Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127661
We ll , m y contrac t is wi t h Suzu ki Sports Promot ions, and I am to com - ' p ete in selected high-profile off-road events. I' m reall y conc e n tra ting on qualifying to ride in the ISDE in Oklah oma th is yea r, and that' s the main focus. I signed the contracts in No vem b e r of la st year, as s u m in g that it wouldn't be a prob lem for me to race a few supercrosses. As it turned out, the u pp er m a n ag em e nt had a p roblem with it . They said that if it wasn' t in my con tac t, th en I couldn't ride in it. They won't let me do a sing le su percross this year, but I guess that just mea ns I' ll have to wait un til '95. I still w a nt to s h o w m y fa ns tha t I' m a ju mper - I wo n't be out to win, just to have fun and entertain the crowd. You ta lk abou t t he ISDE being your ma in focus i n 1994. What a re yo u r feelings about the 160 American riders who basically bought the ir ent ries? Hmm. I'm gonna have to stay out of it a little bit, because I know some of the inside reasons that the Tulsa Trail Riders had to sell off some tickets to get rolling. I have not been a rou nd the q ualifiers long enough to have an opinion. I'm just now learning what the Six Days is all about. I can find faults in everything, but hindsight is 20/ 20. 1just hope that we can put that all behind us and get some qualified guys to represen t the U5. on thetrophy team. Wha t do you feel you r cha nces are of qualifying for th e Trophy Team? Well, I'm g onna d o my best, b u t we have a lot of very talented guys who are trying to qualify. lf the AMA selects six gu ys to represent the U.S. and I'm not one of them, tha t's fine with me . I mig h t have sure speed, but it also takes a guy who has the sma rts to keep it going for six da ys. lf I don't make it, it's definitely not gonna bum me. I d efini tely want to be on a club tea m if I don't mak e th e trophy team. I just w a nt to e njoy myself. Life is too shor t not to enjoy yourself. I've had this attitude of hav ing fun for the past 10 yea rs, and I think it shows. Special Value Offer! Gefa Vanson LimitedEdition Leather Jacket Free! plus an Eclipse n ylon tank bag and a deluxe motorcycle stand with the purchase of a new Ducati* ,--;; The red steel bike stand is filted with wheels. It's adjustableand attaches easily. Your participating Ducati dealer has an excitingoffer onselected new motorcycles. For a limited time ... whilesupplies last ... you can get a handsome tailored leather jacket with thepurchase of a new Ducati. This exclusive hand-made jacket of the best top-grain U.S. hides, a retail value of $399, is styled by Vanson. You 'll also receive a convenient and easy-attaching stand for your Ducati and azippered three-compartment black nylon tank bag. You can see thesegreat gifts ... a $600 retail value... and the full line of Ducati Motorcycles atyour participating Ducati dealer. But actfast, the Ducati Special Value Offer ends onApril30, 1994. The deluxe black tank bag of durable nylon has a zippered compartment and a removable mapcase. It features a 3-point quick-release mount and doubles asan over-theshoulder tote bag. Theblack leather jacket features the Oucati logo on a red band across the shoulders and the 1993 SuperbikeAMA Championship badge on the front. With a zippered front, sleeves and pockets, it's the ideal jacket for a Oucati rider . Stop by your participating Ducati dealer for a FREEset of five limited ed ition Ducati posters while supplies last. Please ride responsibly - don't ride undertheinfluence of drugs or alco hol. Always wear properprotective riding gear , e 1994 Cagiva North America. Inc. How do you get along with your Suzuki Off-Road teammates? We all get along great. They come down to Oklahoma to ride wi th me. We call my place Cooperland - it's like Disneylan d, but of moto rs. They come down to trail ride and play and have fun. I think I get along wi th the off-road team be tter beca use they're a litt le older and more relaxe d. I d id get along with the m o tocr oss team, but they w er e a bit eccentric. What is you r bes t m otocr oss ra ci n g memory? Well, I don't really want to say memory, because I'm not done racing motocross ye t. Bu t so fa r, I th ink the 1990 race between Jean-Michel Bayle and myself at Hangtown was great. It was high speed and we were side by side. That was my best National. But my most-favorite alltime race was a local race in the early '80s. A guy nam ed Dennis Daft and I were racing in the Pro class. We were racing for money, but we respected each other. We were racing down this fast straightaway that funnelled into a one-lined tum . One of us was gonna have to give in and let the other guy go or there was gonna be a pile-up. It was so funny because both of us were going to give in and we both hit the brakes at the same time. It almost took us to a craw l befo re we looked at each other. We were like, 'You go. No, you go ahead: We had a great laugh after that. I don't even remember what the outcome was. I just remember that. Tha t is what racing is all about - a good time. Las t year you won the World Supercross Championship . It was a ne at thing to win. I think the series w ill become b igger, in time. I hope they can get it going. Fortunately for me, it was a cakewalk because everyone I was racing against got hurt or sick. It's still a neat thing to hav e on my mantle, though. . Right now, Jeremy McGrath is thri lling the cro w d with h is nac-n a c ae rial maneuver, but we've heard tha t you al so p erfo r med t he s a m e trick in Europe. (La ughs) Jeremy came over af ter th e Nationa ls las t yea r before we we n t to Europe and he showed me th at move. We pla yed a nd pract iced a lot. Then whe n we went to Europe I beat him in four jump contests by doing tha t. It was funn y because his was much better and s moo ther than m in e, bu t the cr ow d wen t crazy w he n I d id it . I beat him with his own joke. I get along with Jeremy great - I think his attitu de is the best. He likes to ride and he has fun . You can watch him race and just tell that he is enjoying himself. I'm no t taking any thing aw ay from Mike Kiedrowski and Mike laRocco, bu t they don 't have the right frame of mind to get ou t there and enjoy it week in an d week out. You can 't win when you don't enjoy it. Do you see Jere my McGrath dominatin g th e s upercrossseri es for many years to come? What will it tak e for hi m to be beate n? I th ink Jeremy has all of th ose gu ys Kied rowski, LaRocco and Sta nton kinda psyched out. This is o nly my opinion - bu t I think if there's someone w ho is gonna dethrone McGrath, it'll have to be someone new who 's just getting into it. If I were going to pick someone, I'd have to pick Damon Huffman or Ezra Lusk. Bot h o f those gu ys are young, hungry and fast. H uffman has the coolest riding style. It's the most like Ron Lechien' s tha t lhave ever seen very effortles s and smooth. I think tha t he needs to get stro nger though. I don't think anyone's going to beat Jeremy for a while, though. I'm glad I'm not racing against him anymore, that's for sure. t. l " ..... I-< ~ 9