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/128216
IWhat ever happened to the phrase Ibe thankful for small mercies?111 l George Roeder, R.I.P In life, very few of us ever get the opportunity to get close to a living legend. I met George Roeder in 1989, and right from the start I knew how special he was. In 1994, the year after having the greatest year possible tuning the Harleys for the late, great Ricky Graham, I was invited to live in Monroeville, Ohio, and help George get his boys Jess and Geo around the race track. Not only did George have the gift of feel for building and racing a motorcycle, he had integrity and charm that was loved by family, friends, fans and all that were fortunate to meet hjm. To be able to build race bikes in the shop and listen to George tell stories was an honor. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life and is something that I will cherish forever. Something must have been terribly wrong in heaven, or here on earth, for God to call George up on such short notice to help him get things right. We'll miss you, George. Douglas Fay Salinas, CA Thanks from the Klttredges The entire Kittredge family would like to thank the family of motorcycling for the many expressions of sympathy and support that we have received in memory of Buck. We knew that through Buck's involvement in motorcyclists' rights over the years, he had developed some lifelong friendships along the way, but we really had no idea how many brothers and sisters he had out there who loved him so much. Since Buck's tragic death late last month, there has been a continuous outpouring of support from individuals and organizations worldwide. An overwhelming number of attendees honored Buck at his memorial service in Wisconsin, and an even greater number of friends and associates have contacted our family in other ways to express their condolences. Our whole family sincerely appreciates everyone's encouragement, prayers and gifts. Donations are still being accepted Rainey/Doohan match-up. At the end of the day, although Mick's total of five world titles and 54 wins from 137 starts seems to dwarf Wayne's three titles and 24 wins from 83 starts, when we compare Doohan and Rainey head to head, we see that Rainey was, in fact, the dominant rider during the period when the two were both active. Limiting ourselves to the period when both riders were running in the 500cc class, that is from Mick's debut at the Japanese GP of 1989 to the Italian GP of 1993 when Wayne suffered his career-ending Misano crash, the Australian made 63 starts, missing seven starts due to injury, while the American made 68 of the 70 possible starts, missing two starts due to injury. Here is how they fared over that five-season period. Rider Starts Wins Podiums Poles Fastest laps Points Rainey 68 23 57 14 22 1059.5 Doohan 63 10 33 14 12 791 Peter Starr Motorcycle Show" in 1983, and they were mainly filmed. What ever happened to the phrase "be thankful for small mercies?" Peterstcrr vta the Internet If we consider only the 62 races that both World Champions started, the advantage is still clearly with Wayne. Rider Wins Podiums Poles Fastest laps Points Rainey 22 53 13 21 971.5 Doohan 10 32 14 12 776 In the 48 races that both riders finished in the points, Wayne beat Mick, 36-12. In the 25 races that both riders were on the podium, Wayne beat Mick, 15- I O. In the 12 races that they finished one-two, Wayne beat Mick, 8-4. DennIs Noyes vta the Internet Motorcycle Racing and TV George Roeder, R.I.P Thought you might like these pictures. Steve Morehead, Chris Carr and I put a cushion on the track for George the night before. George was a great racer and a great guy. I will miss him. 6aryNlxon vta the Internet Two-time AMA Grand National Champion Gary Nixon sent the photo that accompanies his leller... Editor for the Buck Kittredge Memorial Fund c/o Wells Fargo Bank, 225 E. Central Avenue, Oconto Falls, WI 54154. The KlttTedge famIly vta the Internet Rainey vs. Doohan The Real Final Word Okay, I started this with the "Baseball and Motorcycles" stats article, so now I'll try and finish it. Both Cycle News readers, Robert Wahl and Joey Chunnic, make good points regarding the I read your Teardown article, and you might ask how would these people have reacted when from 1973- 1983 all of the television motorcycling that we did (over 40 shows - including Daytona!) were filmed in 16mm, edited in the normal film style that took anywhere from seven to 21 days and then were distributed to television networks or syndicated on film. The first video shows we produced were in 1983, and the first live broadcast was in 1984. The first regularly scheduled motorcycle show to be seen on a national network was "The eye. e What's Going On? What's the matter with the AMA? I've been a member since 1978. I support it, and I bring people into it - even street-riding friends. But they look really, really bad when they start messing with the grassroots of our sport. I was on their side in the matter with Clear Channel, but now they are starting to look no better. Lots of the people at the supercross races don't know or understand the AMA. But the people at the Nationals are way more in touch with the sport. I hate to say it, but the AMA is going to lose support from a lot of people. I live in Michigan, and I went to the World Cup because of the great efforts of the people at Glen Helen. When I got down to the Motocross des Nations, it was a joke of a place to have a race like that, and I know if the AMA really cared that much about our sport, they would have made sure it went to a deserving track. A lot of people in motorcycling put a lot of hard work into the tracks where I live. And we all support the AMA for the cause, but I'm starting to get sick of the AMA when it's starting to look like they use our sport to make money. Add more Nationals and take away a couple of the supercross races. Please don't mess with the people who really helped grow our sport and took all the chances. JamIe WIngler vta the Internet n e vv s MAY 28, 2003 5