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/127698
.. .. .INTERVIEW Cycle News Rider of the Year Ty Davis -----'-------~--------------'--- on to win -the 1990 Western Regional 125ccSupercross Championship over the lik es of ru nner-up Jeremy McG rath, Buddy Antunez, Jeff Emig, Mike Craig and Steve Lamson - to nam e just a few. "Do you realize I'm the last person to beat Jeremy McGrath in a supercross serie s? I wanted to win real bad. I had a bad taste in my mouth when it came to the factories. I had to beat them." De spite winn ing th e 1990 s e ri es , Davis was still left wi tho ut a factory ride when the ga te d ro pped for the start of the 1991 season. "No one picked me up, bu t it wasn' t surprising," said Davi s. " I didn't dominate the series when I won. I was consistent, but the fac tories like riders who domina/e. That year was hard ; it was a s truggle. 1 was also injured here and there. . "I had no place to go - the re were no Ho nda of Troys or teams like that back then, just the factory teams. That's when 1 started riding for Terry Good and On The Line, but that didn't work out at all. Then ATK came along and wanted me to do the Four-Stroke Natio na ls . They'd pay me $2000 to show up and $2000 to win. That was great. 1 won everyrnoto for ATK and things were working out pretty good. (Above) Among other things, Ty is an accomplished mountain bike racer. He's a member of the Foes Fabr ication downhill racing team and is a top-ranked expert rider. 6 an skills. "My dad trained an d wo rked a lot on my horse and 1 love ridi ng him the hor se, that is. After racing I'd like to get in to hor ses, tea m p inni ng, ro ping th at w ould b e k ind of fun . My d ad wa nts me to do more with horses." Back to mot orcycles. Desp ite racking up man y top .fini shes as a Ho nd a su pport rid er, Dav is was again left looking for a new ride at the end of the 1988 season. "Honda began cutting back and that's when Suzuki came and offered me a factor y rid e. 1 th ought, ' A fact~ry bike, a box van - cool!' But that's where 1 we nt w rong. "You se e, back th en, Hondas were fa st an d real good; th e Suzukis were slow . 1 had to ride the hell out of them and it was frustrating. But later on we got so me better bikes and were getting ready for the '89 West Coast Supercross Series. But one day we were do ing so me jetting testing; jus t when 1 was about to jump a triple, the engine bogged and I endoed big time, and hurt my knee. So Suzuki put me in the East Coast Series becau se th at series sta rted later in the year, giving me more time to he a l. 1 started out (the E.C. series) okay but had some bad finish es. 1really didn't have an exciting year. "At the en d of the season, Suzuki said they wa n ted me for another year, and promised to give me all this stuff, but at the last moment they bumped me off the (Above) Ty 's dad is no ne other than Mr. Terrycable himself, Terry Dav is. Davis Sr. is very active on the local des ert racing scene and is a former ISDE ri der. He competed in German y in 1979. (Right) Right next to hi s family's home, Ty built a practice supercross .and cross country track that winds through hundreds of juniper bushes. team for some body else. Instead , th ey gav e me nothing." So for 1990, Davis decided to race as a pri vateer, which led to one of the most famou s qu otes in supercross history. At Anahe im , Davis, w ho w as now ridi ng a Honda, won his first-ever supercross. While being int erview ed on the podium, he was asked who he'd like to thank. " I sa id, 'I'd lik e to th ank American Su zuki fo r letting me k eep a ll th ose (Suzuki) parts so I could sell them and buy Hondas .' I rea lly was n't trying to slam Suzuki, I was bein g sincere, but it didn't come ou t th at way. My bridge was on fire. A few da ys later, I got a certified lett er from Suzuki saying tha t they wanted all my Suzuki pa rts back, and how they were still consid ering me for the team but weren't anymore after wh at 1had said. Yeah, righ t." After' all was said and do ne, Davis who in his words was just a "Joe Blow" privateer - had the last laugh by going