Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

agree with people writing about how and why [ c.rashed - and then asking me later. At that time I was thinking totally about the championship. So when people came and asked me what happened I didn't have the time to sit down and say, "Well, hang on a minute: I'll go over all this with you even though you've already written it. Why do you really want to know?" I just couldn't be bothered. I was there to try and regain the championship. I was almost 30 points down, so that was my main focus - the pressure I put on myself. Would you describe yourself as easygoing? Ever? Easygoing? [ think so. I think I'm focused on what I'm doing, espeCially at the race track. Away from the race track I'm totally different. It depends with who, and what they're wanting from me. There are certain people I can deal with because they know how to deal with me, and other people who want to play games, and I couldn't even be bothered playing the game. there'd be less pressure in that sense... trying to stay on the thing. But it was never a realistic kind of option. I'll be here next year, 99 percent. The other thing was nearly moving to Yamaha for next year. I understand Wayne Rainey and Kenny Roberts were involved in two separate offers. What was that all about? 1'm not getting into details, but Wayne and I had been talking from early on in the season. Suzuki also were keen early on in the season, because of Kevin and so on. They'd be a good team, but I figured that with a young guy. there, they'd probably be better off working with DaryL Wayne's thing seemed pretty good to me. Like a new team, so there'd be plenty of enthusiasm. I feel sorry for Wayne in the way things all fell over. We'd got to the point of talking figures and so on, and then another offer did come in. And that's where it all went wrong. There was mass confusion everywhere. It wasn't so much people fighting over me, it was just negotia- ings, because of the mass confusion. The biggest person I feel sorry for is Wayne, because we had a good thing going there at one stage. It wasn't so much that... you know, Honda's great and I'm glad I'm still here. It was just to do something different. Show up in different color leathers... keep the motivation there. Was there some special motivation about wanting to win on an underdog, a disfavored bike? You see, I don't believe that totally. And they also realize it's not the bad bike it's made out to be. Eddie Lawson won the championship in 1988 on it, Rainey was leading in 1989 when he crashed in Sweden and lost it to Eddie on the Honda, which was a terrible monster that year. And Wayne won in 1990, 1991, 1992 admittedly I was injured, but he still won. In 1993 he was leading the championship when he was injured. They had some in-house problems more so than anything in 1994. It's been a championship-winning machine for so long and yet it's the biggest heap of junk out Do you ever feel pressure from Honda or the sponsors - to be like some sort of a performing monkey? None whatsoever. They know the way I am. They could have someone who doesn't win races, and he can be the best PR guy in the world, but what's better in the end for promotion? I do give a lot of interviews. No end of people have come down to Monaco, and that's where I give the best interviews. I'm not saying I'm the easiest person to deal with, but I'm not the most difficult. What's the next ambition? . Three (championships) would be better than two. At the start of the year, you spoke about possibly going superbike racing. That was just speculation that got built up into something bigger. I said to a reporter that perhaps one day ·if I got bored with GPs that I might go and race superbikes again - just for a different environment and to have a bit of fun. A superbike' s an easier bike to ride, so tions broke down within the whole infrastructure of the thing. Czechoslovakia was pretty much where it all fell apart. I was confused more so than anything else, and that's what started me getting worried about how it was all going to take place next year if we were confused right now. Nobody really knew what was going on from when you spoke to them once to the next time. Then you'd speak to somebody else with different ideas. There didn't seem to be anyone spokesman for the whole operation (Marlboro Yamaha). So I went to see these guys (HRC). They knew there was an offer about. [ said, "This is what I want. If you guys can come up with this figure then I'm happy to stay here." On the Thursday before Rio, they'd seen Bennetton and Repsol and got some more finances, so they said that's no problem. So then I said yeah, and in the meantime nothing got clearer at the other side. I don't think there's any hard feel- there (laughs). And when Luca (Cadaloraj wants to ride it, you can't catch him. The Honda has an obvious top-speed advantage, in the later parts of the straights and so on. But [ believe their thing jumps a little bit better out of the turns, and turns in a little bit better. It seems more nimble. The Suzuki just seems an overall good package, if you see what Doug Chandler did in 1992 on it, and Alex Barros in 1993 - he'd have been further up the championship if he hadn't thrown it away every time he got in front. So he was good on it, but all he wanted was a Honda - and now he's got one. (Upon which he has consistently failed to hold the pace.) Now he wants a Yamaha, apparently, because he rode one at the Superpresti~o last year and it handled so good (laughs again). The grass is always greener on the other side. I don't think the motorcycle would be a big factor. It doesn't really bother me if people say that the Honda's the best bike so things are easy for you. The people out ·there on the race track know what the situation is. The Yamaha was good for a long period of time. The Honda was a rocket ship, but everyone who jumped on a Yamaha was going good. It all goes around in circles. I think the biggest influencing factor in any era has been the rider. A good guy on a bad bike is not going to work. Put a good guy on the best bike and it's definitely an advantage. But you could put a good guy on a medium bike as well and you're not too far out of the ballpark. I never really questioned the strength of the Yamaha. With an off-season of testing I figured we could probably get it to a point where it's half-decent. You caused a big stir during the year when you said in an interview that "racing is boring." Is it hard to find the motivation when there's a generation gap behind you? It's not so much that - what I was saying there is it was boring compared to like 1991 when there was Eddie Lawson, myself, Wayne Gardner, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz... You didn't have time to think about anything except trying to get to the checkered flag. I was saying it's boring as shit right now compared to that - but that it won't be too long before these guys come on through, because they've got someone to chase. When you're chasing somebody, you eventually rise to that level. 5omebody's setting the level, and guys eventually come to it, and - unfortunately - keep going as well. As you see now by the lap times, people are coming good. Whether it's an end-of-season spurt or not is another thing. I still believe these guys have got better. Not all of them, but there's guys out there who have definitely picked up the pace a IQt. So that makes it more interesting. At the time I gave that interview, sure, it was... I'd get out there and be thinking what the hell is going on? In Spain wh~ I crashed, the tires were a bit loose - the thing snapped out sideways and got to full lock, and then threw me off. In Germany - whether it was down to cold tires or what, I really don't know what happened. It seemed 50 easy to go back by Daryl. I had a moment down the bottom of the hill, and then I'm just thinking about sitting behind him and next minute I'm in front of him again. 50 I'm thinking, hang on a minute - I hadn't even planned on passing you and I'm back in front. (Moments later, Doohan - riding with a freshly broken finger in a special splint - crashed for a second time that weekend.) It was a little bit like that when I caught him in Buenos Aires as well. I caught him, I could have gone straight by, but I just shut down and sat behind him for a few laps. I thought - I've been here before and the next lap [ crashed, so let's just sit down and see what you're doing. Before, you didn't have a lot of time to sit down and play games in the races. It was more or less race to the end. And you prefer that? Well, yeah. I think everyone does. The race goes a lot quicker. But I'm not saying, and I never was saying, that these guys are bad. I said there's a few guys . who don't deserve the bikes they've got - you know the way they rise to .the occasion every now and then. There's a lot of guys out there who'd like to be on the motorcycles and I think could do good jobs on them. I think some of the guys in World Superbike would like to be here - young guys with plenty of enthusiasm. And that's where the future lies, I believe. , ~ ""'" (J) "S (J) :> o Z 21

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