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/127813
think they stand a better chance of keeping some of the guys over here, whereas before as soon as they got established and got a name for themselves, they were off to Europe. I look for a couple of guys to be able to stay here and do all right. And that only makes our series look better, and I think it builds better racers as well. There are better guys over here to race against. Now if they do venture over there (to Europe), they'll be able to compete because they'll be somewhat ready for it." Chandler was at least partially ready when he ventured to Europe in 1991. He was placed in a Kenny Roberts farm team of sorts, riding an unsponsored Yamaha YZRSOO to ninth in the 500cc World Championship, the highlights of which were two sixth-place finishes, one in Italy and one in France. That year may have taught him more than any other, at least in terms of setting up a motorcycle, an area in which he now ranks as one of the more proficient. Thanks mostly to a relat,ionship with impromptu teammate Wayne Rainey, a man who has inspired Chandler to the point that one of his children is named after the three-time World Champion. "As far as learning about the bikes, Wayne's been the biggest influence," Chandler said. "That was my biggest step. I felt I was pretty good over here and did a good job with what we had, but with those bikes in Europe you ( could change pivots, engine position, steering head angles... all this other stuff. That was all brand new to me so I just sat down and took notes and paid attention to what everyone else was doing, and Wayne was a big help. It was amazing to watch some of the stuff that guy would do. I mean after morning warmup, having them take the whole steering head out to change the offsets and the head angle - it was unbelievable. Then he'd just roll it out there and race it and go a second, second and a half faster than he'd qualified with. Now I wouldn't doubt myself in doing that. If you've done it enough and you're com{ortable enough with the bike, and understand what those changes do, then I don't see a problem with it." The rest of Chandler's career has been well documented here and elsewhere. He rode a Lucky Strike Suzuki to fifth in the 1992 SOOcc World Championship before signing a lucrative contract with Cagiva for the 1993 and 1994 seasons. When Chandler reflects back, the first year with Cagiva and his return to AMA racing with Harley-Davidson were enough to make him stop enjoying something he'd enjoyed his whole life. "The whole thing for me with the racing part is that I'm enjoying it," Chandler said. "As long as I'm enjoying it, I'd like to continue. There have been times when I've been pretty much disgusted with it. A good example would be 1993 (Opposite page) The Chandler family - Doug, Ralnee, Sherr!, Qulncee and Jett. (Above) Qulncee gives dad a helping hand with his KX250 while radlo-controlled airplanes fly overhead. (Right) Chandler loves the American hot rod' - this one was a birthday present from Sherr!. (Below) A 96-inch television with a sound system to match fills the Chandler family room. or my first year with Cagiva.lt was pretty frustrating and I kind of threw my hands up. We had some troubles with the bikes, I got hurt and kind of lost faith in those guys. Then the following year, having Kel (Carruthers) come over there was a big plus. That year it started to become fun again. I was enjoying it and getting pretty good results. I kind of turned things around, and then last year (1995, his season on a factory HarleyDavidson VR1000) put another question mark in my mind: 'What am I doing getting hurt while racing for seventh and eighth place? "Is it me or is it the bike?' You just start doubting things. Then being able to get back on the Kawasaki with Rob (Muzzy) ... it was pretty good because it eliminated some of the doubt about being able to have the right equipment. Then it was just up to the rider because they gave me the best thing they had. And we were able to go out there and win the championship with it. I felt going in we had a good chance of-doing it, but it was .kind.oLa doubtfnl thing there for a while. I would ... ...... 11