Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

TEARDOWN BYP CARRUTHERS AUL f yo u have any amb ition to write a book of a ny kind, it's hard not to be envious of Micha el Sco tt. Imagine si lling d own at yo u r co mputer wi th this as yo ur s ubject matter: A yo ung Ca lifo rn ia n wit h s u r fe r- boy good loo ks struggles to reach the highest pi nnacle in mot orcycle r a cin g, goi ng fro m th e d us ty di rt o vals of So uthern Ca lifo rn ia to lege nd ary ra ce t rac ks li k e Le Man s a n d Mo nza ; the same yo ung boy turns into a mill ionaire interne tio na I road racing star, w inning th r e e Wo rld C ha mp ionsh ips altho ug h he continues to g ra pp le w ith inn er d e m o n s a s h e searche s for perfect io n; then , on th e wa y to p o ssib ly win n ing cha m p io ns hip number four, h is career tragi call y ends with a ho rrific cra sh - an accid ent that leaves the legend in a wheelchair. To cap off th e story, the hero ad ap ts to his new li fe in re cord s peed a nd ultimatel y retu rns to the top of the raci ng game as a team owner. If you packaged it u p and took it to Hollywood, they' d laugh you out of the place for inventin g a story that w as too good to be true - but this isn't fiction, it' s fact. It' s the s to ry of Wa yne Ra iney' s life, as wri tten by Scott in his new book, "Wayn e Rainey - His Own Story." Sc o tt , a Brit who se G ra n d P rix repor ts a nd o the r s tories are featured regularl y in Cycle News , tak es Rai ney' s life story and puts it to paper, making it an enjoya ble read . Like an y good story, Rain ey's biog raphy has a bi t of everythi ng, giving the reader a unique opportu niry to ride the emotional roller coast er of Rainey' s lile. You' ll be left in awe by a man so driven to succeed; you ' ll have momen ts of sorrow as his accident and his stru ggle to go on afterward are d ramatically relived ; and YOU' ll lau gh at the trials and tribulations of a yo ung Rainey as he climbs the lad der 01 professional racing. time wa tching something he'd been a part 01 for so long, it was also a time in which he wo uld have to adju st to how differen tly some people would trea t him now that he was in a wheelchair. Very revealing material - and irs all in the book. Scott does a good job of giving you p lenty of Ra i ne y q uotes, while also I '!~:::·--"-~YOU'1l find ou t just how driven a man Rain ey was whe n he raced , almos t to the point that he pus hed him sell toward disaster. "And my life was built aro und wi nnin g th e Worl d Cha m p io ns hip. I ju s t wa sn 't focu sed on an yth ing else. I wa s w a y too intense . I was willing to try anything to race. I kn ew I mig htdie, bu t I wa s willing to risk that to a void getting beat. I was afra id to wake up, when I did retire, and look in the mi rr or and say: Did you d o the bes t yo u could? In 1992 I pushed myself so hard that I was a pretty miserable guy to be around. I remember going to race tracks and sit ti n g a t t he r ed lig h ts jus t hating it. Becau s e th e intens ity was so mu ch greater than ever before. By the time '93 rolled around I was go ing to be World Cha m pion, and I wa s prepared to d o wha tev er it would take." In his book, Ra iney ad m its tha t he returned to Grand Prix racing mu ch too quickly after his accident. It beca me evident when he showed up early for the Austra lia n G ra nd Prix and cried as he watched the first practice session . It was a difficult time, for not only was it his first explaining things in his own words to ma ke the story flow. He also d oes a n admirable job of talking to others as he researched Rainey's career, from his boyhood racer bud d ies to family members and o thers who were there wit h Wayne for the journey to stardom. Along th e way , you 'll a lso le a rn so me things you didn't know - m ost n ota bl y o f the bitt er rela tionshi p betw een Rainey and his long time rival Kevin Schwa n tz. No t man y knew how aw kw ard that relations hip be came as th e two too k sim ilar pa ths to sta rdo m. But it's all here, in the book. The most mo vi ng w ords , howev er, m ay be th ose that co me di re ctl y from the jou rn a l of hi s w ife, Sh ae .- sim p le notes she'd ke pt throu gh out the ordeal of Wayn e's accident. "He said : He'll pr obably never walk again . I said : I know Wayne. He'll wal k. Th en I think I broke down . It's kind of foggy . I hun g up, walked in a stu po r to m y mom, woke her u p. Mom, Wa yne will nev er walk ag ain. Just as calm as any thi ng. I must ha ve been in shock . I kept saying : Do n 't w o rry . Wa yn e ' s okay . I'm okay ." In ad di tion to th e m oving s to ry of Rainey' s life, both racing a nd post-racing, photography is also featured - some 16 pages of black-and-white and co lor . The sh o ts take you throug h Rai ney' s life, fro m child racer to novice dirt tracker to star road racer, They also includ e th e dramatic p hotos of the crash th at end ed his career, the eerie X-ray of his damaged spine, and post-injury pho tos of him adapting to his new life. The book begins with a forewo rd by Kenny Roberts, and this is immed iately foll owed by perhaps th e most factual statemen t of th em all, a quo te fro