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/127675
Ty Davis both live here, a nd th ey ' ve he lped me a lot. It's wo rke d out w ell, because I' m able to spend a lot of tim e at XR's Only. They let me keep my motorcycles there and use all their tools . When I was in Texas for a reliability end uro, someone broke into the garage a t my house and took my Alpinestars mountain bike. It was hard for me to ge t, a n d it was stolen after only one week. Plu s, I needed it to help ine train. They took a lot of parts, gas, tires and riding gear. Luckil y, all my motorcycles were at XR's Only. I was very fortunate. XR's Only is a Honda hop-up shop. Isn't it a problem that you race for Kawasaki? No. Naturally, the y understand tha t it is difficult for me in Am erica, to find a p lace to work on my bike. They close on e eye and pret end they d on 't know. It' s good, because I p ass the d ay with friends. I talk and have a good time with the people who work there. Wha t d o you like to do for fu n? It's h ard , b ec ause I' m a lm ost n e v er aro un d. I' m no t able to fly to the races, so if there's a race tha t's far away, I might leave on Tuesda y a n d r eturn Tuesday of the following week. I hav e to prepare the bike, and maybe 111 leave aga in on Thursday. I jus t had my first sma ll break, and my mother and some Italian frien ds came over and we spent some time in San Diego. I don't have much free time at all. Do you miss Italy? M ai nly I m iss so me of m y It a li an _frien ds, but tha t' s n ot a big prob lem, b ecause in this case my fr iends came over on an airplane . I miss my d ogs. I have tw o huge black and whi te Great Danes, and I miss them a lot I miss my street bike. I have a big Honda that I use to tour around Europe. It's not as big as a Gold Wing, but it's very comfortable. It lets m e ge t a w ay fr om racin g . If I wan ted to go fas t, I'd have gotten a race bike, like Luca Cadal ora ' s, but I just want to have fun, so I got a comforta ble motorcycle. Do you have a girlfriend back in Italy? I d id, but she got mad when I said I was going to America. How long would you like to continue racing in the States? . I' m h a p p y I came to Am erica. Right now, I' m gaining some expe rie nce. I'd like to not do ju st one seas on gaining experience, but to use tha t season to get the chance to do more. I want to d o it right. For example, when I go to a race like Oregon, it' s all new - like a su rprise. I'll try to find the sponsors for another yea r. It's difficu lt to find a sponsor tha t w ill give you 'a contract for th ree years. Natura lly, if I find the sponsor, . I'll return again next year. I go home in November, after the Baja 1000. I'll spend about a m on th at m y ho use in It aly, sp ea kin g w ith my Italian sp ons ors, to see if there is a possib ilit y of getti ng enough money to pay all my expe nses. What will you do if you aren't ab le to return to th e States ne xt year? In the typical Italian way, I think about what I'm doing. As for the future, we'll _see. That might be a mentality of my country. I don't want to spend energy an d time thinking about what I'm going to do. At the moment, I only want to race in America and try to do as good as I can. If I' m fortunate, maybe some door will open, and I'll enter it and see what's ther e. What types of races have you competed ., m. In Europe, I've always done rallies an d enduros, Here, I really like grands p rix they're my favorite, even though I'm not th at good a t th e m. I d id the Tecate Enduro, s om e reliab ility endures, N ational Ha re & H ound s, Baja and European scramb les. The most important American races for me are the Baja 500, the Baja 1000 and the Nevada Rally. In the Nevad a Rally I'll race the 650 fourstroke (KLX). In the Baja 1000 I'll be on a te a m made up of Eu ropeans . FMF is organizing a team to make their company better known in Europe. It will be me and Danny LaPorte, and one othe r rid er. LaPorte is an Ame rican, but yo u ca n almost consider him a European. There 's a good chance tha t the third ride r will be Alain Olivier, who rid es for Kawasaki in Europe. It might be Edi Orioli, wh o won Pa ris-Da kar th ree times, o ut he ha s a contract with Cagiva, which might be a problem . There's a chance tha t it might be (Thierry) Magnaldi. How are American races di fferent fro m those in Europe? In Ameri ca, the y're called endures, bu t the y're very d ifferent In Europe, the y're much, much more professional. The federation is present at any race you go to in Europe. In America, things are very improvised. In Europe, the safety of the rider is very important They'll have two or three ambulanc es, doctors and people who watch over the wh ole race to keep track of an y problems. In addition to safety an d professionalis m, the races themselves are also d ifferent, because we have shorter special tests. In America they're much longer three or four times longer. In addition, in America the tests are very narrow, They have only one line . It's difficult to pass or to go fast, because it's not like in a pas tu re, where you can go a gear higher than someone else. Tha