Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Above) G'day. mate. Damon Buckmaster (right) is hoping to add his name to the list of Australians who have had success on American soil, inclUding Mat Mladin (left) and Chaparral Suzuki crew ctlief and former racer Kel Carruthers (center). attended the series' final race at Las Vegas in the company of his longtime mate and former racing rival Mat Mladin. Mladin felt strongly enough about his talent to recommend him to the brass at Suzuki; who made the deal with Buckmaster at the Vegas race. At the time of the Vegas race, Buckmaster was still talking to German Harold Eckl about racing a Kawasaki in the World Supersport Championship. "All 1 really wanted from them was a commitment in writing, but I wasn't getting it," Buckmaster said. "1 wasn't happy with that. Suzuki already gave me a contract for here. 1 went with what I could see in black and white, basically. It made me feel a little bit more secure· about what I was doing. "1 was calling over here a lot - as early as January, I was phoning America," Buckmaster added. "But getting to Europe wasn't a big concern of mine. I wasn't prepared to go to Europe unless it was a 100-percent good deal. It seems you can get to Europe, and it's probably just as easy as getting to America. But they seem to drop you pretty fast. It's hard to tell with the Europeans what they're thinking sometimes. I just like to know where I stand with people." "Obviously, people know of Damon," Mladin said. "It's very hard to get your name across. I put his name to Bill Syfan at Suzuki, that you might want to have a talk with this guy because, personally, I couldn't see anyone here, who hasn't already got a good ride, worth giving a ride to. As far as I'm concerned; Damon is truly well and good enough to keep up with all of us on a 600. He's a very good rider - he just needed a break to get over here to show he could do something. I think he's going to be competitive. Time will tell, but I think he's going to be competitive." From the first time he began racing, at the age of 7, he's been near the top. The 25-year-old began in dirt track and motocross, moving to the pavement in 1991 on an RGV Suzuki 250 and a Yamaha 600. That first year, he was third in the 250cc Production class and second in the 6OOs. Concentrating on the 250 in 1992, he was second; then he moved to Kawasaki to race a 600 in 1993, taking third. Yamaha beckoned in 1994 and he took second. The guys he was racing with: Mladin, Troy Corser and Anthony Gobert. In 1995, Mladin's misfortune was Buckmaster's fortune. Mladin broke his foot in an ultralight-aircraft accident and Buckmaster got the guest ride. His results were good enough to get an offer for the 1996 season, but he'd pinned his hopes on Ferracci, so he was out in the cold. Now that he's in America, he'll be racing Mladin again, this time on similar machines. Buckmaster's presence means the Aussie invasion continues. With Gobert and Mladin on superbikes, Buckmaster's arrival means that for the first time ever there will be three Australians racing here, and they couldn't be any more different. Gobert has made hi name through spectacular riding, outrageous statements, an engaging bonhomie and a failed drug test. Mladin comes off as more serious, dedicated to the sport, highly respected by his fellow riders and outspoken about what needs to be done. Buckmaster comes to. the United States with a fresh supply of "no worries" and "good on ya's" and the rest of the colloquialisms that slip out of the vernacular with time away. He is as engaging as either, but quieter than both. In time he will make his way. Don't expect him to show up with green hair or a nose ring anytime soon. For the time being, he's settled in with Mladin while he looks for his own place. The Chaparral Suzuki team is new from the ground up, replacing the HyperCycle Suzuki team that was repeatedly cited for technical violations. As of the Laguna Seca test; not all of the crew had been hired and the engines on the GSX-R600s hadn't yet been opened. There have been two tests, at Willow Springs and Laguna Seca, both tracks Buckmaster had never seen, and he's been encouraged. Having fellow Australian Carruthers working on the bikes wasn't the deciding factor, but it was "obviously a plus." "1 generally have a pretty good feel for the bike and what it's doing underneath me," Buckmaster aid. "If I can get a mechanic that I can really work with and discuss a few things with, and he can read me a little bit, we can generally sort things out." There will be more tests, and they'll need them. Though they should be able to sleepwalk through the 750cc Supersport class, the 600s are_ going to be a struggle. If you include Chaparral Suzuki and Erion Racing, there are 14 factory 600s. At Laguna Seca, the Yamahas were best; at Daytona, it was the Hondas. The consensus is that time has passed the Suzukis by. For Buckmaster, it's not a concern. "I carne over for a short holida.y at the end of '97 with Mat (Mladin) when he was finishing up in Vegas and saw how competitive it was then," Buckmaster said. "And then again in '98, even before I signed the contract with Suzuki, I was here in Vegas and I got to see the race. I knew how tough it was." Then why do it? "[ like the challenge," he answered. '1t's good. 1 like good, close, competitive racing. I knew what I was expecting and I knew what I was jumping into. There's no use running from racing like tha t. I like it." Even on machinery that's beyond its prime? "Definitely, the Hondas and the Yamahas are going to be a good thing," he said. "And, honestly, we all knew they would be - especially Honda: When they bring out a new model, it's always going to be a good thing. You can alwayS' bank on Honda bringing out a good one, not a bad one. I think on the faster circuits, from what I tan gather so far, the Hondas and Yamahas are gOU1g to be fairly hard to beat. But 1. think on th'e circuits that are just short and not such top-speed, high-speed circuits, 1. think Suzuki is still going to be there with a real good chance. You've still got to get the bikes around the comers and stuff." Mladin has stated the same sentiments. Buckmaster was one of four winners in last year's Australian Superbike Championship. He knows there are more winners than that in the AMA's 600cc Supersport field. "I don't know who's good where, but you'd have to - ea y - say, six, seven guys who are going to be capable of winnlng races in the 600 this year, and that's a hard call for me," he said, adding that he puts himself in that group. '1 just don't know how people go on different circuits. I just krrow that when push comes to hove, I think I'll be there." The 750s, he feels, should be less of a struggle. "I got to see the 750 Supersport class last year at Vegas and the competition. was there, but there wasn't any sort of major factory support or anything like that," he said. "The Chaparral Suzuki team - definitely, I think Rim (Alexander) and I stand to be the two leading riders in that field." There is a belief, possibly a myth, that Aussies are rough-and-tumble riders, raised on tight, unforgiving circuits that favor aggression. Most of the tracks are like that, but Australia is a country with two very different Grand Prix circuits: Phillip Island and Eastern creek, both of whim have their share of highspeed corners. Up until this past year, Buckmaster was the sort of rider who favored tight tracks. "I've noticed, say in the past 12 months, the way my riding's been going, I prefer more the high-speed circuits and high-speed corners," he explained. "If you had asked me that question 12 months ago, I'd say, yeah, the short stuff, first- and second- and third-gear comers. I've really noticed in the last 12 'months (that) my riding's manged, and I generally kind of liked the faster stuff." Whether he knows it or not, it's an important distinction. When asked what their favorite tracks are, most riders the good ones, anyhow - JNill mention somewhere fast: Assen, Phillip Island - a few even mention Elkhart Lake. The iron is that the fast tracks will be the demons this year. About the nickname... "I don't really like backing it into turns and stuff like that," Buckmaster said. "I think it's just a waste of time. I noticed there's a few guys over here that do it a lot, but I think you're just losing control of the bike and you just ruin the balance point when you're doing that stuff. It's good for a show, but it's not fast." CIII y 19

• Cover