Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

.:turn Schwantzy returns to the racetrack in France By HENNY RAy ABRAMS PHOTOS By DAVID REYGONDEAU V Schwantz had followed in the pace car for 10 laps while his boots filled up with water. The rain was torrential and here was oil on the track. It was well into the Bol d'Or 24-hour race and he had to be wondering if this was such a good idea. Earlier in the year, a pair of French journalists had asked if he 'd join them for the race. It seemed, as many things do , like a good idea at the time. He jokingly told friends in the U.S. that his conditions were that he wouldn't ride if was wet, cold or dark, and now it was all three. Once the pace cars pulled in, he went to the front of the field, but not for long. At the end of the back straight he eased on the brakes and went skittling into the gravel. "It's obvious I'm not any smarter of a racer than I have ever been," he joked after the crash. Schwantz and his teammates, Th ierry Traccan and David Dumain , both editors at the French weekly "Moto Revue," had an eventful 24 hours. Of the 24 ho urs, they only finished IS, crashes and machine problems putting them well down the Super Production field . Officially, they finished 34th, the number o n th e front o f their Miche lin-shod Suzuki. But for t he 199 3 500cc World Champion, it was his first pro pe r road race since retiring after the Japane se GP at Suzu ka in 1995. (Schw antz dismisses his appearance in a BMW BoxerCup race at Mugello in 2000.) And, despite reservations, he not only enjoyed himself, but showed he 'd lost little of the talent or K 32 SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 • panache that has made him one of the most popular riders ever. It was a microcosm of his stellar car eer: flashes of brilliance followed by crashes, teammates that weren't up to his pace and machine problems. " Eve ry time on the track after that [the crash) , I was always one of t he three fastest bikes out there," Schwantz said by telephone after returning to his home in Aust in, Texas. "The second stint in the rain , before I fell, I think I was less than a second off what the Suzuki pole sitting guy had done, and he was almost two sec onds clear of everybody else . In the drying conditions, with rain tires still on , Iwas a tenth off. And then right at the end, before we had that brake problem, I was the fastest at the end of that too." The brake problems, caused by a crash by either him or one of his teammates, would ultimately scuttle the race. The team tried everythi ng, including changing the fro nt end , but nothing worked. Instead of abandoning the race, the team stayed in and Schwantz did the final 10 laps for the fans w ho'd stuck around through an egregious 24 hours of weather. "Physically, I probably should've picked a six hour or eight hour first," Schwantz said. "Even when I got off the bike after four o'clock in the morning, five o'clock in the morning Iwas still able to go out there and give 100 percent. I think t he rain and the e lements helped a lot because it didn't make it as physical. I mean like, when I was racing, the best tra ining you can possibly have isn't motocross riding, it isn't Supe rmoto, it's testing your friggin' race CYCLE NEWS bike . I was probably biting off a pretty big chunk. I don 't know that I had 100 percent had it gotten daylight and been dry and we'd have st ill been in the race; I don 't know that I had 100 percent to give fo r many more stints after t hat ." Schwantz retired in 1995 because of wrist injurie s that denied him the strength to hang on . "The left wrist didn't really give me any problems," he said. "The right wrist that has the broken scaph oid in it, it's got the screw in it that just never has stuck toge ther; that thing was more sore. I think it was more so re after I fell in the rain because I t hink I stuffed it in the ground or jammed it in the gravel. My hands held up remarkably well trying to do that many ho urs. We had physios there, so they were pretty steady working for 30 minutes 40 minutes after we got off the bike with all the guys." 40th Anniversary The GSX-R I000, prepared by the SuzukiJunior team led by Herve Moineau, was as least as good as he and his teammates we re , and the Michelins were the best he'd ever ridden on. It helped that they were 16.5-inchers, and it also he lped tha t t hey were G P stock. "Most of t he stuff we that we ended up racing on, they all looked like that new tire t hat has the clamshell molding, the latest, greatest," Schwantz said. "Tire s were great." Was this his last road race? Too soon to tell. But fo r those lucky fans who got to witness Schwantz back doing what he does best; on the gas, both ends drifting, front wheel itching to ascend, it was a rare look back and maybe a loo k forward . Was this his last road race? "I don 't know," Schwantz said. "I might do Some more, something endurance where I can eN play and have fun."

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