Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128144
A Chat With Schwantz Nicky Hayden. I think Nicky can do just about anything. he wants to do. If he gets his mind set to go Grand Pr,X racing, and if Honda makes him an offer and gives him a couple of years to go leam how to do it, to leam the tracks and leam the bikes - he seems to be able to adjust to situations, then I think he could make a go at it. r'\How do you think you would fare against the latest crop \oLaf GP racers? You know that's really hard to answer. I mean, there are people that say racing is not the same now. But, you look at the times there doing at Suzuka [Japan] - doing 2:04s [second lap times). Yeah, it's been repaved in certain areas, yeah tires have gotten better, yeah bikes have gotten faster. But, man, I remember going around there in the nines and thinking 'th.ere:.s no wjJY anyone will ever go this fast.' I think that in my prime I could have raced with any of them out there. I would have liked to have had the opportunity to have raced against a Valentino Rossi. I'm not taking anything away from any of the people that I did race against. I think they were all great racers, I think that Wayne Rainey is still the all-time best. But when you back up and look at the classes that Valentino has won and how quick he's leamed to do each and everyone of them, I think that's still the biggest thing. So who knows? I guess that's a question that we will never know the answer to. Did the golden era of Grand Prix racing pass after you, Q Rainey, Lawson and Doohan retired? Well, you know, being a part of that I'd like to think that yes it did. But there were some Grand Prix races last year where there were six to eight riders at the front, going well through half distance until they started separating. That's the kind of stuff you used to see when we raced. It's not that much different, the names are different, the faces are different, they're riding just as hard and going just as fast, doing just as much silly stuff or stupid stuff or whatever you want to call it. When you back up and look at it, I still have a lap record from Assen in 1991, and that track hasn't changed at all, the bikes have changed, the tires have changed, everything else has changed. I think that the person that hates seeing my name on that lap record the most is Wayne Rainey, because the lap that I did that was the last lap of a Grand Prix - and he had just flat-out ridden away from me on that lap. I mean he put, easy, a half second, maybe even a second on me and then just messed up the chicane in the very last comer. He would have done a high two-minute [lap], I did a 2:02.4, he would have been a half a second quicker for sure. I had dinner with him a couple of nights ago - and that's one of the things that still bugs him. r"\ How has your riding school been going? Are you having \:)(.fun with it, and do you have any plans to expand to other tracks? We're not sure, we'll see how the second year goes. Of course, I'm having fun doing it, and if I weren't having fun doing it I wouldn't continue to do it. When I made the commitment to do it, I thought, 'Oh, man, what have I got myself into?' But the look on people's faces after they come and ride and they learn at the end of the day, the pats on the back that I get, [they say] "The fact that you were a racer, the fact that you taught me, and that I've learned at your school with the people that you've put together. It's great." The people at Road Atlanta do a great job organizing it. All of my instructors are really good, easy to talk to, laid-back guys. They're not know-it-alls that come in and point fingers . it's not like a boot camp. It's a racetrack, we're riding motorcycles, and we're supposed to be having fun, and I think that's a good environment to leam in. r"\ What were the most memorable events in your racing ~areer, good and bad? A A good one would be winning my first Grand Prix. The ntirst one in Japan [1988] - two weeks after I had won the Daytona 200. It was like, "Well, what else do I need to do now?" Backing up a 200 win with a Grand Prix win at Suzuka, in Japan, in front of everybody. It was like, "You know guys, there's not much left for me to do." But I did have a lot left to do. The worst memory I have is Wayne (Rainey] getting hurt. r"\How did the AMA Board of Directors position come \::)(.about? Are you looking forward to it? I was talking with my friend John Ulrich [editor of Roadracing World magazine, and owner of Team Valvohne EMGO Suzuki], and John said he was thinking about running, and that he would like me and maybe one other person to run. I thought, "You know, everyone really condemns everything the AMA does, and I've probably been one of those that's been just a touch critical of them in the past. But at the same time, we don't know what the choices are, we don't know what happens, what the meetings are, we don't know what the options were." I just felt like there isn't a whole lot of meetings a year, and it's not a whole bunch of time, the least I can do is go in and give my 10 cents worth for two years, and see if I can make a difference. And then, at least then I will know. I'll know if I can continue to say good things or bad things. Once I thought about it, I was like, "You know, it's a good opportunity for me to try and give something back." I try to give something back to the sport working with Suzuki and their race team, and doing promotions and things with them. Even more so trying to get in behind the scenes, and see how things work. Maybe it's as simple as [having] a fairly current racing mind seeing things differently than all the manufacturers and everyone else. So who knows? I don't know that there is anyone particular thing that I think I'm going to do, or that I think that I'm going to be able to fix or that I think I'm going to be able to assist with. I'm just going to go in and see if I can make a difference, and if I can't I'll gladly tum around and walk away. A I think it could be anyone's game. I think that everyone thinks that Honda is going to be dominant, because they have so much experience with four-strokes in all the types of car racing and everything else that they do. Yamaha has been working on their project for a long time, they've probably been testing the longest, and Suzuki has tested the least, but the rumor I've heard, everyone is really happy with the Suzuki and what they've seen of it so far. QDo you miss racing as a profession? A I n between practice sessions for the Super TT event, I had the opportunity to sit