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/127726
RACER X' By Davey Coombs he sport of motocross and supercross racing changed for the worse on September 27, 1993, when Team Yamaha superstar Damon Bradshaw announced his surprise retirement from the sport. Bradshaw said that for personal reasons he could no longer give 110 percent of his effort to racing and "to give anything less would cheat his fans and sponsors." Damon was right. The last four months of his career had become some kind of humorless joke. The once golden boy of racing, who had only barel y gotten out of hi s teens, was completely burned out. All of those years of traveling and racing and pressure and testing and training finally got to him. It was apparent from the beginning of the season that his confidence was shot, the fun was gone and it was time for him to look for something else to do with his stillyoung life. He tried to make it through the rest of the '93 season but, like one of Elvis Presley's later movies, he was obviously just going through the motions. Just as the ghost of Elvis still haunts the streets of Memphis after dark, the ghost of Damon Bradshaw never stopped floating through the pits of the racing world. You could especially feel his presence at last weekend's Charlotte Supercross. Actual Damon sightings have always been rare, at best, but reports of his riding here Or training ' there in preparation for a comeback at Charlotte·- his hometown race - had to be taken with obvious skepticism. Think about it: From the outside, Damon's voluntary life-in-exile appeared satisfactory and pressure-free. He had his beloved horses and his growing collection of airplanes to occupy his time and energy. T Who would want to leave the passive, non-competitive life of a young Southern gentleman for the hyperactive wo rld of a professional motocross racer? Since Bradshaw's departure, a lot has changed in the world of motocross. The pressures of being the most popular and highly paid rider in the world are gone Jeremy McGrath carries that burd en now. The annual anxiety that always came with Damon's popular selection to America 's Motocross des Nations and the pressure of keeping Te am USA's winning streak intact is no longer the emotional train wreck it used to be since we lost that race last year. And Mike Craig proved last year that the life of a factory racer is not for everyone. Bradshaw's departure may h ave been good for Damon, but the sport suffered . Right before Damon called it quits the sport lost icons Jeff Ward and Rick Johnson to retirement and the enigmatic Jean-Michel Bayle to road racing. (As good as they are, the names Larry Ward-Lamson-Pichon just don't have the same thrill-inducing ring as "Jeff Ward-Johnson-Bayle," do they?) Jeff Stanton followed Damon into retirement by a year, and the American scene was left with McGrath as the only true showman-champion. And as good as Jeremy is, he can 't keep riding in the spotlight all by himself - sooner or later the pressure will get to him. The sport needs Damon back, but Damon 's not coming back. Or is he? Rumors that the can't-rniss-but-sortadid kid started flow ing through the industry following the Daytona Supercross. Some people saw him riding in Florida; others said it was California. Was he already tired of his new life or did he just come to the conclusion that a racer must race? Too early to tell. Confirmed Damon sightings came in March and then reports of his newly found eagerness to throw his leg back over a motorcycle started to run wild. It was said that Damon was riding and he was riding well . By the end of February he had set up a training schedule and was practicing with members of Team Yamaha and other professional racers. His lap times were said to be getting better and his visits to the track more frequent. Everyone wants to know needs to know - how close he is to the superstar he used to be. When basketball demigod Michael Jordan was attending all those prereturn practices with the Chicago Bulls, every shot, hit or miss, was news. Soon Damon's unofficial lap times became the talk of the industry. The oft-heard "Damon 's just as fast as Dowd on Yamaha's outdoor track and better on the supercross track" was soon replaced by "Damon's already going faster than Larry Ward!" The Larry Ward? The same Larry Ward that has spent most of 1995 as the second-ranked supercrosser in America? Whether that's true or not is beside the poin t - we believe it because we want to believe it. . It now appears likely that Bradshaw is in fact willing to place himself back under the microscope and deal with all the pressures that come with being one of the most popular active racers in the world. And he seems rearmed to deal with the grind of being a professional motocrosser/supeicrosser. All that travel and all those endless days of riding might seem great at first, but if one does it for nearly two decades like he did, it has to get tiresome after awhile. Back to Charlotte. I walked into the show office behind the stadium scoreboard late Friday afternoon to do my regular begging for extra pit passes for my friends . I spoke with Pace/Supersports execs Bill and Jerry West and A.I.R. manager Roy Janson about the rumored comeback but they were in the dark just as much as I was. Suddenly. Damon Bradshaw himself walked right in the door with his girlfriend Angela in tow . He announced his unexpected presence in the show office