Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

z. : IN E V W', Two-time World MX Champion Greg Albertyn T R IE or the pas t three years, the most dominant motocrosser in the world motocross champi. . onships has been 21-year-old Greg Albertyn. The South African native has won himself a pair of world crowns - the 1992 12Sec title and the 1993 250cc championship - a nd p resently is on track to win a third title in 1994. But, before wrapping up that third world championship, Albertyn has already begun focusing on a new goal: He will compete in the United States next year and contend for the AMA National and Supercross Ch ampionships, a la JeanMichel Bayle. In preparation for that bold mo ve, the charismatic " Albee " spent considerable time at the recent 250cc U.S. GP at Budds Creek, Maryland, huddled with potential team manager s as ea ch floa ted cont ract o ffers h is way. A lb e r ty n left witho u t putting his signatu re on any dotted lines - a t least that's what he told us! - but he did take time to discuss with Cycle N ews his plans for coming to America. Are you looking forward to racing in America in 1995? Oh yeah. I'm looking forward to everything. It's going to be a fresh s ta rt, new teams, new sponsors, new teammates, new girls! What do you know about American motocross tracks? I've heard that they're all pretty well p rep ared - tha t' s not a lie is it? No . For the most part, the national tracks are very well-prepared. Compared to European tracks they would have to be. You arri ve and there are bumps th er e from four years ago ! They rar ely eve n th ink about grad in g them, so th e Americ an tracks would have to be p retty bad to be worse than some of the ones in Europe. Which American tracks have you heard of? Glen Helen , Unadilla, Budds Creek, of course, Mt. Morris . . . probably most of the national tracks. Have you seen any video of these tracks? No, not really. We see a lot of the super- , crosses but that's about it. I gu ess I'll see them next year. Then you 've seen McGrath's nac-nac? Sure. What's the craziest maneuver you've ever done on a bike? No-hander, no-footer - nothing! I've got a picture of it, too, perfectly timed. It was a big double, like a step-up. As I took off I just let go of the bike. It drops away really quick so you can only do it for a split-second before you ha ve to grab it and pull it back up to you . We were sickos in our youth, my mechanic Ian and I. We would go riding in a mining area where all these ju m ps and embankments were. There was one that was 58 met ers, whi ch I think is about 160, 170 feet or so. Ian jumped it on his 125, like a sicko, and cased the thing. I was on a 250 and only barely mad e it! In South Africa we have this one pla y-riding area that is awesome. It's like thi s big san d quarry with perfect soil. When it rains it gets real loam y and fun . It has these huge cliffs and downhill jumps to pla y on and just go ballisti c. It's grea t. Have you ever jumped cans or busses or things like that? (Laughs .) Oh yeah, I do that all the time. Jump over cars, boats, stuff like !hat. Is motocross big in South Africa? It used to be a hell of a lot bigger than it is now , but it just became so expensive with the sanctions and the Rand (Sou th Afr ican currency) takin g a dive and everything like that. Are you pretty famous in South Africa? Sure. But more through TV tha n the ma ga zin es . Last yea r, every GP was shown on televisi on and people got to kno w me. If I walk into a nightclub, or whatever, people would come up to me and talk about seeing me on the TV. What's the deal with South Africa? Everything's really good now becau se the elections were final ly he ld and the blacks were able to vote for the first .time ever. All of the animosity and aggression from everybody kind of went away and it's re a lly cool now, a t lea st where I live it is. But you don't really live in one of those bad-ass ne ighborhoods like Soweto. No, I don't, but every country has their extremes, like the right-wings and the left-wings. We still ha ve neo-nazi parties and stuff like that but they are such a small minority and they live ou t in the sticks. Th ey ar e a very re mote gr,?u p • now. How is the racing community i n Europe taking your decision to move to America? Actually, I think tha t all the other riders and team mana gers are trying to get me the hell out of there! (Laughs.) But a lot of the fans seem to be disappointed that I'm going because they will hardly ever see me now. I think the GPs have a really goo d atmos phere and the riders are pretty friendl y with each other. I'm sure that I will miss that side of it. But who kn ows? I'm sure it 's probably pretty similar to that in the States. If it's not I will make it that way . Why do you want to race in America? It's a new challenge for me as far as racing goes and it looks like the way of life here is a lot easier. I've always enjoyed t he States a lo t b ecause being here reminds me of South Africa. Europe has so many people tha t you rea lly can 't do anything witho ut bein g on top of somebody else. The States seem to ha ve more of an ou tdoor-s ty le of life, lik e South Africa. On spa re weekends yo u can go je t-s kiing or hang o u t at the bea ch. In Eu ro pe yo u rea lly d on ' t get to do that kind of thing ... the y do do that kind of stu ff here, don't they? Sure. Have you ever heard of Lake Havasu? No. Where's that? • It's a place on the Colorado River where a lot of the American riders like to hang out, It's a pretty famous place for girls and boats and fun and whatever. Well, then I guess I should start looking forward to that! Who do you like to hang out with on the world championship circuit? Colin Dugmore is another South African g uy li vin g i n Europe. We hang out together a lot along with his mechanic . Th e Brit ish crews are all pretty good guys. The French and th e Dutch ha ve somewha t of an attitude. What do you know about American riders' attitudes? I've h eard ru mors that in the States the riders aren't that friendly with you. Maybe because they are too competi-

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