Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

at it. I seemed to wo rk a lot har der than most other people had to, and it' s taken me a lot longer than some guys - but'I got where I wanted to go. There were a lot of guys I thought were better than I was who didn't stick with it, an d that's one thing I have going for me. 1 do n't think of myself as a person who gives up. I never want to be called a quitter." Abbott "turned Pro" in 1991, which, as a desert racer. translates to overalling local events, going out of town to attend races, and taking a crack at the Nationa l Hare and Houn d series . But even in his days as a fledgling desert pr ofessional, Abbott was push ing the envelope. "I was riding a lot and ridi ng everythi ng," he ex p lai ned. "I ra ced a lot of motocross and 1 still do - I probably do more of tha t th an a ny thi ng else th ese d ays , a nd tha t ha s help ed me a lo t. It makes you a lot more aggress ive, there 's no doubt abou t that, and that's im po rtant in all for ms of motorcycle racing." . He also tried his hand at supercros s, which acco u nt s for th e metal pla te he carries in one arm. "Supercr oss is one thin g 1 do n't really care for," he said . "I don't like the door-di e thin g w ith th e doubl e s and triples. I like jumping - defin itely - but 1 don 't wa nt to end my career because I came up sho rt on a jum p. 1 enjoy watching supe rcross, bu t it's more for the yo ung guys ." Abbo tt focused o n th e ISDE for the first time w hen the inte rnational even t was held on American soil. "1 tried my first qualifier the yea r it ca me to Ok lahoma. 1 was yo ung a nd stu pid - about 19 or 20 - and I did really bad," said Abbott, shaking his hea d. "I just did n't have the experie nce. 1 wasn' t smart and I crashed a lot. I'm a lot better now an d I've decided that I enjoy tha t type of ridi ng more than anything else." But w hile he dabbled in a variety of activities, it w as desert racing that was earning him a reputation . "I got a KTM su pport rid e in 1991 and ended up as a factory KTM rid er for tw o years, and I've been with Vosburg Racing fo r tw o ye ars now - 1996 a nd 1997," sa id Abbott. '1 still think of what I' ve got now as a factory ride because KTM s till helps me o ut a lot . It's kind of like th e je rem y-M cGrath-rid in g-forSuzuki-of-Troy kind of thing." But even wit h a generous and enthusiastic tea m ow ner like Gary Vosburg, a businessm an out of Las Vega s, there is st ill not a lo t of m oney to be made in desert ra cing . Vosburg, Pro Circuit and Abbo tt's other sp onsors (which inclu de KTM, Dunlop, FMF , Acerbis, Moose, Arai, Smith, Scotts, Sunstar , IMS Sunoco, Tsubaki, Maxima , End uro Engineering, Applied, Tech Tu be, EVS, Alp inestar, Z Racing and Prem ier) ar e helping out more this yea r than ever befo re, but making mon ey means winning and, when you're competing in desert events o n an Open-class bike, tha t means winning overall. "And I only get help from my sponsors for the series and races I'm co ntrac ted to d o - specific thi ngs like the Na tional Hare and Hounds and the Virginia City G ra nd Prix," said Abbo tt. "W h e n I d o o t her thin g s, like ra ce m otocross or go to Italy to d o the ISDE, 1 do all th at on my own." And doing it on yo ur O¥."I\ can mean the best part of $6000 for an interna tional event lik e th e ISDE , which is why Abbott isn 't exac tly giving up his da y job - at least, not qui te yet. "I wo rk par t time for a freight compa ny 15to 18 hou rs a week. You need so mu ch time off to go racing that you really can't work full time , and eve n wi th a p a rt-time jo b, you have to have a n understanding boss," said Abbott. You have to have an understandi ng wife, as well. "My wi fe knows I love motor cycles and she's reall y good abo ut it, a nd she help s out with th e bills so mu ch," sa id Abbott. "I'm hoping to qu it my job next year and con centrate on racing and raising m y two kids . We have a 5-yea r-old da ug hter an d a son on the way." Reach ing that goa l requires ea rn ing mo re victori es and even w ider recogn ition, but Abbott see ms to be on the righ t track. "Riding in Italy this year and d oing well reall y helped," said Abbott. "I had always wanted to go to Euro pe to race and I tho ug ht I co uld learn a lo t from the Euro pean riders, so I d ecid ed to try to qualify." Abbott began turning hea ds when he overalled the ISDE qualifier in Lakepo rt, California. "I defi ni tely surprised a few people, especially beca use Kevin Hi ne s, Luca T r u ssordi - a ll the good rid ers we re there," said Abbott. "I just put toge ther tw o really good d a ys and was reall y consistent." But overalling an ISDE qualifier and ma kin g the Avtearn fo r interna tio nal competition ar e two different thi ngs. "T ha t's a bit d isappoi n ting , to be hon est. The team is al ready picked and the q ua li fie rs d on 't reall y m ean a nyth ing," said Abbo tt . "I' m not saying I should be o n th e team, but I think 1 proved myself and 1should at least have a chance - an opportunity - to be on it. At least let me have the chance to earn a spot on it." Abbott went to