Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

• » pon clinching the 1994 250ct: World Championship in September on a rock-hard, bluegroove circuit in Gaildorf, Germany, South African transplant Greg Albertynannounced to the world that he 'was leaving the European-based Grand Prix circuit to corne to the U.S. to take on the high-flying Americans. Directly after signing a contract with American Suzuki, Albertyn and his five-time 500cc World Champion mentor, Team Suzuki Manager Roger DeCoster, began planning and training for an assault on the 1995 American Supercross Series. After dominating the World Championship circuit, winning the 125cc World Championship in '92 and the 250cc title in '93 and '94, Albertyn felt that he had accomplished all of his goals in natural-terrain motocross and wanted to become a Supercross Champion. DeCoster was thrilled. Hired on to breathe new life into Suzuki's ailing 250cc race program, DeCoster got just what he was looking for in Albertyn a proven champion with the talent and desire to make Suzuki, so long a non-entity in 250cc American Supercross, a contender. When the 1994 U.S. Supercross Series circus rolled into a wet Orlando, Florida, for the season opener in early January, the motivated Albertyn was eager to prove his' mettle to the American racing world. Despite the best-laid plans, things did not go well in Albertyn's long-awaited supercross debu t. The season started off on a very rough note as his e~ening ended abruptly with a dislocated shoulder after a fall on a double jump during a heat-race battle with teammate Ezra Lusk. Albertyn walked off the track in agony, arm raised above his head to help alleviate the pain. Unfortunately, his supercross' season would not get much better. Despite giving it everything he had, Albertyn was not yet attuned to the rough-and-tumble, jump-filled world of American supercross racing. He would later observe tha t there was nothing he h?ld f?lced in Europe that could h?lve prepared him for the cut-and-thrust, ultra-technical U.S. stadium circuits. But "Albee" kept plugging aW?lY and would eventually get in a groove and U GUEST. EDITORIAL By Eric Johnson begin to card some strong results, the best being a fourth-place finish at the boycott-tainted Las Vegas Supercross in June. Although he was' never a threat to win (or to get anywhere near the podium, for that matter), Albertyn kept improving, edging towa·rd the top of the leaderboard as the season wore on into the late winter months: Immediately after the Atlanta Supercross in late February, the U.S. circuit jumped out of the smo'kefilled, cavernous stadiums and into the breezy gr'eat outdoors for the annu?ll American motocross opener, the Gainesville 125/250cc Nation?l!' Although Albertyn h'ad initially claimed that he had corne to America to be a supercross rider, word had it that he was completely stoked to be back out on a natural-terrain motocross circui t - albeit an American one. The Gatorback circuit is etched out of the remnants of an old rock quarry in Northern Florida and constitutes a whacked-out mix of sand, hard-pack, drop-off jumps and breathtaking supercros-s obstacles. The most intimidating obstacle pree sent that day was "The Elevator," which required the 250cc riders to pin the throttle to the stops in order to clear its ominous face. When the gate dropped on the season-opening first moto, Albertyn showed everyone why he is a three-time World Champion by going straight to the front of the pack. Albertyn would sail alone in the lead until National outdoor sensation Mike LaRocco began to reel him in. Upon making contact with Albertyn's yel10w rear fender, LaRocco latched on and the two went at it in ferocious battle. Albertyn wouldn't budge and the two fought tooth and , nail to the better end. With one lap remaining, LaRocco would pass for the lead after Albertyn missed a shift due to a stubborn transmission that was beginning to go south. LaRocco would corne out on top with the moto win, but Albertyn had impressed the American spectators immensely witl-c his stunning ride (McGrath would go on to win the National overall after both LaRocco and Albertyn destroyed wheels on the evil, aforementioned Elevator) and many predicted that he would win the U.S. 250cc National Championship outright. However, it was not to be. At round two of the series 'in Sacramento, California, Albertyn rode well but showed a slight weakness that would haunt him throughout the· entire series. After finishing a close second to Jeff Emig in moto one, Albertyn was involved in a frantic multi-rider dogfight in moto two. As a result of floor-boarding his one-off .RM250, Albertyn had arrived in second place after passing Doug Henry, John Dowd and Jeff Emig (Kiedrowski was already long gone with the lead). As the moto wound down to its final minutes, Albertyn had the overall win iD hand, but something went wrong. With less than two laps' remaining, Albertyn was passed back to sixth (and third place overall) by Henry, Dowd, Emig and McGrath. What happened? Albertyn, caught off guard, proclaimed that he was shocked at the hectic pace kept by the American racers throughout the course of an entire moto: They fought hard for their position 'from beginning to end. According to a tired Albertyn, this did not happen in Europe. While continuing to "cu this teeth" in getting to know the American tracks, riders, technique and climate, Albertyn would go on to score solid third-place overal1 finishes at Budds Creek, Maryland and Buchanan, Michigan before his season ended on a smoldering-hot day in July with a broken wrist suffered at the Troy, Ohio, National. In retrospect, Greg Albertyn would end up being a real-world test case for the brave new world of international