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/127727
Michael Doohan By Michael Scott Photos by Henny Ray Abrams t's not that Mich ae l Dooh an d oesn ' t like Malaysian food . It's that he d oesn 't tru st it. Three or four years ago, he was pe rs ua de d to have a meal outside th e hotel, a nd h ad d ia rrhea for a week. Since then, "I haven ' t dared go anywhere bu t the hotel buffet." Whe re, for the m os t part, he confines himself to dry bread with the blandest of accompaniments. . I open with this down-to-earth, bumon-the-seat tale because it perfectly fits the current high flier of the 500cc class. Though his sta ture as the world's most accomplished SOllcc rider puts his head in the clouds, his feet remain firmlyon the ground. Racing, like life itself, is a matter of fact business - of getting the bike set up and the tires tested, then to tum fast enough laps to get to the finish flag before everyone else . Nothing more and nothing less. Which just happens to be something he did so convincingly in the opening races of 1995 tha t people were already talking about the possibility of a steamroller season where he would wa lk to an easy second title in succession. Doohan's reticent personality is by now well-known. You either deal with it or you don 't . Doesn' t make any difference to him. He's always sta ted his case q u ite cle arl y . He goes racing to win races. He's doing it for himself, for his own enjoyment, secondari ly for h is team, an d after that for Honda, for the sponsors, and the res t. The fans don't even figu re on the lis t. Fame is simply no part of Doohan's life. If people enjoy watching him; well, good luck to them . Just as long as they don't think he's anything special once he's off the bike . I caught up with Mick in HRC's airconditioned container at Malaysia, with the lone Doohan on a plastic chair at one end, Alex Criville and retinue at the other. Doohan was in the mood that has been the keynote of the season so far - friendly , approachable, at least to people he knows and trusts . But crusty as well , and no more inclined to indulge in fancy talk than before he was champion. "The number one is great, but I can't see it when I'm on the bike . I'm not really concerned about last year. Each new season is a whole new ballgarne, and I'm thinking about try- I Who can beat Michael Doohan? Michael Dooha n and the works NSR Honda have won 11 out of the last 16 GP races. Can anyone beat him in 1995? Here's what a selection of his rivals say. Kevin Schwantz: "Confidence is 75 percent of winning the championship, and you can see how confident Mick is by his rid ing . He' s not unbeatable, but he' s gonna be tough." Daryl Beattie: "The re's nothing magic about what Mick's do ing. He's jus t rid ing a lot better than anybody else." Luca Cadalora: "You can see that with a good rider, a good bike and good tires how the combina tion works together . If one of those things is missing, you hav e no chance." . Kenny Roberts: "I think it is Mick more than the Honda. He's doing every th ing right, and he's at the peak of his ability. I've been there before, so has Schwantz, so has Rainey . Right now it's Mick." Wayne Rainey: "In racing, anything can happen. But it's going to take something happening to beat Mick. I can' t see any of the riders doing it over a full season : ' Alex Barros: "Now I'm on a Honda, I can see what a fast bike it is. But difficult to set. Mick obviously ha s his just perfect, and that makes him impossible to catch." Alex Criville: "I feel more comfortable than ever on the Honda this year, and I'm enjoying riding it to my limit. But when 1 see what Mick can do with his bike, I realize how much more there is to learn."