th is yea r's ISDE as a member of a club team. "It's not the IJ..team; it's more like the Zvtea m ," he sa id, w ith a g ri n . "T hey don't expect usto do well. It's reall y just to help pa y for th e con tainer and stuff for the big guys ." But Abbott wasn't abo ut to live up to ot her peo ple's low expec tations. "They have eig h t test s a day and 1 beat every body in tw o of them. N one of our Trophy Team rid ers did it this yea r and no Am er ican club tea m rider has ever don e it before, I don't think. It wa s kind of neat," said Abbott. Both wins came in tests that resembled a grass mo tocross. "I think the main reason I won was that I sta rted in the back," said Abbott. "The trophy tea m guys started up front and it was grassy when they go t there, so they couldn't go fas t. W hen I got there, it was more dirt an d berms ." But wha t goes around comes around, and being back in th e pack - th e 403rd rider to leave the line, to be exact - was a distinct disadvantage i n the overall competition. "The first day 1 lost a lot of time because it was raining on me. The leaders were 2 1/ 2 hou rs ahead of me and it was dry for them, plus bei ng back there with the slower riders, I had to pass a lot of people in th e tests and that ma de a d ifferen ce, too: " said Abbot t. "Your time a d ds up fo r th e s ix da y s and it makes quit e a differen ce. I was 52nd in class at the end of the first d ay and I was really d isappointed, but by the end of th e six da ys I had m oved up to 20th overall in the 250cc class , an d th at's the most competitive class there. "That event, especially the first day, was the toughest thing I ever did. I was hurting. It's nothing like desert racing. It was all like the Northwest - Oregon and Washington: woods riding, lots of rocks , and really slick . There were a lot of times when I was off the bike, pushing up hills. There were cliffs so steep that if you drop the bike on a corner, you're gone, and you very seldom ge t into you r last gear. At the end of the day, you' re thinking, 'Wow, I'm glad 1 did that: but doing it is tough. But I definitely wasn't going to give up, that 's for sure." Abbo tt turned hea ds at another unusual venue this year when he tu rned up to tackle Pikes P!'ak ove r the Fourth .of July weekend. "Vosbu rg put KTM m otors into two specially made flat-t rack bikes, and I got to ride the 250," sa id Abbott, who finished second in th e 250cc class beh ind a n ultra-ex perie nced racer from th e Pikes Peak are a. "I like doing differen t stuff - it kee ps things exciting - and that was definitely d ifferent. It's a tota lly different type of rid ing - like rid ing a street bike and a di rt bike at the sa me tim e." The next type of "d ifferent" he plans to tackle will take th e form of a hare scrambles or tw o. 'T ll p robabl y get s moked - those guys are fast, but I want to try it to see how I d o: ' said Abbott. "I'm also planning on goi ng to Daytona for bike week ne xt yea r. I want to do the Daytona motocross and the enduro and the hare scrambles. They have five races in seven days a nd I'd like to do at leas t four of them." Which brings the eager racer to the question of road raci ng . "Yes, I' m going to try that, too: ' said Abbott. "A buddy of mine is a local Pro and he is going to let me use his bike in Decem ber. I'm goi ng to go road raci ng in the 600cc class at a loca l racecours e. The speed doesn't really bo ther me, and I'm excited to try the stree t to see how that's goi ng to go." And w hile he works ha rd a t es tablishing him self as an all -a ro u nd racer tod a y , Abbo tt is loo ki ng a h ea d to tom orrow. "I think I can race competitively at a pro fessi ona l le vel for an other six o r seven yea rs. I just turned 25, and racers are getting older - look at Larry Roes eler, and Ty Davis is 28. He's almost fou r yea rs older than I am, so I still have a ways to go : ' sai d Abbott. " I feel old wh en I wake u p in the mornings , thou gh. I some times think, 'Man, what a m I d o in g ?' But I really don't know w hat I wo ul d do without it." W h e n the r a cin g is o ve r, Abbott hopes to find a spot somew here in th e motorcycle industry. . "I wo uld like to promo te a com pany or racers , or be in the ind ustry in so me way," sa id Abbott. " I still don't kno w what I'm going to do w ith m y life, which is scary sometimes, b u t I see myself in the mo torcycle industry somewhere . I'm a lways ta lking to people you ne v er know w ho's going to be where; I ma ke a po int of being nice to everybody, and I've been going to college and hope to g o back pa rt time soo n." And in the meantime, Des try wi ll just kee p rid ing... and riding again . "I enjoy what I'm doing," he said . '1 have to tha nk Ga ry Vos bu rg - he has been so good to me an d h as reall y br ou ght m e to another level. I have to tha nk "1M, which has reall y helped me out- th ey even supplied a bike for me to rid e at the ISDE in Italy. And I have to th ank my Dad, Boyd . He really helps out, and tha t' s why I can do so wel l." n r-, 00- ...... cO .... (I) .0 o .... u o 37

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