Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

• otocro ss can be a cruel spo rt. So m an y grea t r ide rs ha v e b e e n dumped on the scrapheap , th eir cham pionship glory a thing of the past. For Stefan Eve rts, the past two seasons have bee n hu ge d isappoint ment s, du e to injuries and then the sudden loss of the 250cc World Cham pionship after a ba ttl e ro ya l with Seba sti en To rte lli. The sa me goes for th ree-tim e 500cc World Champion Joel Smets. His 1999 as sau lt on the 500cc World title has dimin ished ra the r q ui ck ly as th e H u s aberg kin g figh ts wit h an un d erpower ed machine. Eve rt s a nd Sm e ts have both spen t many years winning cham pions hips and can res t assu red tha t their se tbacks are on ly temporary . For a not he r form er World Mot ocross Cha mp ion, the s takes are mu ch high er and the road to possible success is very much a twisted one. Greg Albertyn, 26, last wo n a major cham pionshi p back in 1994. Albertyn was at the height of his career w hen he won th e World 250cc Mot ocross Cha mpio ns hip for the seco nd consecuti ve time. The tim es have been few a nd far between tha t th e man many consider to be th e fastest motocros s rider in the world has tasted the swee tness of victory. Ba ck in 1995, w h e n th e fri endl y South African mad e the move to Ame rica, it looked like a brilliant piece of management. Coming off the wi n in the 1994 World 250cc Motocross Championships, Alb er tyn eve n mad e th e g re at Ste fa n Everts look slow . Everts, who in 1991 was in hi s prime a nd won th e Wo rld 125cc Mot ocross crown, lost a seasonlong battle to Alber ty n in on e of th e greatest World 250cc battl es ever. While Everts has gone on to win three consecut ive 250cc cr owns, Alberty n 's move to America has given him too ma ny injuries and too much disappointm ent. "I came to America wan tin g to win the Supercross cham pionship in my first yea r," ad mitted Albe rty n . " It was no t really smart to try and d o that. Th ese gu ys hav e been ra cin g Su percross a ll their lives, and to try and beat them was maybe not possible." The Sout h African crashed as ea rly as th e first race of the 1995 se a son , and from then on it was an uphill battle to be competitive . Albertyn ha s o ften found himse lf in th e positi on o f th e la p p ed rider or a middle-of-the-pack gu y at best in Supercross . He is no t the Albertyn tha t we knew in Europe. M BYGEOFF MEYER "I d ecid ed to take it easy in Su percross in 1999," Albertyn said with relu ctan ce. " If I wan t to wi n th e ou tdoo r series in Ame rica, I need to come int o the se ri es fresh. This w ill be th e first time in a while I have not bee n inju red from the Su percross racing, so I'm going for the championship for su re." His first year in America di d, however, net Alber tyn some res ults, and while he did not rid e with the sam e power as in the 1994 Wo rld Cham pionshi ps , he d id sco re three third pl aci ngs in the Na tiona l Mot ocross se ries, a nd a top five in the Su percross series. . "Afte r racin g in Europe and being used to winning every week and ru nni ng at the fron t of the pack, it wa s tou gh," Albe rty n sa id. " I had too ma ny sma ll injuries, and it showed in my results." The following year there wa s a slight improvem ent , including Albertyn 's first win in America. 11,e blond South African won the Unad illa round of the outdoor series; however, he failed miserably in the Supercross series, his best results being a seventh place in Denver, Colorad o. Ano ther yea r, and this time, to eve ry one 's su rp rise, Alberty n won the 1997 . sea son-ope ning Su perc ross a t th e Los An geles round of the series. Later in the yea r, a wi n in th e o u tdoo r se ries in Sacram ento and runner-up p lacin gs in five supe rcross and motocro ss races saw Alber tyn tak en a litt le more serious ly by his American rivals. Still, the fire of his European racing was not seen - not yet, an yway. In 