Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

FIM 125cc World MX Champion Alessio Chiodi Interview p -pN~~ tim sachamp r--.t..~ ~s~ C hiod i is a le~s· io~ '" '" '" ,..:~ N ~ G> .c o U o 20 , ree-rime World Motocross Cham ion, / Who w Id h ever thought we would be saying th at four years ago, after Ch ioM got a th orough t hin g in the World 250c lo~oss Seri es? But it just goes how-how U IC Iy things can change . Bef ore that di sastrou s on e-ye ar s tint in the 250cc class , Chiod i produced so me fair results in the 125cc class. In the 1993 World 125cc MX Series, Chiod i rod e his Honda to an eight h-place finish by year's end . The short-in-sta tu re bu t stro ng Italian con tinue d to put in tw o mo re years in th e 125cc class. In 1994, C h io d i stepped it up and was a serious conte nde r for the title, just missing ou t on the number-one plate to Am erican Bobby Moo re. The follow ing year, Chio d i left Honda and signed with Yama ha, filling the void left by Moore wh o mov ed to ano ther team . Once aga in, Chiod i spen t the '-95 season fig ht ing for the title, and , once aga in, came up just sho rt, losing ou t to Alessa ndro Puzar. It w as a tou gh loss for the Itali an ,w ho had, during the co u rse of the ye a r, bl ow n th e d oors off th e lik es of Ame rica n Jim m y Butt on and Frenchma n Seba s tie n Tortelli. Chiodi wa s certainly coming of age. Despite the loss, Chiodi had strengthened his confidence and knew his ow n title was just arou nd the corner . But a cha nge to the 250cc class the following yea r nearl y cost him all that confidence he had just bu ilt u p. Chiod i jus t cou ld n' t ge t it togeth er in the 250cc clas s, finishing 16th overall. His only high point that yea r was a third-place podi u m finish . Chiod i returned to the 125cc class in '97 an d finally go t his long-waited title. He followed that u p wi th tw o more titles, becoming only the thir d rid er since Har ry Everts and Gaston Rahier to w in th ree 125cc Wo rld titles in a row . "I am a part of histor y," Ch iod i said sho rtly af ter winn in g h is thi rd titl e in a row . "I a m very proud to be ab le to say that. "Those first few yea rs on the champion ship trail w ere tou gh ," he sa id . "Moving to the 250cc class was a mi st ak e a t th e t irn e , but I le arn ed every th ing in th os e vea rs a n d I wo u ld n o t cha nge any thing." Th e 1999 seaso n w as a no t he r learn ing ex per ien ce for Ch iod i. Th e firs t ro un d of th e cha mpions hi p was held in France, and st raight away Chiodi wa s o n th e defensive . American Jeff Dement rod e into Ch iodi more than once in the seco nd mo to. The two engaged in a brilliant struggle for the wi n, with "Chicco" just edging out the American for the win. Chicco also had to fight for victory in the firs t mo to, as French local Joh nny Au bert led the mo ta an d looked li kely to go away until a bro ken chain left him s tra nded on th e side of the tr ack. Chiodi, thou gh , expected to win rega rdless. "Aubert and Deme nt were fast," Chiodi sa id . "I saw from the way they we re rid ing that I could catch them and pass them. Aubert DNFed 'and that was a shame - I wanted to pass him on the track" With his confi d ence still on a hi gh , Ch iodi raced through the season with the same determination as the tw o previou s years, and it was little su rprise that after France he won eight of the 13 rou nd s. A rid er wh o d id keep Chiod i hon est, though , was fellow Italia n Motocross des Na tions teammate Claud io Fed er ici. Fed eri ci won most of the scraps Chio d i had left; a t times Fed er ici even looked capable of winn ing the cha mp ions hip, only to have ,Ch iod i come ba ck a race later and kill tha t no tion. "C la ud io was m y bigg es t p rob lem all yea r lon g," Ch iodi said. "I knew tha t coming into the yea r, he was goi ng to be tough . He als o wa n ts ve ry m uch to be a world cham pion." O ne pla ce Chiodi had bee n unbea table in previou s years was the hillsid e track of Cing oli, Ital y . Yet, in 1999, Fed eri ci s to le a mot o fro m Ch iod i. Fed er