Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

30 YEARS AGO•.• OCTOBER 3, 1972 Three brave testers jumped the 400cc MXers across the cover of Issue #36. In the shootout, including the Husqvarna 450 CR, CZ400 and Maico 400, we rated the Husqvama the best all-around off· road/motocross machine. Interesting note: The combined retail price of all three bikes was $4215... Gary Scott won both of Ascot's season-ending half miles... The Canadian Trans-AMA MX opener was thoroughly dominated by Suzuki's Roger DeCoster. He won both motos, while second overall went to Ake Johnsson (MaJ) and Helkkl Mikkola (Hus) was third. The top American was Brad Lackey (Kaw), who fmished fourth overall via 4-4 finishes. The 500 and 250cc Support classes were won by Peter Lamppu (Kaw) and Mike Hartwig (Hus), respectively ... We interviewed 1966 Grand National Champion Chief Mechanic Dick Bender. Having worked on almost every engine then competing in the Grand National Championship, he said his favorite was the Triumph triple, which only needed to be rebuilt about every three races. 20 YEARS AGO.•• SEI'TEMBER 29, 1982 Newly crowned World Trials Champion Eddy Lejeune negotiates a creekbed for the cover of Issue #36. The title was his - and Honda's - first. The 20year-old Belgian won the final round as well... Jay Springsteen (H-D) won round 25 of the AMA Grand National Championship at the San Jose Mile. Ricky Graham beat Hank Scott to the line for second. Graham led Springsteen by four points, 214-210, at the race's conclusion... Terry Cunningham (Hus) won round 10 of the AMA National Championship Enduro Series in WJnterset, Iowa... Bernie Schreiber followed up his second-place finish in the World Trials Championship with a win at the Rhode Island AMA/NATC National Trial. He won by 10 marks over second place... Kyle Lewis took delivery of the very first KX60 in the United States and won the 60cc Modified Expert class at Indian Dunes Raceway in Valencia, California. He had to ride the stock bike in the Modified class because it was not yet available to the public. 10 YEARS AGO••• SEI'TEMBER 30, 1992 In honor of winning the Willow Springs 24 Hours West, Randy Renfrow was placed on the cover of Issue '38. Renfrow's Team Motorcyclist Magazine, with members Nick Ienatsch, Lance Holst, Andy Milton, Kent Kuntisugu and Robbie Peterson, completed 866 laps. for a total of 2165 miles at an average speed of 90.2 mph to take the win... Czech rider Jan Hrehor won the Millfield, Ohio, AMA Hare Scrambles, ahead of Scott Plessinger and Duane Conner... Doug Polen won the flTst race at the Assen round of the World Superbike Championship, but he broke a rocker arm in the second leg and did not finish, which let Raymond Roche close up in the championship chase. Giancarlo Falappa won the second leg after finishin!;! eighth In the first... Damon Huffman (Suz) won both 125cc Pro motos at the second round of the CMC Trans-Cal MX Series at Sunrise in Adelanto, California. Kyle Lewis (Yam) won the 250cc Pro class, while Travis Preston (Hon) won the 80cc Expert event. recentl y eavesdropped on a conversation between two middle-aged motoheads while standing in a sign-up line at a local motocross. The dialogue was sadly significant in that it echoed a sentiment that has been in the air and on the Internet since the day the announcement was made that the Motocross des Nations was returning to the U.S., September 28-29, at Competition Park in San Jacinto, California. The conversation went something like this: "Hey, are you going to the Des Nations race?" "I haven't decided yet because of all the changes." "Changes, what changes?" "Oh, man, you didn't hear? They're only going to have one moto, and the teams don't even have to ride differentsize bikes anymore!" "What's up with that?" "If thih ain't bad enough, they're going to run the race at a track that has about as much history as it does elevation change - which is none!" "Christ, is nothing sacred? The Motocross des Nations is a time-tested institution. It was like the last bastion for motocross, and now it's being mettied with!?" "Yeah, you don't see the NFL changing to a 50-yard-long field just to try and make football more interesting, do ya?· Harsh words or accurate appraisal? Sometimes questions about the future have their answers buried in the past. A look back at the 55-year history of the des Nations is enlightening, even thought-provoking. A look in the rearview mirror may provide the muchneeded perspective on just how "traditional" the Motocross des Nations really has been. 1947 With the strife of World War II still fresh in the hearts and minds of the European population, the return to sport and recreation became not only a pastime, but a reclaiming of people's lives. Motocross racing, which had for all intents and purposes gone dormant with the onset of the war, began to reemerge with more interest than ever. This popularity soon caught the attention of the governing body that controlled motorcycle racing in Europe the FIM - which decided to offer an event that mated national pride with the excitement of this new motorsport. That decision gave birth to what we have come to know as the Motocross des Nations. The event was designed to showcase the collective motocross talents of individual countries as they competed head to head with the other rival national teams - a much more civilized battle than the one they had just endured, to be sure. The first MXdN took place in 1947 in Duinrell, Holland, with each of the three participating countries selecting its top four riders without regard to motorcycle brand affiliation. All riders in the Motocross des Nations were mounted on 500cc machines, which at the time were regarded as the only seri- I ous motocross bikes. The race itself was consistent with the rest of motocross during this era, with qualifying races and a winner-take-all, onemoto format. That year, and for 15 of the first 20 years of the Motocross des Nations, it was Great Britain taking the victories. To date, it is still the country with the most MXdN victories at 16 (the U.S. has 15). 