Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

the four-stroke motocross and stuff like that. So basically, the last couple years have strictly been desert. How did you get involved with KTM the first time? I was a test rider for Kawasaki and I did some magazine stuff, and it was toward the end of the year and they approached me and asked if I'd be interested in riding for them, and I sat down and talked with them and Scot (Harden). They gave me a really good offer so I switched and started running KTMs. What kind of deal did you have with KTM then? It was a factory deal. Tom Moen down at KTM did all the work on the bike. He and Mark Zoller from Z-Racing pretty much did all the mechanical work, suspension and everything like that. For an off-road deal, it was a pretty good deal. When you went back to Team Green this year, how did that work out? It worked out really well. Scot still wanted me to ride a four-stroke and I kind of wanted to get away from that just because I didn't have a very good year and they still wanted me to ride the four-stroke at all the races out here. In the deep sand a four-stroke is really hard to ride and be competitive for the overall. I'm not getting any younger and . I knew I still had it in me to go for some overalls, so I called up and asked and they said they would be happy to help me out with something. So I was able to . ride KX500s at all the events and it worked out real good. When you were with Team Green this year, did you feel that their off-road program increased your chances of reaching your career goals? Yeah, I guess so. They have the biggest group of people that go out there. I ,know a couple times my bike broke on Friday and the race was Saturday and our mechanic, John Braasch, stayed up and worked into the wee hours of the night to rebuild my bike. They definitely played a major part in helping me win my championship. You're obviously pretty busy. What do you do in your spare time when you're not racing? Geesh. I have a couple of houses that I manage and that takes up all my spare time trying to keep up with renters. I go up to school with my wife and help her with that. I have a little Ford Ranger that I put a 350 Chevy engine in. That's kind of my hobby, I guess, playing with my truck. Is that something you think you might want to do, like racing trucks eventually? Ii something like that works out, I would love to, but I don't have any goals or plans toward that. If I fall into something and it works out that way, then that would be awesome. What do you do for training? I try to get up about 6:30 in the morning and I mainly try to run between three to six miles in the morning and then try to ride a couple times a week. That's pretty much it, and then travel to the races on the weekends, try to recoup on Monday and get ready to do it again the next weekend. As far as your practice riding, do you still do motocross or do you go out to the desert? If I'm gonna do like an open desert race, I'll try to go out and practice desert that week, but most of the time I just try to go out and have fun. Just spend time on the bike and do it that way. What was the hardest part of the transition from motocross to off-road? Learning how to read the terrain and being out there by yourself for a long time and still keep yourself motivated to (Left) Amid his race memorabilia, Zitterkopf shows off his new Vosburg KTM 360 MlXC that he will be campaigning In the 1997 AMA National Hare & Hound series. (Below) Greg and his wife Elizabeth enjoy a moment of relaxation. They are expecting their first child in mid1997. be able to race. It's real easy to kick back and relax and not worry about going fast when you're by yourself. Who were your fiercest competitors 10 and IS.years ago? 1 think everybody was... I was never a top motocross guy. 1 was always a fifthplace guy and I always wanted to be like Rick Johnson, Jeff Ward, Broc Glover and all those guys. I never really beat those guys. I was always a fifth through 10th-place guy at the ationals. All those guys, I guess, because I could never beat them. When you were younger and you were racing motocross, did you have any idols or anybody you looked up to? Yeah, Gary Jones was always a big influence. He was always at the local tracks and he'd always come over and give me little tidbits and everything. He was always the big hero back then. I guess that's how old I am. But he was just really nice to me and helped me out in a lot of ways. I always admired him for that. He was a big idol. Have you considered doing any more four-stroke motocross since that's kind of taking off? Yeah, I think we're gonna do some of that this year because I've won that championship four times. I rode against all the same guys and I beat them all in the past. My new sponsor is getting a couple of four-strokes, so hopefully we'll go after it a little bit and see what happens. You've also ridden in two IS DEs, right? Yeah, the first one didn't go too well. It was on a KTM in the States here in Tulsa and the ignition went out 10 or 15 miles into the