ici, however, blew it big time in the next moto, cras hing three time s and hand in g Ch iodi his seco nd overall win of the ye a r. It p rett y mu ch went his w ay un til th e com p etitio n arrive d at Fox hill in En g la n d. Chiodi wo uld DNF the second mot o of the da y wit h a br ok en clu tch , and Feders wou ld claim 1-1 results. " Fo xh ill w a s m y wo rs t d a y a ll y ea r," Chiod i sai d : "I was acting like it d id not ma tter, b ut in sid e I wa s ge tting worri e d . I h ad ' also cras hed into Mike Brown in th e fi rst mot o a nd ha d to figh t reall y ha rd to ge t m y second place in that race. I only lead Cla u d io bv f i v e - po ints. With still fi v e ro un d s re maining, 1 tri to stay confide nt, no- robChio , mugb pnly need t>i it- • points in the final round in Germany, and it was there that he says was his best GP of the year. "Of course I wo n the Champions hip in Ge rma ny, " Chiod i s a id , "b u t it was no t that , w hv I lik ed that rou nd. 1cras hed in the seco nd moto and was last, then r finished in fifth place. I was rea lly happy wit h tha t. 1 foug h t har d and it ga ve me a grea t feelin g. I d id not need to race th rou gh to fifth, 1 could have gone back to the pits." Chiodi, wh o will now move to Am erica to race, say s he is su re - thi s tim e - tha t he is makin g the co rr ect career move. "I really th in k 1 can be quicker in su percross than ou td oo rs," Chiodi sai d . "I p rac tice befor e w hen I was yo u nger . When I was in America a t the start of th e year, I wa s ver y close to ge tting on the podi um in two eve nts. In the back of my head , I thin k r can win su per- c ross ra ces ne yea r . I will also cha nge m y F' parati on in th e off-season. I will race the first a as t rounds of the World Supercross Cham pio n p in France and C er, tha t will make it . e easier for my first races in Amen·telt"'-- - Chiodi will also ge t in some extra races pri or to his first Supercross race, wh ich will be in Ca liforn ia on January 8. "I wa n t to ra ce as ma ny ra ces to p rep a re for th e u p ercr oss Cha m pionship," Ch ioc sa id . "I will d o H s e early seaso n eve nt, probabl y the Glen Helen race so 'of those Southern Californian mo tocros s cha rnpionshi s." , Chi di also has to lea rn the America n ou tdoo r tracks on ce he~ ' nishes his supercross season. "I thi k lea rning the tracks will be difficult," Ch iodi said . "Yo do n't ge t mu ch pre-race practice. The tracks a re no t r k-hard like in Europe, and they hav e many lines . In Europe you learn a line for the next mot o. In America ~hev disc the track, so the lines YO U had in the first mo a re go ne for the second." Witl\' the World 125cc MX Ch ampionsh ip over, Chiodi headed to America to ride the last two 125cc I ati onals, ~ t did not find mu ch success. "The bike was not set up, " Chiodi sa id. "I am not at , II worried by what happen in America last mon th. Carl Nunn finished something like sixth overa ll, and I know 1ca n race w ith Nunn. I just need to work on the bike for American conditions and we will wi n races." Chiod] does not compare himself to Greg Albertyn , who rod e injured for man y races in his firs t yea rs in America . "I think I can win in supercross." Chiodi said . "I will concentra te on winning the su percross races. Why no t? 1 can win . I don' t think abou t no t winning in America, I go there to wi n." T he It a lian Wo rld Cha mpio n wi ll a lso g ive the American lifestyle a chance, but he will still make man y trips hom e to Italy. "I am no t su re if we will buy a hous e in Ameri ca," Ch iodi said . "I wa nt to come hom e a lot. I will race the first few roun ds of the supercross, then we have a rest. In that rest , I will ret u rn to Italy an d the n go back to Ame rica for the ou td oor series. I can live in America if r have to, no problem . Also, at the races it is not as diffi cu lt as here. In America, you don' t spe nd as mu ch time at the track. Du e to the practice bei ng sho rt, you only eN ride an hour or so, then go shop ping ."

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