250 Novice class. Then I was off and running! In your early years of racing, was there any rider that you admired, or patterned yourself after? Yeah , Brad Lackey was my idol. He was awesome. He was fast and I liked that. Since he was riding a CZ at the time, I had to have a CZ, too . I felt that to be fast like him , I had to ha ve the same helme t, and racing gear as well, so I got that also. I remember everything had to be like "Bad" Brad Lackey. Looking back on you~ entire motocross career, how would you describe yourself as a rider? If you can imagine road racing on the dirt (with) high speeds and rough tracks - that 's me! I would love for all motocross tracks to be 100 mile-an-hour race tracks . As a rider, I love to go fast! What were some of your career accomplishments in the United States and in Europe? I won six Northern California Golden State titles. In 1982, I won the Superbik- ers GP, the U.S. 500cc Motocross GP at Carlsbad, and the Motocross and Tro phy des Nations in Europe, where I won all four motos. I also finished third in the 500cc Nationals one year, and won the 500cc class at Hangtown in 1983. You had many great races during your racing career. What are some of your most memorable events, and which of your many rivals stand out the most? 1 The most memorable races would be the 1982 superbikers GP, and the 1982 Motocross Trophy d es Nations In Europe. There were riders from all over the world racing in those races, and I felt hon ored to be representing the United States. And when I won them both, it was an awesome e xperience. In the United States, the most memorable race would be the Wilseyville Hare Scrambles every November. It was always challe ng ing and demanding, eve n for th e experts and professionals. What really m ad e it tou gh though, were the other racers. I was alwa ys racing against guys like Brad Lackey, Danny Turner, Da rr el Sh ultz and Billy Grossi. Th ey we re so fas t, I alwa ys had to ri d e my best . Th e only bad th ing was I never won it. I either crashed or wat ered out. But tho se were great races! In Europe, the tou gh est rac er w as always David Thorpe, from England. He was always so fast and consistent that I could never let up. Do you t h in k being fr om No rthern I California had an effect on you r career - either positive or negative - as com- I pa red to be ing from Southern Califor- l nia? J The Northern California riders weren'tj so busin ess orient ed , or so it seems. { We' re just more carefree and laid back ' up here, than those ride rs from South- > em California. It seemed like the Southe rn California boys had more o f a thumb over them. Their parents and sponsors looked over them, and the riders felt a responsibility to perform better. This naturally helped most of them to develop better and at a faster pace. Before your accident, did you accom plish most of your goals in motocross? No. I was never one to put the whole series together. My head wasn't there, I guess. I look back now at a lot of things I should have done, and w ished I had accomplished. When I was racing, I really didn't think of those things. I was racing for the weekend, like it was its own year, because all I wanted to do was win each and every rac e. I never did put the whole o verall s pectr u m together until 1985, when I went to Europe and raced in the World 500cc Motocross Championship series. Then I began to see that finishing in the top 10 was extremely important, so the most overall points could be built up for the season. I finally caught on to the need fo r consistency. Unfortunately, my career ended shortly thereafter - before I reached m y ultimate goal, to be the World 500cc Motocross Champion. You had a number of support rides, as well as full factory sponsorship in the United States. How did they work out for you? My first support rides were with Suzuki and Yamaha. They really he lped me out a lot. . Both were instrumental in helping to further my career. Then I got a Mako

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