motocross. Albe~tyn and his plight in America would corne to personify the drastic differences between U.S. and European-based GP motocross. When Albertyn came to America, every motocross fan on the planet wanted to see how the threetime World Champion would fare against the American riders on their rough, supercross-oriented, technical tracks. While a dominant figure on the high-speed, wide-open tracks of the European GP circuit, Albertyn had a tough time adj usting to the ,American way of motocross life. To further illustrate this "two worlds" point, when the 1995 U.S. Motocross des Nations team of Steve Lamson, Jeff Emig and 500cc rookie Ryan Hughes showed up in Sverepec, Slovakia, this fall, they faced a lightning quick, technically void circuit that was completely foreign to them. Although the team rode extremely well (losing the event by a single point to the Belgians), the three American racers never carne to terms with the full-tilt, sweeping Slovakian circuit. In fact, Steve Lamson was at a complete Joss as to how the European 125cc riders, namely Sebastien Tortelli and Stefan Everts, 'could carry so much speed around the slippery, bermless, hm-addled track. Sverepec was a classic example of the type of ·circuit that Greg Albertyn shined on in Europe and was a direct contrast to what he now had to deal with in the U.S. To most insiders and pundits, no doubt drawing concl us ions from these recent events, it is now very apparent that the two worlds of American and European motocross have grown drastically apart. Just as Albertyn learned. Without question, Greg Albertyn's 1994 appearance has been great for American' motocross. Congenial, humorous and approachable, Albertyn gives the impression that he actually enjoys being out at the races (something a few of his American contemporaries could learn from). "Dr. Albee" is already beginning to generate a solid base of U.s. fans who appreciate his gritty, determined, never-say-day attitude. Although he did not win a Supercross or National moto in 1995, Greg Albertyn more than proved himself. While having to cope with an extremely steep learning curve, Albertyn suffered a number of nagging injuries and struggled at times to get his head wrapped around the intimidating U.S. Supercross and National circuits. Despite all of this, Albertyn showed brmiant flashes of speed and determination that exemplify his ability to run with, and defeat, the best that America has to offer. If he can show a little more. patience and stay clear of the injuries that have plagued him throughout the year, Albertyn will be a winner in America in 1996. He just needs to bring it all together. (N / ,LOOKING BACK... . 25 YEARS AGO... DECEMBER 8, 1970 esert ace J.N. Roberts earned his place on the cove.r by cOmpleting the San Gabriel Valley Motorcycle Club's Barstow to Vegas Hare 'n' Hou.nd in ~~,",:,"'----_..J three hours, 45 minutes. Nearly five minutes later Steve Kirk crossed the line and was in turn followed by Rich Thorwaldson. Top Amateur honors went to Jerome Razika, with a little help from his friends. When Razika's rear tire disintegrated and snapped his chain a quarter-mile from the finish, he and his buddies carried the Yamaha across ... Suzuki's Joel Robert took another overall win in' the Trans-AMA Series, doing the deed at D the season-ender at Puyallup, Washingwhich was belted to an industrial gearHamel to ride most of the 665-mile race ton. Though Robert won more events box, whence motion was transmitted to alone. Nissan truck racer Jack Johnson than anyone else by far, Dave Nicoll got an aluminum rear wheel riding on a and KTM race coordinator Dave Chase the series title on points... Ake Jonsson monoshock swingarrn. Vesco's 1980 run each gave Hamel a short break on his battled fierce competitors and drizzling for the record was rained out, but he way to second overall... Peter Goddard rain in San Francisco to take the overall was looking forward to '81... KTMand Rob Phillis split the wins at round victory in the penultimate round of the mounted Brad Turnidge seemed sur12 oithe World Superbike Series in their Inter-Am series. Jonsson won two of the prised to have won the High Desert home country of Australia. In International-class matos, while Chris100 in Millican Valley, Oregon. Ken 1Ir::nii':'>7"~-=--":::: the first race, Phillis ter Hammargren took Maahs had been in front for almost ,..........~ crashed and snapped off a second ,overall with fIi~iTlri:rrrr:,...,....L_the whole race on his Husky but handlebar, leaving the three runner-up finishhe got lost just before the finish... engine to rev itself to death es. ~4SOm,i, Over 400 riders tu.rned out for the while Goddard took the .........,.,.:~~ 1 Anaheim Amateur Supercross ....1' win. The second race was , "".,... race in Southern California. Tim much closer with the two 15 YEARS AGO... Locey took top honors in both Aussies lead-swapping till DECEMBER 3, 1980 250 and 500cc Pro classes. the end ... Duane Conner hat ,tangle of won the final round of the belts, rods and Grand National Cross Coun5YEARS AGO... hoses on the try Series near Athens, Ohio. cover is what Don NOVEMBER 28, 1990 Newly crowned Champion Vesco hoped he cover featu.red Larry Roeseler, Scott Summers did not finish. would power his "After I crashed about 10 times on the who, with Ted Hunnicutt and streamliner to a new wheel-driven land first two laps, I realized that my day Danny LaPorte, won the SCORE speed record. The two turbo KZ1300 Baja 1000. A pre-event crash sidelined might be better spent just watching," the engines turned an overhead jackshaft Dan Smith, leaving 18-yeaJ-old Danny champ explained. fN T T 11") 0'\ 0\ ,.....; 0\ C'l l-< OJ S OJ ;::- o z 63

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