with the smile that used to be so familiar in his early years as a professional racer . Hands were shaken and greetings were spoken before Janson took the plunge for everyone: "Let's cut to the chase, Damon. When are you corning back?" "Well, as soon as I feel like I can be competitive:' answered Bradshaw. "Yes, I've got a bike and I've been riding a lot in California. As soon as I get myself back into shape I'll make a decision. I'm going back out for three weeks and then I'll know where I'm at." I thought about the High Point MX Nationals in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania, which are scheduled for this year on Memorial Day weekend, five weeks . away. My mom and dad promote that race and Damon always seemed to do well there. In fact, it was the last race he ever won. With that in mind, I decided to offer him a deal he couldn't refuse: "Damon, if you make your comeback at Mt. Morris I will give you a hundred bucks." Damon laughed for a moment then said he'd think about it. He hasn't gotten back to me yet. a INTHEWIND .Con tinuedfrom pa ge3 processed through the American office), so act soon if you're interested in riding. For more information call 619/562-1440. Multi-time Supercross and National MX Champion Bob "Hurricane" Hannah recently competed in his first "real" airplane race in Phoenix, Arizona, called the Phoenix 500. Hannah flew a WWll P-47 aircraft to first-, third- and fifthplace finishes . When asked how he would compare racing airplanes to motorcycles, he said, "Racin' is racin', but I'd have to say that racing airplanes is the ultimate. If anything, it 's more · comparable to racing boats than it is motorcycles." He also said that this was the first time since the Cleveland Air Races in the rnid-'40s that anyone had raced a P-47. "I've been flying P-51s. The P-47 might have more horsepower 2200 to 1500 - but weighs 10,000 pounds more than the P-51 Mustang. Flying the P-47 is more like flying a real fast Suburban." Hannah says he will pilot a P-51 at the Reno Air Races this Fall. Speaking of Acerbis, MotoWorld 2 commentator Jerry Bernardo is currently joining company Vice President Bill Benoth on an Italian tour of the Acerbis and Sidi factories. Bernardo is filming material for upcoming episodes, and will also participate in the Lignano 12hour beach race; a trail ride with Italian enduro heroes Tullio Pellegrinelli and Arnaldo Nicoli is also planned. Ultracross Champion Grayson Goodman is throwing a post-race party at the Dallas Supercross on Saturday, April 29, from 11:00 p.m . to 2:00 a.m. The party will be held at the Cabaret Royale Club Concert just north of Texas Stadium, and will have a dress code and a minimum age requirement of 21. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Penton Honda in Amherst, Ohio, on May 19 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Team Honda's Jeremy McGrath, Steve Lamson and Doug Henry are scheduled to appear, For more infor0 mation call 215/252-5108. I .LO K GBACK... O IN 25 YEAR SAGO... May 12, m b e r - o n e. ~il]j 1970 u N plate holder Mer t Lawwill was featured on the cover of Cycle N ews 25 years ago. Lawwill took first-place honors at the .'- J Cumberland iJ~1 N a t iona I in ---'---':-'--1 Maryland, though the photo was taken at Ascot Par k in California. La w w ill passed Dave Aldana in the final turn, making it two in a row for Lawwill at Cumberland... Suzuki's Sylvain Geboers topped Joel Robert at the World Championship 250cc MX Seri es rou nd in Belgium. CZ-mounted Roger DeCoster finished third... Whitey Martino beat Mark Blackwell in a mot ocross race in La Fayette, Colorado, where a $1100 purse was up for grabs..: Suzuki-mounted Kenny Roberts won. the Novice finals at an Ascot Park half . mile race ... Cycle News printed the entry form for the Mammoth Mountain Motocross. Entry fee was $5-$10. I Pierce teamed up with Freddie Spencer al Champion Road Race Series ... Cycle to w in the Honda Ontario Six -Hour News interv iewed Daytona 200 winner Clas s ic road race at Ontario Motor Dave Sadowski... Jean-Michel Bayle Speedway in California... Jim Fishback and Damon Bradshaw split wins at the won the Shamrocks Two-Day ISDE Pontiac Supercross doubleheader, while Qualifier in Serles Station, California... Suzuki's Mike LaRocco went 3-2 ; Denny Stephenson won the 12Scc class The opening round of the GP 500cc MX both times . Jeff Matiasevich led the Series was held in Sw itzerland where Kaw asak i-mounted Brad Lackey went 250cc SX series point standings by eight 2-2. Belgian Andre Malherbe won both points over Jeff Stanton... Fred Merkel m ot os ... Current 125cc MX and Giancarlo Falappa traded wins at World Ch ampion Bobby fH'(7iT,r "~~·-_ the second round of the World Moore won the Mini Junior Championship Superbike class at Ar gyll MX Park in Dixon, California. ~iiii;;i~ land... We tested the Maico 320 Series in Donnington, Eng- 5YEARS AGO... May 2, 1990 as t By Ferra cci Ducali 's Jamie James and Vanc e & Hines Yamaha's Thoma~ Stevens were featu red on the cover L.!::...!;:~;r. fiv e yea rs ago, w h ic h accompanied our preview of the Na tion- F En d uro ... Elmer Trett was unbeatable at the Dixie National s IHRA d ra g races at Huntsville, Alaba ma... Bob Hannah finished fourth in the ID-Iap Toyota Celebrity Pro Race held in con junction wit h the Long Beach Grand Prix. The race winner was fo rmer Ind ianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal. 0