Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

3D YEARS AIlIJ••• DCTDBER 10, 1972 YYOD DuHamel gets some TLC on the cover of Issue *39 before reentering the fray at the Onfario AMA Road Race. In the first half, he crashed and broke his right elbow. In the second half, he ended up finishing 20th overall. Paul Smart (Kaw) won the 250·mile Championship Road Race, while KeJ, Carruthers (Yam) battled , back and forth with Kenny Roberts (Yam) to win the combined JuniorIExpert event. Jeny Greene (Kaw) won the Junior race... Round two of the Trans-AMA MX Series, In LynnYlIle, Ohio, was won by Helld MIkkola (Hus). Round-one winner Roger DeCoster (Suz) rode well but was penalized for jumping the gate, though he still finished thIrd o"erall. Second went to Hans Maisch (Mai), while the top American was Bryan Kenney (Mal). Bob Grossi (Hus) tied on points with both Peter Lamppu (Kaw) and Jim West (Hus), but won the Support class on the tie breaker. 20 YEARS ABO••• OCTOBER B, 1982 Adorning tbe cover of Issue *39 was Kawasaki's new GPz1100 road bike. It got more power, swoopy styling and Uni-Track suspension to go with its electronic fuel injection. Kawasaki's all-new model for 1983 was tbe KX500 motocrosser... For the second year in a row, Team USA won the Motocross des Nations. In addition, Danny Chandler became the first rider in the history of the Motocross and Trophee des Nations events to sweep all four motos comprisin9 the two internationals. The other American Honda riders were Jim Gibson, David Balley, and Johnny O'Mara. America won over Belgium with a score of 24 to 40... Privateer Miles Baldwin won the Caesar's Palace Grand Prix road race, held in the Caesar's Palace parking lot in Las Vegas ... Ron Lechlen (Yam), Broc Glover (Yam), and Steve Martin (Hon) won the 125, 250 and 500cc Pro classes, respectively, at the first round of the Miller High Ufe Trans-Cal MX Series, held at Saddleback MX Park. 10 YEARS ABO••• OCTOBER 7, 1992 • SuzukI's all·new 1993 RM250 was plac.ed on the cover of Issue #39 in recognition of the riding impression inside the issue. The bike was deemed worthy by all the testers, and the $3,000,000 contingency program that came with It wouldn't hurt any, elther_.. With only two races left in his career, 31-yearold Jeff Ward won his first race of the sea- . son - the 500cc National at Steel City Raceway. It was actually the fourth year in a row that Ward won the class at that par· ticular venue, so maybe it wasn't such a surprise. Mike Kiedrowski and Jeff Stan· ton rounded out the top three overall. The 125cc class saw Jeff Emlg's 1-2 moto scores land him the win, while the surpris· es of the day came from Mike Healey's 4-1 scores for second, and championship leader Mike laRocco's KX125 breaking In both motos, bringing Emlg to within one point of LaRocco with only one event remaining In the series. oring, isn't it. Valentino Rossi (yawn) wins another race, his 10th of the year, and takes his second title in succession. How dull it is when there are no surprises. When you know in advance who will win. When the championship is over with four races left. Let's all get blase, shall we, and pretend that it's all a little beneath us. Well, it's hard to avoid these feelings, really - especially with the World Superbike title chase going to the wire. With the 250cc class still something of a toss-up. And the 125s even more so. But I'm afraid we are betraying humanity if we think like that. It's time to say the other thing instead. How can it be boring to watch genius at work? To see a display close to perfection every other weekend? And to be there when history is being made? Because what we are witnessing is a giant of motorcycle racing, a natural talent so big that he dwarfs rivals who are themselves worthy of the highest respect. And who doesn't deserve the criticism and disillusion that human nature inevitably piles upon him. Is this a personal confession? Somewhat. I'm as prone to these unworthy emotions as anybody else, and I guess I feel obliged to purge myself. Rossi does rather make it all look too easy. And he seems also to have the most extraordinary luck. His last four race wins, for instance, have all come after somebody has fallen off in front of him ... Carlos Checa in Donington, Olivier Jacque and Alex Barros in Germany, Sete Gibernau in Portugal, and Checa again in Brazil. Although to me there is no greater illustration of how fate smiles on him than at Bmo last year, when a wasp got trapped in his helmet. When that happens, there's only one result. You get stung. But Rossi opened his visor, and the insect flew straight out again. One of racing's truer truisms is that you make your own luck. That certainly applies to Valentino. He has just as many opportunities to fall off as anybody else; or to fall victim to the red mist that clouds the judg· ment. Doesn't happen, though. His worst mistake this year was an illadvised tire choice in South Africa. The result? He finished a close second, instead of first. Other top riders will point out that B LOOK/.' .a~.,a Rossi also has the best bike. Another case of making your own luck. Rossi's career hasn't happened by accident. He's made damned sure that he's in the right place to get the right machine, and has then, almost unfailingly, made the most of it. He is certainly blessed - but not by luck. It's talent. Rossi has also managed to retain at least a fair proportion of a very engaging personality - not easy for somebody surrounded at all times by fawning sycophants. The thoroughly charming youth of the 125 and 250cc . days may be long gone, and already last year he was starting to get that distant sunken-eyed look common among riders who make it to the top in the most difficult discipline of motorcycle racing. Yet he can still summon a spontaneous smile under all sorts of circumstances, and still make light of his achievements. Okay. He's not perfect. He's not a god, and he's not the nicest man in the world either. Nobody with the sort of obsessive drive needed to succeed at this level of racing can be. It's an egotistical sport, relying on a selfbelief that approaches insanity. One dark side is shown by his CDmlngupln Cycle NeVIS treatment of Max Biaggi. It's fair to say that many people close to Max find it rather hard to like him. But he has done nothing to deserve the merciless ribbing that Rossi has been dishing out since long before they met in the 500cc class three seasons back. It's fair to say that Rossi has boosted his own career and his popularity very much at Max's expense, thanks to an Italian media more than willing to play the game. The same factor has encouraged a tendency toward low- rent pantomime. It was one thing when he was in the smaller classes - dressing up as Robin Hood or stopping after one race at Jerez to feign an urgent trip to the marshals' trackside lavatory. Cheap laughs, but why not? Similar displays, like the bogus traffic policemen ticketing him for speeding after the Italian GP, don't sit so well among the big boys. Rather too contrived, methinks. But it's hardly a point to criticize, since it provides amusement for those with a limited sense of humor. So, enough of the whining. Enough of the dog-in-manger moaning. And enough negativity. Rossi is a genius. And if you can't share in the enjoyment, it's your problem, not his. CN • Motocross of Nations • Imola World Superblke Finale • Duquoin AMA DT cucle n e _ is • OCTOBER 2. 2002 115

• Cover