America.s weekly motorcycle newspaper
Volume XXXVI
Sharon Clayton, President
Michael Klinger, Publisher
Editorial
Paul Carruthers, Editor
Kit Palmer, Associate Editor
Scott Rousseau, Associate Editor
Mark Hoyer, Managing Editor
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Brelsford memories
Great feature article on Mark Brelsford
in your "Time Remembered" section
(Issue #50, January 6). Being an old San
Francisco Bay Area product of the '60s
and '70s, the Harley team of Mark Brelsford and Mert Lawwill were our local
favorites and we followed them loyally
at all the West Coast events. My son,
who is now in his mid-30s, insisted on
having a number-87 plate on his first
minibike, and my entire family would
never miss an indoor race at the Cow
Palace when Mark dominated every
week.
I pitted for a local Amateur during
that time and had an opportunity to
stand in the comer at a couple of mile
races and watch Mark slide his KR
through the turns. My most vivid memory, however, was watching him wrestle
the monster Sportster Goliath at the TIs,
especially one year ·at Boise where he
ran away from everyone.
I recently got the chance to see Mark
and Mert at the Legends gathering at
Del Mar and spoke to them briefly - they
both looked great. I still enjoy Grand
National racing today, bu t when I think
of flat-track racing, I can't help but think
of the good old days of watching Mark.
I hope you continue the "Time
Remembered" features, and I'm anxiou.sly awaiting the next article.
Dave Cheney
San Luis Obispo, CA
know of, anyway) and his hair is naturally colored, this doesn't make him a
better role model. Staying out of jail and
getting his job done is what makes him
a role model. Everything eise is ju.st personality, not a substandard trait as they
hint at in the article. Bostrom and
McGrath have every bit as much class,
just a little more flash. Listen, don't just
look.
Michael Shewell
Dublin, CA
Dear Embarrassed: McGrath was the Cycle
ews Rider of the Year in 1996... Editor
A real drag
Here's my take on Matt Hines and drag
racing: The bottom line is, any drag
racer (car or motorcycle) does not po sess the same kind of talent as other racers. The reason is tha t drag racing
requires the rider to do one thing well:
time the lights. After that, you could
have a monkey hang on to the thing.
There is no requirem n t for end urance,
judgment, or the raw talent that top
road racers, dirt trackers, trials riders or
motocrossers possess.
One way to look at it is to do a rider
swap. Can you honestly imagine Matt
Hines or Angelle Seeling racing Mick
Doohan's 500 with any success, or ripping up Supercross whoops like Jeremy
McGrath? But give Mick or Jeremy an
opportunity on a competitive drag bike
and I bet they'd be competitive within a
few weeks.
I'm not denying that Matt Hines and
INSIDE: ISSUE #1 JANUARY 13. 1999
DEPARTMENTS
FEATURES
SHOOTOUT
1999125cc MX modeis
EVENTS
.32
CALENDAR
43
6
SUPERCROSS FEATURE SECTION
AMA Supercross Series preview
14
WANT ADS ................................•................ .50
Jeremy McGrath interview
18
DNF
67
Time Remembered ;0th
Johnny OMara
20
LOOKING BACK
67
Chaparral Pro U.S. AMA 125/250cc
Shootout
26
INTERVIEW
Anthony Gobert
.28
HARE SCRAMBLES
Dirt Diggers Winter Hare
30
Tecate Hare Scrambles
31
Good to be there
I'm tired of reading about what a disaster the ISDE and Motocross des Nations
were for the United States teams. I'm a
longtime racer and race fan and I want
to thank all of the American riders and
supporters who take part in these events
each year. Of course, everyone wants to
win, but it means just as much to me
ju,st to have American riders take part
and represent our country. This includes
the Trial des Nations.
Fritz Martin
Medford, OR
Fan .of Sir Alan
Never Jeremy?
I always love the stack of interviews in
Cycle News at the end of the season
(Issue #SO, January 6). It's neat to see
tho e seemingly inconspicuous
moments in a rider's life that make the
difference as they start to add up over
the years, bringing them to the cover of
Cycle News as opposed to working at an
office down the street.
After ha ving read the issue cover to
cover, I must ask: In Paul Carruthers'
"Teardown" column, he talked about the
selection of riders for Rider of the Year
and, although I'm glad Doug Henry won
this year, he mentioned that they're
banking on voting for Ricky Carmichael
in the future - so why hasn't Jeremy
McGrath ever gotten it? What if he never
wins another title? To never have elected
him would be embarrassing. Then again,
if he did get it, and I just don't remember, then I'm embarrassed.
And one more thing: Yeah, Doug
Henry is a great guy and all, but just
because his nipple isn't pierced (that I
P1:0 Stock drag racing brings great exposure to motorcycling, because it does.
Just don't try to say that Matt Hines or
any other drag racer is as good a rider as
the champions in other disciplines of
our sport. It's just not so.
Jay Ingersol
Tacoma, WA
ON THE FRONT COVER
Defending champ Jeremy McGrath, on
his No Fear/Mazda/Chaparral Yamaha
YZ250, will be the man to beat when
this year's AMA Supercross Series gets·
under way in Anaheim, California, on
January 4. See page 14 for a preview of
the series and page 18 for a McGrath
interview. Photo by Kinney Jones.
I don't write to publications very often,
but when I read the letter from Bruce
Finlayson concerning the quality of your
publication, I had to re~ond. I don't
think it's appropriate for Mr. Finlayson
to speak for all of us. His opinion is his
own and he should write as such. He
used words like "we" and "u.s" to refer
to "his" opinions. 1 am in agreement
with Bruce's assessment of Randy
Mamola's talents, both for riding the
devil out of a motorcycle and for telling
a good story. I would love to see more
articles written by riders themselves.
They do, after all, know what they are
talking abou t.
The other issue I have with Mr. Finlayson is his opinion of Alan Cathcart's
articles. 1, for one, enjoy his pieces
immensely. They give me the chance to
ride one of those grea t machines
through his eyes. I will never get a
chance to circle the exci ting tracks of
Europe, but with Alan's help I can imagine myself behind the windscreen of the
world's' fastest two-wheeled wonders,
entering and exiting some of the world's
most exhilara ting pieces of asphalt.
Being a techie as well, I read Alan's
comments about engine and chassis
design with enthusiasm. I think those
articles are one of the things 1 enjoy
most about Cycle News. 1 only wish you
had room to run a technical evaluation
article every week.
I will close by saying that these are
my opinions and no others'. Keep up