down with Kevin Schwantz and ask him a few questions, to find out what he's been up to and see why he was out riding in the Super TT, and also to find out about his recent nomination to the AMA board of directors. QSo what have you been doing with yourself recently? Well, I've been in California the past couple of weeks, one to do this Super IT race, and Suzuki was supposed to be testing at Laguna (Seca Raceway] and decided at the last minute that we weren't. So I've just been out here doing some riding, riding dirt bikes, bicycle riding. Besides that, I've been trying to get things set up for the school with Suzu· ki here on the west coast. Getting ready to assume my posi· tion as a director on the AMA board. r"\ What about Supermotard caught your attention enough \0(.10 participate? I did one last year in Houston that was in conjunction with the Grand National Dirt Track race, and I really had a good time. Don [Canetl called me and told me that they were going to do a couple out here in conjunction with the supercross races {actually in between the three rounds], and I said, "Sure, Suzuki is going to be testing and I've got a reason to be out there," so I said, "sure I'll come by and do them. I'd love to do them." I called up Yoshimura, and the people at Suzuki and they agreed to let me use one of their test bikes to do this with, and here I am having fun. AHow many times have participated in Supermotard \:::)(.even ts ? I did the Houston one, I did the one two weeks ago, and now this one. I actually did the very last Superbikers [the made-for-TV ABC Sports races] they had in 1985 [Kevin finished 10thJ. r"\ What is your opinion on the new era of Grand Prix \olmotorcycle racing that will commence this season with the four-strokes? I think the four-strokes are going to be different. .1 think the guys are going to have to leam to nde something dIfferent than the 500cc two-strokes. I think everyone out there is capable of learning to ride them. It's going to take tire companies a while to catch up, and suspension companies. It's going to take the manufacturers a while to get the package exactly like they need it for certain riders. I think that it's going to mix everything back up again, where last year we had a domination by Valentino Rossi - it could very easily happen again on a four-stroke. Valentino could be just as dominate, but maybe they'll have some mechanicals [problems], maybe Yamaha and Max (Biaggi] will really hit it with the Yamaha Ml, and who knows, maybe the Suzuki V-Four is going to be a great package, even getting the late start they did. You know, with the outside-the-industry people that are interested in it now, I think it's good for the sport. I think it's definitely going to be a different sound, and maybe a different look - but I think it's going to be just as competitive and just as great a sport. r'\ Will you have an opportunity ride the new Suzuki XREO \Xrace bike? I've put in an e-mail to the factory and to the Grand Prix team and told them I'd like to test it when they go to a test on their own in Europe. The next test that they all have planned. I'm busy in February when they're testing in Australia, and then they're doing the IRTA test, and I'm not a licensed rider, so I need to go and do just a private test. I don't want to go mix it up with the boys. So I hope I do. I'd like to ride one. I'd like to see what this thing in the development stage is like. r"\Do you think the four-strokes will give the class new \::)(strength, or take momentum away from the series after the past couple seasons have been so competitive? A You know, I enjoy coming out and playing. I don't put as nmuch pressure on myself. That's the part of it that I don't miss, the living right on the edge every weekend and trying A A A A A A A to motivate yourself, and having so many people around you that support you that want you to do the best, and that you want to do the best for. I don't miss that pressure. I miss the people, all the friends, the camaraderie that there is in Grand Prix racing. I miss that a little bit, but I can just as easy go to a Grand Prix and get a couple weekends of it. That's all I need. I can come back home and live my normal life. Q '>I:'hat are your future plans? A The school at Road Atlanta is a big part of it right now. l"'\Jt's something that Suzuki is really interested in. I've been elected to the AMA board of directors, that's going to be four meetings a year. It's going to take a bit of time, we'll see how that goes. Besides that, just take life as it goes, and make sure I continue to have fun. r"\Are you finished with the stock car racing, or is that \::)(something you would like to do more of? There are people that come up to me all the time and say, 'Hey, I want you to drive my car, how much sponsorship money have you goO' If they want me to drive a car, I'll drive a car, but I'm not going to pay anyone to get in one. If something comes up and I can squeeze into a NASCAR race, whether it's a road-course race or an oval that I like, I'd still get in one. I think I can still drive one. I guess that would depend on if NASCAR would give me a license again. I'm going to do everything I can to continue doing it. I'm going to try and not do anyone thing, and let it dominate my life like Grand Prix racing did. I enjoyed every minute of it - I'd do it exactly the same way again if I had the opportunity - but it's something that really takes 100 percent of your time, and effort. r"\ Who do you think has most talent right now in motorcy~Ieracing? I don't think there's any doubt that it's Valentino Rossi. To win the championships he's won in six seasons - it's just phenomenal - it took me seven or eight years, or however long from '88 to '93 to leam how to win one 500 Championship, much less win a 125, learn a year on 250s, win a 250 [championship]. leam a year on 500s, win a 500 [championship]. Had he not dug the hole he dug for himself at the beginning of 2000, in the first three Grands Prix, he could have easily won the 500cc Championship that year. Kenny Jr. [Roberts] was able to beat him when he needed to beat him, and he won. I don't think there is any doubt that Valentino is the most talented person in the big picture. I think we have a bunch of guys here in America that are talents, and if they get the chance to go abroad I think they' II do great. One of them is here riding today [at the Super IT], and that's A A c U A For more information on Kevin's riding school at Road Atlanta go to: www.schwantzschool.com c • e n e _ s MARCH 6, 2002 27