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/127695
Playtime for U.S. SX stars -------- Photos by Ignaci Bertran '<:f< 0\ 0\ a ('t') l-< OJ ..0 E OJ :> o Z 12 or Ame rica's to p supercross racers, the term "off-season" seems to be a misnomer. Though the A MA Su perc ross an d N at ional Cha mp io nshi p Se ries are over and done with, th e re' s still no rest for th e weary as weeks of tes ti ng a nd a s lew ' o f i n ternatio na l supercross races consu me th eir winter mon ths . Though the riders are wooed by generous sums of sta rt money, it sometimes be co m es a gri nd racing week in and week out. Sometimes you just need to ta ke a break. Sho rtly after t h e November 5-6 Barcelona Supercross, several of the top U.s. supercross sta rs were treated to a cou ple days of play in the nearby mountains. Spain is without a d oubt the hotbed of European trials riding, and two of the country's m ajor motorcycle factories are located only mi n utes away from the Palau Sant [ordi Stadium . Invited by several Mon tesa Honda a nd Gas Gas fac to ry e mp loyees, t wo-ti me 125cc Nationa l Champion Dou g Henry, 250cc National Cha mpion Mike LaRocco, form er 125 cc Nat io na l C h a m p io n G uy Cooper, 125cc Western Regional Su pe rcross C ha m pio n D am on Huffm a n , H ond a of Tr oy' s Mike C raig, No lee n Yamah a's Larry Ward and Mike Jones, jo ined six-time Wo rld Cha m pion [ ord i Tarres, Amos Bilbao, Andreu Co di na and Gabriel Ren ales for some pl ay time aboard trials machines . Th e g ro u p of su percrossers were in awe of the remar kabl e sk ills possessed by the Spania rds, and impressed by Tarres'. abili ties in p articu lar. Th e g ro u p spent tw o full afternoons on th e bikes, rid ing in th e hills of Reillan ares - Tarres' hometown. Wh ile tri als was completely foreign to most of the riders, a few of the Americans a lrea dy h ad a fai r amount of trials experience under their kidney bel ts. A longtime fan of tri als rid ing. Cooper himself owns a s pecial, o ne-off G a s G a s 350. " I've been rid ing tri als for years," sai d Cooper. " It teaches yo u a lot abo u t bala nce. I'v e r idd en a few local eve n ts in th e ex pert class and done pret ty we ll." Cooper' s machine at hom e fea tu res a 1994 ]T25 chassis, w ith a la rg e r ' 93 JT 35 engine ins ta lled . Huffman was the o th er " tria ls ve tera n" in th e gro u p, a n d ow ns a 1993 Gas Gas JT25. " I bou ght it fro m a friend," said H uffman . " I like to play on it in the r iverbeds ne ar m y home. It's a lot of fu n." l~ (Above) Guy Cooper has been a longtime trials enthusiast, and is reportedly quite good at conquering large step-ups. (Left) Team Hondal1-8OO-Collect 's Doug Henry spent the majority of his time aboard a Montesa 314R. Though it is made in Spain , the Montesa is powered by a Japanese-deslgned HRC eng ine. (Below left) Team Suzuki's Damon Huffman felt ri ght at home aboard his Gas Gas JT25, as he spends his free time in California playing aboard his own tr ials mach ine. (Below) Mike Craig tests his balance aboard a Montesa.