race, so I was kind of stuck in a hole. I houred out within the first day. I was the first guy out. Then I was on the trophy team for the next one in Poland and I did really good, but I got really sick. 1 was really happy though because I rode sick every day and I was on gold till the last day when we. were in the mud. The bike just sucked a bunch of water through the air filter and plugged up the throttle to where I couldn't turn it, so I had to stop and fix it and I lost like a half hour on the last day fixing my bike. It dropped me from a gold to a bronze. I was really happy though, because I ",:,as really sick and I still rode. Are you going to do any more Six Days? I'd like to this next year. I'd like to definitely do that. Out of all the events that you're doing, what are your favorite kind of events? They're all good. I like the hare and hounds because we don't quite have them that much anymore. They are like a lOa-mile deal or more. I think those are really pretty good because you don't have to go over the same terrain. They're pretty exciting. That and the point-to-point ones are really good because we don't have too many of those anymore. So, where's your favorite place to ride, then? I love riding up in Pinion Hills, Phelan after it rains. I think it's· my favorite spot to go riding. The day after the Baja 1000, almost everybody rushed to go to the Elsinore GP and you chose to ride a smaller District 37 Grand Prix with less fanfare. Was that your choice or Kawasaki's? Actually, I fell at the start of the year and I broke a couple of ribs, so I missed a couple of district races and I was going for the district number-one plate and it just happened.to be on the same weekend as Elsinore. I needed that race to secure the plate. It was ·neat. I had a really good time up there at Gorman. The course was fun. What were your goals for 1996? Actually, I just thought about winning the Vet Championship in the National Hare & Hound Series. That's what I wanted to do and I did it. And get the District 37 Vet number one and then to win the Casey Folks "Best in the Desert" thing. I wasn't planning on winning the National Hare & Hound title, but after a couple races and I had won a couple, it seemed like a reachable goal, so we went for it. What would you say your goals are for next year? I'd like to definitely repeat as the Hare & Hound and the Casey Folks' "Best in the Desert" champion. And, go out and know that I gave it 100 percent and that I put out a really good effort and had a lot of fun. How much longer do you think you'll be racing? Ah, boy. I'm kind of surprised I'm still riding at this age, to tell you the truth. Just always growing up, it seems like when you're 20 or 21 years old you feel like you're kind of washed up. I don't know, I hope to do it for a couple more years - as long as I'm able to get a good sponsorship and be able to make a living at it and still be able to enjoy it. So what do you think you'll enjoy most next year aboard your new KTMs? Just being able to go out and ride on good race courses - courses that are marked well and courses that the club actually went out and spent some time on and made challenging. Some of the District 37 stuff is all on existing trails. They don't use any imagination. Some of the ones out of state where the clubs really do a good job, I really look forward to go up there and riding. They're an awful lot of fun. Who are your biggest sponsors? Are you going to be with most of them next year? I've been really fortunate. Almost all the sponsors that I've had, I've had for quite a few years. Except for bike companies where I switched. I've got to really say thanks to Team Green for this last year and Moose, Smith goggles, Bieffe Helmets, Dunlop tires, Dunlopad brakes, Scotts for steering dampeners, F&L fuel for the gas, Renthal for the sprockets and the handlebars, White Brothers for air filters and BRP for shark fins and all the other little machined gOOdies that he made. Acerbis plastic, and one of my main ones, Pro Circuit, 'cause those guys really put in a big effort by going above and beyond a lot of times to make sure I had stuff. They were always willing to go test to make things better. I've really got to say thanks to Bones (Jim Bacon). He's been a big help. I've got to really say thanks to my wife. She's really helped me out in a lot of ways. And also to Mountain (Tim Gill, Zit's mechanic) for coming to all the races and helping me pit at every race and helping me with things of that nature. They're a couple people that really helped me out a lot and I wouldn't be here without th.em. When it's allover and you're done racing, how do you want to be remembered? Just as someone who went out and had a good time. People know that I tried hard and that I was just nice to everybody, I think. A lot of people tell me that I'm easy to come up and talk to, while a lot of the other racers can't do that. They're too busy or they frown on them or something. I think that's a good quality that I have. t'X

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