t' s very d ifficu lt fo r me, because when I came to Am erica, I went to race in Texas witho ut h and gu a rd s . I t ho ught, "This is a n enduro; in Europ e, nobod y uses ha n dguards." It didn't take long before I was being kill ed . Plants, b ushes an d trees were all h itt in g my hands. You ca n 't race a n enduro in America withou t handguards . Th e Nevada Rally is different from Europ ean rallies. In Europe, places like Nevada don't exist It's a little simila r to so me Spanish races, but th ey're m uch shorter. I th ink th e Nevada Rally is great because it puts the Europeans and the Americans together. It's a great start for teac h ing the Am ericans abo u t rallies. You 've been doing well in the States, but you have yet to win a major race here. Are you surprised by the speed of American riders? I have found a stra nge thing in America - some thing that d oesn 't exist in Europe. The top Amer ic an r id ers a re tru ly extreme ly fas t, but on th e othe r hand, the others are much slower. In Eu rope , you hav e the slo w guys, b u t you ha ve ma ny more who are pretty good. Maybe th ey won ' t w in a ra ce, b u t they 're alwa ys in 10th . In America, th ere' s eith er the guys who w in every race, or the guys who are really slow . There are a few of the fast ones, and a lot of the slow ones. In Europe the best rid ers go s lower, bu t there a re m any m ore o f them. I think that if the Six Days was set up like th e A merican en d uros, th e best Ameri can riders wo uldn't ha ve a problem w inning . Naturall y, when you use wider special tests where you can choose different lines, like in Europe, they have more of a probl em. I've talked a lot with Rand y Hawkins, Steve Hatch and a lot of Am ericans, to find out what the reason was , because when I first started racing in Ameri ca, I said, "These guys are fast. Why aren't they able to win the Six Days? They should be able to win easily - with only one hand." I talked with the riders about it, and we decided that Americans like to enter the turns tight, brake-slide around, and po wer out (Illustrating with a pen and a napkin ) They make a tight ang le and lose all their speed at the apex. In Eu rope, we en ter th e tu rn wi der and make a more gradual turn, maybe a gea r higher. It's like Doug Polen on his Ducati. They migh t be in seco nd , and we' re in third. The tires don 't slip, and we exit at a higher speed. I think tha t's wh y our times are better. But if the tum itself is narrow, like in American endures, you have no choice bu t to take it like they d o. That's why they're so fast here in America. It's very interesting, in my opinion. Also, if you go to a supercross, they tu rn th e sarne way. In the European MX GPs, they take the curves like the European enduro riders . Will you race in the Six Days? At the moment, I still d on 't know. It's p ossible. FMF and Kaw asa ki are interes ted in having me race. Naturally, I'd have to race as an ind ivid ual. I can' t race for Ita ly beca use I'm a me mbe r of the AMA. I can't race for America beca use I don't have an American p assp ort. I' ll only be able to try and win my class. Wha t goals would you like to ach ieve before you leave Ame rica? I' d li ke to buy a b ig , V-8 Dodge or Chevy pick-up truck, because we d on 't h a ve th em in Eu rope. My p assion is motors. I don't like ball sports - I like motorsp or ts. If something has a motor, I like it, w hether it's a bulldozer or a fast car . So I'd really like it if I had a pretty p ick-u p truck. In racing, I like the typ e of races that I' m doing n ow . I'd like to tr y hare scrambles. Do y o u wan t t o w in some championships? I want to win so me races! (lau ghs) If I win some races, then I'll think about try ing to win some championships. Right now, I'd just lik e to win so me races so mething tha t up un til no w has been very difficult a • Resume· Davide Trolli "1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 199 2 1993 1st Overall .- Italian Youth Enduro Championship . 1st Overall - Italian Junior Enduro Championship 3rd125- International Six Days Enduro 1st125 - International SixDays Enduro 1st 125- European Enduro Championship 2nd125- Italian Enduro Championship Member of winningJunior Wo~d Trophy Team - International SixDays Enduro 2nd500- International SixDays Enduro 2nd 250- Italian EnduroChampionship 1st OveralV 51 250- Italian Enduro Championship l 2nd500-International SixDays Enduro 1stOverall - Baja Aragon Rally 1st Overall - Chinelle 12-Hour Endurance Race(Belgium) l si 500- Italian EnduroChampionship 2nd500- International Six Days Enduro 2ndOverall- BajaAragon Rally 2ndOverall - Chinelle 12-Hour Endurance Race (Belgium) 9th Overall - Pharaohs Rally (Egypl) 10lhOverall - Paris- LeCap Rally (Africa) 4th250- Italian Enduro Championship 1st Overall - Sweden Rally 2nd Overall - Ugnano 12-Hour Endurance Race (Italy) 8th Overall- Nevada Rally Acc6ssato80 TM 125 TM 125 TM 125 TM 125 TM 125 Ka wasaki 250 KTM251 KTM250 KTM 250 KTM300 KTM600 KTM 250 KTM 300 KTM 300 KTM 600 KTM250 Cagiva 900 Cagiva 900 KTM 2S0 Suzuki 250 Suzuki 250 Honda 600 e e ~ 0\ 0\ ,..-l 0 N ... -. e-, ;::3 17