Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

icken scratches m o tocro ss was able to hold off the charges of Motoki for the third spo t on the second-mote podium. It was Motoki, however, who was awarded third overall by virtue of his 3-4 moto scores. . "It's great to start the year off with a win," said Tichenor. "It 's going to be me and Chicken all year long, but I can't tell who will win because it's a long seaso n . I've been testing my new bikes since las t year and it worked really well." .~ All Japan Nationa l MX Tajiml , Japan Resu hs :Apri l2, 1995 MO TO 1: 1. Ron Tichenor (Suz); 2. Jeff Matiasevich (Kaw); 3 . Tatsuyuki Motokt (Hon); 4. Tomoyoshi Masuda (Yam) ; 5. No rlyo Tanaka (Hon); 6. Tetsumi Mitsuyesu (Yam); 7. Yu usaku Kubota (Yam); 8. Kenji Suzuki (Yam); 9. Ryuuichi ro Takahama (Hon); 10. Masaya Kohas hi (Ho n); 11. Mas anori Enomoto (Kaw): 12. Aki ra Hoso no (Ha n ); 13. Kentar o Murahashi (Yam); 14. Hisashi Tajima (Yam); 15. Katsutoshl Satoh (Suz). M OTO 2: 1. Ron Tichenor (Suz); 2. Jeff Ma tiasevich (Ka w); 3. Te ts u mi Mits u yasu (Ya m); 4 . Tatsu y uk i Motoki (Hon); 5. Ryuu ichiro Takahama (Ha n); 6. Kenji Suzuki (Yam); 7. Mesanori Enomoto (Kaw); 8. Yoshihito Baba (Suz); 9. No riyo Tan aka (Suz); 10. Katsutoshi Sato h (Suz); 11. Shigeru Yama mu ra (Yam); 12. Masaya Koashi (Han); 13. Yuus uke Sasaki (Ho n); 14. Mits uo Fu jishiro (Kaw), 15. Tets uya Ho nd a (Suz). O/A : 1. Ron Ticheno r (Suz); 2. Jeff Ma tiasevich (Kaw ); 3. Tatsuyuki Motoki (Hon); 4. Tets u m i Mitsuyasu (Yam); 5. Ryu uich iro Taha .hama (Hon); 6. Noriyo Ta naka (Ho n); 7. Kenji Suzuki (Yam); 8. Masanori Enomoto (Kaw); 9. Tomoy osh i Masuda (Yam); 10. Masaya Kohashi (Hon); 11. Yuusaku Kubota (Yam); 12. Yoshihito Baba (Suz); 13. Katsutoshi Satoh (Suz); 14. Shigeru Yamam ura (Yam); 15. Hoso no (Hon). ALL J APAN NA TIONAL MX CHAMPI ONSHIP SER IES POI NT ST ANDIN GS, I. Ron Ticheno r (40/1 win); 2. Jerr Mattasevich (34); 3. Tatsuyuki Motoki (28); 4 . Tetsumi Mits uyasu (25) ; 5. (TIE) Ryuuichiro Takahama /Noriyo Tanaka /Ke nji Suzuki (18); 8 . Masanori Enomoto (14); 9. Tomoyoshi Masuda (13); 10. Masaya Koh ash i (10); 1 I. Yuusaku Kubota (9); 12. Yoshihito Baba (8~ 13. Katsutoshi Satoh (7); 14. Shigeru Yamamura (5); 15. Masanori Enomoto (4). eff Matiasevich (rig ht) is un a r gu abl y o ne of the most colorful characters American motocross has seen in the past few years. Following a stell ar amateur career in which he captured nu merous a tional Champ ionsh ip s, " C h i cke n" wa s rewarded with a factory Kawasaki rid e in 1988. He proved his worth b y winning. back-to-back Wes tern Reg iona l 125cc Supercros s Championships in ' 88 an d ' 89, and went on to win h is first -ever 25 0cc Su percross in Las Vegas in '90. Matiasevich switched to Team Suzuki in ' 93, but failed to co me to terms w ith th e bi kes and didn 't turn in the results expected of him. The '94 season sa w Matiasevich retu rn as a privateer aboard Yamah as, and he turned quite a few heads by turning in consistent top finishes. . This season, Mati asevich is back abo ard factor y machinery, but will contest the enti re '95 All Japan Motocross Championship Series. When and how did your Kawasaki Japan ride come about? Roy Turner approached me in November of last year with the offer, and I was really glad to accept it. It's a great de al mon eywise, plu s it means racing onl y 12 times a year, rath er than abou t 38 times in the U.5. When did you first throw a leg over your new bilce? I flew to Japan about three weeks before the first race to test the bike and get used to it. The bike is great. Will you be living in Japan, or flying back and forth? Flying, for su re . Wh y? For ins anity rea son s! The food is the biggest problem for me. I mean, you can onl y eat So much rice. What do you usually eat in Japan? Don't you like to try new things, like squid and sea urchin? No, I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food . I usually order beef curry . J What are the bigsest differences between racing in the United States and racing in Japan? . The tracks. They're a lot smaller, and not very technical. And they're not rough at all . There's not too man y ju m ps, and the jumps that they do have can be hit wide open, they 're not very technical and a lot of body English isn't required in the ai r. I think tha t' s why the Japanese riders come to the Ll.S, and can't go that fast - because the tracks are so rough in comparison. Arethere an y fas t Japanese ri ders, or are they all sleds compared to you and Tichenor? There's actually about five or six gu ys who can ride just as fast as Ronnie and me. They can cut a fast lap, but their problem is consistency. They can' t go that fast for 30 minutes; they make little mistakes. If the races were only five laps, we'd be in tro uble. Consid ering the U.S. produ ction ru l e, this is the first tru e works b ike that you've ever ridden, even though you've been a factory rider for two different teams... Yeah, it' s pretty .cool. Man, if there's anything wrong with the bike, thev fixit immediatelv . There's a lot of stuff that I've never even seen befo re, the bike 'is definitely trick. Because the re's no p:9d uctio n rules, they can do anything they want - anything they can think up. That's the th ing about being a factory rider - all your career. you wa nt to get a factory ride so you can rid e works bikes. Well , nowad ays yo u really can' t rid e a wo rks bike in Ameri ca. We understand that your SR250 has a variab le igni tion of some sort, which is controlled by a switch on the handlebars... There's a switch on the bars , but that's about all I can say abo ut it. I just ride the bike. (Laughs) . . How have the Japanese fans accepted you? Really well . The Japanese fans are reall y cool to me. Because of the supercrosses I've raced in Japan, I think I already had some fans . Some of the riders, though, I think aren't too happy about me bein g there. Maybe they don 't like it - an American shipped in to win their series . You finished second behind Tichenor in both motes. Before the race, did you expect to beat him easily? No, I didn't. To tell you the truth I was really nervous before the first moto, and I rode nervous, too . I d idn't know how fast these guys were, not jus t Ronnie. He 's been in Japan for tw o yea rs now, and like I said - the tra cks are a lot differen t. He knows how to go fast on the Japanese tracks, and I knew that I wo uld have to learn to ride them. I'm happy with my first race resul ts, though. I came from behind to catch him in the second moto, so I know that I'm faster . It will be a fun series. ..... ~ 0~ respect theenvironment Forfurther informationregardingtheMS ncer course. please call 1-8D0-447-4700 00 not I1rink anl1 ride It is illegal anl1 l1angerous. Specifications subiect to change without notice. C l995 Yamal\a Motor COrporation. U.S.A.(Cypress. CA 90630) F . . 13

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