m Mich a el Sco tt 's re port o n the Ita lia n Grand Prix at Misan o in 1993. " It was o ver . A s hi ni ng li g h t ha d been exting uished. As the news sp read like a s hoc k wave, o the rs ca me to th e sa me realization . For us, racing would never be the same again ." I'll never forge t th at Sunday in Septe m be r of 1993 when I rece i ved th e news that Ra iney had been injur ed . I'll nev er forget visit ing him fo r the first time in a Long Beach hos pital; seeing him lor the first time in his w heelchair; or taking him (actually, he drove in one of his first ou tings with hand con tro ls) to his favo rite new burger joint on Signal Hill , near the Cycle Netos offices at the time. Those we re d ifficult tim es for anyone w ho cared about the man wh o was arguably the most liked in the padd ock, yet he attacked his injury wit h the sa me passi o n wit h w hich he attacked raci ng . And ultim ately, he wo n again. The book will bri ng back the sad ness, bu t it w ill a lso leav e you feeling good about Wayn e Rainey' s cha nces 01 making his new Iile a good one. As he says in the final sentences of the book: "I'm learning to be a pe rso n tha t I never had to be before . As long as I can remember, I raced. Now I don't race, and I have to learn to live a no rmal life, how to be a norm al person. I'm still stumbling over wha t I'm actually loo king for, and how I'll s pend the res t o f my life . But I'm sure my faith will get me ther e," For those who would like the op portuni ty to meet Wayn e, Cyek News feels fortu nate th at we ca n gi ve you that chance. On Thursday night, December 18, Cycle News - in conjunction with FS Pr oductions - w ill presen t " Wa y n e Rainey Night" at Speedway Int ern ation al Racing Bistro & Ba r i n New por t Beach, California. We' ll have books on ha nd lor sa le, and Wayn e will be available to sig n th ose books. It' s a u nique opportunity to mee t not onl y one of the best road ra cers in history, bu t one of the true good guys of motorcycle raci ng. For more infurmation on "Wayne Rniney Night, " call FS Produ ctions at 714/7521669. Those who cannot attend on December 18 bul would like 10 order a book can do so by calling th e Cycle News Products I~ order desk at 714/751-7433. LOOKING BACK:.. , " 3 EARSAGO.., 0Y D CEMBE 21 , 1967 E R 20Y SAG ,•• EAR O D ECEMBE 14, 1m R oel Robert made th e cover of issu e #49. The CZriding Belgian won both the 250 and 500cc classes in Dehesa, Cali fornia . the site of the final sta teside appearance o f the year for Europe 's bes t motocrossers... A full-page ad on page 6 heralded the upcom ing Caesar's Palace reco rd jump attempt by Evel Kn ievel... The Jones brothers, Gary an d DeWa y n e , were on the gas a t the Nevada Champions hi p IT Scra mbles in Las Vega s, Nevada. Gary lones ( BSA ) mastered -e 500cc Amateu r / ' p e r t cla ss , while u eWayn e Jo ne s (SSA) wo n th e O pe n Amateur / Ex p e r t class ... Ho w a r d Jones (T r D, Bill Friant (C re ) a nd Dave Ek ins (Z u n) Ie Latest Poop section o f this issue featu red a pi cture a nd some specs of "the new Can -Am ' MX -4 370. Th e bike's e ng ine featu red pistonpo rt /reed-valve ind uction rat her th a n the us ual rotary -valve induction as found on its 250cc stablemate... It was announced that American road racer Pal Hen nen had signed o n to be World Champio n Barry Sheene's teammate on the factory Suzuki fo r th e 19 78 500cc GP season. Hennen had finis he d th ird in the 1977 500cc Grands Prix season... Rod Kentner (Yam) was the man to beat at th e Carlsba d /KS I /Ca rre ra 4-S trok e MX Na tiona l Cha m pions hip at Ca rlsbad Raceway... Marty Moates' trick Knobby Shop International Honda 450 four-stroke MJ(er was featured on page 12... Cycle News offered re aders a look a t th e new Scoll USA plastic boot... Th ere was a two-p age phot o sp rea d fro m the AMA awards ba nquet. J were the men to beat a t th e Si n ne rs a nd Spokebende r s du al desert meet near Lancaster, Californi a . Jones won the SOOcc Ama teur /Expert events on both co u rses, Friant did th e sa me in th e 250cc Ama teu r / Expert class, and Ekins won on both courses in the lOOcc Ama teur/ Expert events. T 10Y SAGO EAR .., DECEMBER16, 1987 ma teu rs Bri a n S w ink (Kaw) a nd Jo h n Kit sch (Kaw) m ade the cover in celeb rati on of their perlect weekends at the Florida Winter Olympics in Gai nesville, Florida ... Jeff Leis k (Ho n) won the Pro Circuit Motocross Extravaganza at Perris Raceway in Perris , . Californi a . Lcisk defeated Mike Kiedrow s ki (Kaw) a nd M i k e Heal e y (C a g ), a mong others, i n the 25 0cc Pro cl a ss . Jelf M a t ia se v ich (Ka w ) won the 125 cc Pro class, and some kid named Jere m y McGrath (Yam) managed to get h is p ictur e in Cycl e N ew s after " i nning the 250cc intermediate class ... Ricky Johnson (Ho n) led an American sw eep at th e Tok yo Su percross... Terry Kizer (Suz) was the fas test man in the Funnybike class at the !DBA' s MTC World Finals in Baton Rou ge, Louisia na... Fri tz Kadlec (Ya m) w o n the Las t Chance Turkey HS in Laramie, Wyom ing . (~ A r-, 0"0"- ...... a ...... ... :u ..0 E :u u (lJ o 51

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