1998, Albertyn underst ood the big picture, put tin g a Super cro ss cro w n in the ba ck sea t and setting his sigh ts on win ning the ou tdoor series once and for all. He had wins in five of the 12 rou nds, which resu lted in a second pla ce in the champion ship to YZ400-mounted Dou g Hen ry. Albertyn came up short only on horsepower - a bittersweet series ind eed . "I wa nted so much to win in '98," said Albertyn . "I missed out, and that' s given me enough confidence to really go for it this year. I know I can race with anyo ne on a motocross track . It's just a matter of putting it all toget her and goi ng for it. I'm no t a loser. I will s tay in Am er ica until I am crowned, be sure about that." Th e runner-up number p lat e in last yea r's ou tdoor series proved that th e three-time World Cha mpion is ca pable of winning the series. Opening up th e seaso n at Glen Helen with an averag e result , the Sou th African then turned the tide on i,is season with a 2-12 result 'It rou nd tw o in Sacra men to. Scoring a secon d p lace af ter a po or start in the first m ota a nd then s ufferi ng from a firs tturn cras h in the second, Alber tyn stated af te r th e race that h e w a nt ed to kic k so me ass . It appeared as thou gh Alberty n was read y to ride wit h the fire of his European d ays. " I a lways go good a t thi s p la ce (Sacra me n to)," said Alberty n a fte r th e race. " Last yea r I split mo ta wi ns with McG rath here, and in 1997 I won th e overall. I felt goo d agai n this yea r." A week lat e r, Al be r tyn ca me to Moun t Morr is and won. Albe rty n a lso gave his riva ls a nd fan s so me th ing to think abo u t. "Many people ha ve forgo tte n abo u t me," Albertyn said. "I am working harder than ever befor e. I sho u ld have wo n the first two rou nds of this series, just for bad starts. It's all coming toge ther." That day in Mount Morr is Alb ertyn wen t 1-1. . T h e wi n p leased m o re · th an ju s t Albertyn. Team Suzuki manager Roger DeC o s t e r , a ls o a multi pl e World Motocross Cha mp ion, is su re tha t A lber tyn need ed to ge t some win s under his belt in 1999. "He is a very commit te d rid er, bu t we pay guys on results, " DeCoster sa id. "We need a winner . Greg has d one very w ell in th e p ast ; th is yea r, th ou gh , he need s to get som e b etter resul ts. H e ne ed s to win - m a yb e h e w o n ' t b e aro und next year." Co nseq uently, Alb ertyn' s wi n was th e first time since 1981 th a t -a Suzuki rider popped the cork at a Mount Morris rou nd of Na tional motocross. With out a cham p ion shi p in his first five years in Ame rica, Albertyn is on the tightro pe as far as a nother contract goes. Wh ile DeCos ter wo u ld not co nfi rm if Albe rty n was getti ng anothe r yea r on th e Su zu ki tea m , his comment s s ho w th a t m ore w ei ght w ill be p la ced o n Albe rt yn' s resu lts in 1999 th an on his two World Championships . Albertyn, a fighter of the high est order, is not abo ut to lay down just yet. thou gh . "I wo n in Mount Morris, a nd that' s don e: ' said Albertyn. "I' m going for the cha m pio nsh ip. I wan t to be setting the pace this year, not follow ing it." Since his round-three win, Albertyn has stru ggled, and up until rou nd five at Budd s Cree k, he w as th ird in champ ionship po in ts. '!I won Budd s Creek in 1993 a t th e U.S. GP for 250s, so I went there with a lot of confidence," Albe rty n said . "Then it sta rted raining and it was a lottery." At press time, the likable SOu th African is still mathematicall y in contention for the title. On ly time will tell if the threetime World Motocross Cham pion still has the will to win ano ther major title. Albertyn will return to Budds Creek to contest the final round of the World 250cc Motocross cha mp io ns h ip, bu t d on 't expect Albe rtyn back in Europe for an outdoo r batt le just yet. If put on Suzu ki's scra phea p, Albertyn is sure of one thing: He ain't going back to where it all began . "l f I was