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/128195
l'The racing comm'unify has lost a great man. We will miss youl Don. 11 Willy Who? This is in response to Tina Simons' letter about her husband, Willy Simons, not getting the recognition he deserved for winning not just his class, but overalling the whole race and beating Larry Roeseler in the process. She's right - Willy Simons has never gotten the recognition he has deserved. I've followed his racing life since he started. In fact, he was in my very first race in Baymare, California. It was the first mini motocross race held there and he won, of course. I've watched him win series championships, the big Grands Prix, such as Hopetown, Viewfinders, etc. I was so impressed with his attitude toward his racing, that in 1982 when he needed help, I fully sponsored him on a pair of Hondas. He was always just one step from the factory ride that he deserved, and it's good to hear that he is still racing and winning almost everything he is entering. The one reason I decided to write is, I'm not sure how many people remember, or even know, but Mr. Simons, in the early '70s (when desert was changing over to more motocross and Gary Jones was National champ), Yamaha had two champions - Jones in the newly formed Nationals, and a World Minicycle Champion by the name of Willy Simons! He won that championship at the newly opened Indian Dunes Cycle Park in California, on what was called the international track. He did the feat on Yamaha's newly released Mini Enduro, with Yamaha's backing through Simi Valley Yamaha and outside help from Bill Butler's Fun [, Fast. What I would like to know is, why, with his minicycle championship on a Yamaha, why Yamaha has never invited him to Yamaha's Race of Champions? What he and Gary Jones did was put Yamaha on the top of the heap in this country. So I agree with his wife; he had never been given the recognition that he deserves throughout his 35-plus years of racing especially that factory ride he worked so hard to try to get! Willy Simons, from Mini World Champion to still winning races at speeds he was known for in the '80s ... I guess his old nickname is still hanging on to him: "Willy Who?" Gerald Fasold AltJo,/O A Christmas List Here is what I would like ·for Christmas: a professional football team to come to Cincinnati; a solid pitching staff for the Reds; and a supercross season filled with multiple winners, close finishes, and the championship being decided at the season finale. Ray Merkle Wilmington, OH Remembering Don Vesco I am so fortunate to have been able to spend some time with Don because every time I was, we were both having fun . riding, racing or taking care of motorcycle business. I was racing at the same races as Don back in the late '60s and early '70s, but I finally met Don officially at his Yamaha dealership in EI Cajon, California in 1973. I was getting ready to go desert racing, and Don's dealership was the only real thing in the San Diego area. If you wanted Yamaha parts or quality advice, Vesco's is where you went. Big four-gallon gas tanks for desert racing were unusually ugly because of their size, and Don's "Vesco Tanks" were the ugliest! But they were the best for their time, and they gave you 100-plus miles between gas stops. Thank you, Don! In the mid- and late '70s, I was a sales rep with Beck Arnley, and I sold parts and accessories to Vesco. Whether I was at the racetrack or at his dealership, dealing with Don was always a first-class experience. I traveled from Colorado back to California to ride the last motorcycle races ever held at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1980 and at Riverside International Raceway in 1988. And there was Don at Ontario going very fast at age 41 on a Kawasaki 650. The last race ever held at Riverside was a four-hour endurance race. On Saturday there were sprint races, and there was Don, at age 49, racing his Norton Manx. That day I heard more than a few young racers say: "I can't believe that I got passed by some old man on an antique out there today!" I tried to tell them that they just got smoked by two legends - Don Vesco and his Norton Manx. I could go on and on with more stories about Don, but I will finish this off with just one more Vesco story. In 1988, I was moving from Colorado back to California. To this day I still can't believe it, but Don heard through the motorcycle grapevine that I was coming his direction. Don called me... here was Don Vesco calling me and asking for a favor. Don was building another land speed record machine, and he had just purchased four complete Ford Cosworth V-eight Indy motors from a racer in Denver, and he wanted me to pick them up and bring them with me to California. Sure, Don - no problem. I rented a bigger U-Haul trailer, drove down to Denver and loaded all four of them up. Since these motors must have been worth half a million dollars each, I called Don and asked him if I should get some extra insurance in case I ran off the road and crashed and burned in the Rockies. Don said, "Bob don't worry about them - they run Cosworths into the wall at 200 mph-plus at Indy and they survive." I still worried, but Don didn't. Don was used to what happened at 200, 300 and 400 mph. I was very happy to deliver those four motors in one piece to Don at his shop in Temecula. And I was amazed at how simple and basic that shop was - no high technology there. Don went 400 mph by the seat of his pants. Don, enjoy the big racetrack in the sky. We will miss you down here. parts and getting lots of advice as a n~vice motorcycle rider. I even got to see the streamlined machines that he was running at Bonneville. Every so often he would hold court at the parts counter, and I gladly stood in awe listening to every word. It's truly the end of an era. Ouane5esma via tfle Intemet Remembering Vesco III It was with great sadness that I read of the passing of Don Vesco. I knew him for many years, did business with him and admired him. The racing community has lost a great man. We will miss you, Don. Mickey Hunt via tfle Internet Issue #50 Ricky, Nicky, Chris Carr, Colin Edwards, Valentino Rossi and his hellacious Honda. That issue was a keeper. Thanks! George Moroz via tfle Internet Issue #50 II As I was reading the year-end issue of Cycle News, I thought of what an eventful year it has been for motorcycling. As always, I rely on Cycle News for the news, events and gossip. I think your format helps every reader feel like part of a community. If someone feels that their interest is not getting coverage, then they should submit their own story! Cycle News has raised the bar for editorial quality again this year. For me, the highlights were your extended Dakar and ISDE coverage. Keep up the good work. Bob 'Dr. Bob' Brownell via tfle Internet Remembering Vesco II I'm so sorry to hear of Don Vesco's passing. The article (cyclenews.com) brought back memories of buying cu cl ... Chilly White via tfle Internet n • VII' S JANUARY 8, 2003 5