Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

t will prubably wunlil like brasp hemy to the diehard MiX fan, but th e racing is almost seco n d a r y at a n e ve n t like Bercy. What's realt» cool is the show. It's hard for tilt? American mindset to comprehend an explana tion of the Europea n fondness fo r spectacle, but if you saw th e opening ceremonies fur the last soccer World Cup (also held in France), then you can pretty m uch p icture the concep t - somewhat of a cross between lew Year's Eve, an Independence Day parade and a trip on acid . At Ber cy, th e hour-long (each night) opening ceremonies had the bulk of the riders - each accompanied by a sequin-bedecked , pom -pom-wielding cheerleader - being introduced on glittering stag es with smoke machi nes and pound ing mu sic; the heroes were brought out on a variety of outrageous choppers and drag tractors (McGrath's was pow ered by a jet engine). The show itself was nearly four hou rs lon g, and since there were just seven races over the course of each evening, a number of other sources of entertainment were utili zed . A sam ple of an tics taking place randoml y arou nd the arena floor included a dancing kan garoo; choreographed dancing troupes; a wh eelying tractor; py rotech nics; an esca ped live rooster; scream ing, sprinting, tag -teaming floor announcers; men firing T-sh irts into the stands w ith an air gun; DJs being lowered by cables from the ceiling and lifted in tractor bu ckets; and a man playing a d idgeridoo. Whereas American fans would probably find many of the she nanigans a bit corny , the French spec tators ate the production up. The Bercy SX has captured the imaginat ion o f th e public ov er the yea rs (aid ed by th e fact th at organize r Xavier Aud ouard is also a journalist at Moto Vert,- ma ga zin e), and each night is so ld out mon th s in advance (some fan s were even sea ted in the aisles this year ). Several other motorcycle-ori ented events now take place at other times throughout the year at Berry, including a Big Air Festival, an indoor trials and a Supermotard race. Not only do the sp ectators enjoy the craziness, but they regu larly join in. Fans were witnessed rev vin g cha ins aws: donning wigs, face pa int and hats topped with spi nni ng ligh ts; bla s tin g airhorns; lobbing rolls of toilet paper; ban ging together large, infl at ab le cigare ttes; crea ting makeshift flameth rowers wi th aerosol cans and lighters; waving flags (French and U.S.); shining laser pointe rs around the track; doing the wave; spinning glow-in-the-dark wands; and just plain scream ing. This was the 17th running of the event, and Sunday was its 50th nigh t. Oh , and by the way - by Audouard' s own ad missio n, this was a relatively mellow year in terms of extravagance. I ather t han tra ns"po rt their racebikes overseas • for off-season supercrosses, most American riders borrow stock bikes from sources in Europe. In order to increase performance and familiarity, mechanics brin g over a host of parts and swa p them out before the racing begins . 'This year we brought a different swingarm, motor , complete ignition, carburetor, suspension, bar s, clamps, perch," said Ke vin Strikwerda , the mechanic for Nathan Ramsey's SplitFire Kawa sak i. "We try to bring enough to rna ke it as close to a race bike as possible, so thev feel comfor table when the y get here. We d on't want to have anyth in g too off for th em to ge t u sed to. Pr ett y mu ch th e only th in g we use Nathan Ram sey from the bike th ey give us is feeling at home in Paris. the frame and subfrarne." The parts are br ought ov er in custom , padded-metal cases, wh ich makes for quite a bit of luggage. 'This year we didn't have to pay any extra," said Strikwerda. 'They just happened to let it slide. I guess it depends on who's runni ng the counter," Together with fellow Kawa saki wrenches Chad Watts and Jim Perry, Strikwerda took about four and a half hours to build up Ramsey' s and Ricky Carmichael's bikes. Like most the bikes, Ramsey's was a brandnew 2000 unit provid ed by th e French importer , along with spare wh eels, gas and chemical s. Ram sey's KX125 was dest ined to be the property of race promotor Xav ier Audouard, bu t most bikes are simply returned to the import ers after the race. Inciden tally, Aussie Mickael Byrne rod e a Honda CR250 that was bon e-stock - sus pe nsion and all. . 0> 0> 0> j E Q)

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