1948 A change in the rules allowed teams of up to 12 riders each, with only the fastest four men being included in the final moto of competition. The event doubled in size from the original three countries to six competing nations. CIRCA 1955 Motocross had previously consisted of various qualifying races that led to one point-paying final, much the way supercross operates today. That format was abandoned in 1955 for a twomoto, combined-score format that rewarded consistency and reliability. Reliability was the one machine characteristic that the manufacturers desperately wanted to showcase to their would-be customers, and with the new format, they got that opportunity. 1961 In the late '50s and into 1960, the FIM recognized the 250cc machines and their continued development as competent motocross bikes. In 1961, they granted the quarter-liter machines their own "Race of Nations" with the Trophee des Nations. The format was the same, with four riders representing one country, but that is where the similarities ended. The 250cc class may have been initially won by the English team during the inaugural event, but before long the Husqvarna and CZ teams would dorninate. In fact, the Belgian team (primarily CZ-mounted early on, later moving to Suzuki) owned the Trophee des Nations events, winning 11 overalls between '61 and '81. Roger DeCoster was the anchorman of the team, competing in everyone of the victorious efforts. 1981 If you think the 250cc machines had a long wait in the wings before getting a race specifically designed for their displacement, consider the plight of the 125s. The "tiddlers," as they were called, did not have a des Nations event of their own until the Coupe des Nation debuted in 1981, albeit only for a short, four-year run. During that time, Italy won twice (or, as the Italians like to say, 50 percent of the events). 1985 Talk about change. This was a year of change. Everything that took nearly 40 years to put together got put in one big cauldron, stirred up like some motocross stew. What came out was FIM's "new and improved" version of the Motocross des Nations. Gone were the Trophee and Coupe des Nations. Gone were the three separate events, and gone were the four-rider teams. "Is nothing sacred?" argued many die-hard fans, disillusioned with the radical and unnecessary detour in tradition. How cue I _ n _ could this possibly be good for the sport? Where's the sense of history? The new formula sawall three events consolidated into one format with the three displacements (125, 250 and 500cc) all being compulsory for each three-man team. Their combined performances would still determine the overall finishing position. The criticisms were as varied as they were plentiful, with most centering around the perceived (and anticipated) confusion of having multiple displacements on the track at the same time. Some held that the average fan would never be able to keep up with the difficulty in tracking the various country scores, while others simply felt robbed of two annual events and all the beertent action that went with them. Ironically, with time, this muchmaligned formula was considered by most of the same die-hard fans to be the best Motocross des Nations format. 1997 With the death of the 500cc class in the U.S., the handwriting was on the wall. The big-bore machines were slowly becoming an endangered species among new-model lineups, and the high cost of building one-offs led to various manufacturers lobbying the FIM to remove the 500cc requirement and instead make the team's third machine an Open choice, or displacement optional. The requests were eventually granted. 2002 This year, we have a new (actually old) one-moto format, with displacement optional for all three riders - and the event is now officially Motocross ·of" Nations (the "des" is out). While the alterations are Significant, they are hardly as earth-shaking as those back in '85. So are you still on the fence about going? Here are six questions to ask yourself about attending the Motocross of Nations: 1. Will this new format kill the spirit or importance of the MXoN?; 2. Will the new format last forever?; 3. Will staying home help inspire our team or improve our sport?; 4. Does it piss you off when a rider is selected to represent our country. then opts not to?; 5. Do you feel the same way about fan support?; 5. September 11 kept the U.S. from attending in '01. Shouldn't we come back strong?; 6. Do you want to be there when RC reduces Pichon's helmet size tenfold? Bonus question: Do you have an American flag on your car, bike or toolbox? If you answered, "No" - to the first three questions and "Yes" to the last three or four, you need a ticket in a hurry. If you answered "Yes" to the first three, it doesn't really matter how you answered the rest. You should take the flag off your bumper and stay home to watch the Anna Nicole marathon. Lastly, does Competition Park have a rich motocross history? Not today, but after September 29 it surely will. You can either be a part of it or apart from it - the choice is yours. I think you know where I'U be. eN _ s • SEPTEMBER 25, 2002 111

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