go ing to lose this cham pionship, I wo uld not retu rn .to Europe," cla imed Albertyn . "And I'm not go ing to lose this yea r anywa y. My mind is set like never before . I'm not qu ittin g here. I mad e u p my m ind to win in, Ame rica, and it's not over yet." Albertyn has also taken a page ou t of fe ll ow Wo rld Cha mpio n Se bas t ie n Tortelli's book. " Tortelli was much wiser than I was. He came here a nd took n ot too m uch notice of his Supercross form," said Albertvn. "He saved himself for the motocross series. I had also decided to just go for the motocross ' champions hip this year, take some poin ts in the Supe rcross bu t try not , to race with the Americans in Supe rcross. It's tou gh not going for the win every time out, but I have to think smart." With To rtelli now on the scene and winn in g the open in g round o f thi s year's ou tdoor series , d oes Albertyn feel like he is being compared to his newest Eu ro pean rival? "Many people over here are making it a big thin g," Albertyn said . "I'll be honest: I wa n t to be at him , but I wa nt to beat everyone. I've talked to Tortelli. He's really approaching this year with smarts. He's a good guy; we get on fine. 1 think with TorteIIi here, it makes for grea t racing. I'm not the only one racing the Americans ." Albertyn, however, is not just racing To rtelli an d the Ame rica ns, he's racing the clock. A t this weekend's Na tional M otocross in Buchanan , M ichigan, Greg A lbertyn went 3 -1 to cla im second ov erall . Cu rrent lu, Alberty n sits second in points as well, with a two-point d isa dva n tage to Se bas t ie n Torte//i... Editor CN Looking Back 30 YE SAGO.•. AR JULY 22,1969 irs t -y e a r Ex p e r t Mark Brelsford . (H- D) jumped the beastly Goli ath across our cover as the winner o f th e 50- la p Asco t Na tion a l IT in Ga rde• na, Californ ia. Triumph ri de rs Larry W ilburn a nd Gen e Rom ero fin, lsh ed second and th ird , res p ec ti vel y , w i th '66 race w inn er Ed die Mulder winning the hearts of th e fa n s a ft e r finishi ng six th on a flat rea r tir e... Our feature a ll' "H ow to choose a cam era and take moto rcycle pic tures" offered several tip s for the amateur photographer... Our "Meet the cha mp" section focused on retired three-time Daytona 200 wi nner Brad Andres ... Rick Wood s (Jaw) took over the series points lead at Costa Mesa Speedway. F 20YEARSAGO... JULY 18, 1979 10 YEAR SAGO... JULY 19, 1989 "The La test Poop" carried wo rd that GP ro ad ra cer Kenn y Roberts had been suspend ed by the F1M for his pa rt in a partia l rid er b oyc ott of th e Belgian Gr and Pri x. Rob erts an d oth er s, includ in g se ries p o ints lead e r Virg in io Ferrari, refused to ride the newly pa ved Belgian circui t beca use oil w eeping fro m the track had mad e it slip pe ry. After politica l w r an g ling b et w e en th e AMA and FIM, the sus pension was lifted , and Robert s was ordered to pay a fine of $2950... Bob Hannah (Yam) clinched his second 250cc N ational MX titl e at Mou nt Morris, Pennsylvania . Ken t Howerton (Su z) took the overall win ... Brad Hurst rod e his Triumph to victo ry a t the Castl e Rock IT National in Washi ngt on. Ricky John son (Ha n) ma y have w o n the U na d illa 250cc U .S. Gran d Pr ix motoc ross in New Yo rk, b u t he was forced to share the s p o t li g h t w ith mot ocross' grand old mas ter Bo b Hanna h (Suz), who was ridi ng h is la st ra ce b e fo re ret ir in g. Proving th a t "The Hurricane" cou ld sti ll storm, Hann ah we nt 9-12 for nin th overall... Confusio n reign ed supreme a t the Belgian 500cc Grand Prix road race, as se vera l rest arts and two se ts of results forced the race res ults to be d eclared un official pending ajudication of the prot ests. However it wen t, America figured to be cov ered , as it se eme d likely that either Wayne Rainey (Yam), Eddie Lawson (Han) or Kev in Schwantz (Suz) would be d eclar ed as the winner. CN 75

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