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/128350
The 1999 season sta rted off we ll for O liver w ith a third-place finish in the Dayton a 200, but things got bad in a hurry. Riding both the Supe rb ike and the Supe rsport Yamahas as a teamm ate to Jamie Hacking, Ol ive r had a big crash in the second of tw o races at Road Atlanta, cras hing in the esses, hitting a wa ll and breaking his elbow . The injury all but ruined his season. He sat out the next two ro unds at Elkhart Lake and Mid-Ohio, and fini shed the year 13t h in bo th t he Supe rbike a nd Supe rsp o rt po ints. He wa sn't re signed for the following season and decided to put his 2S0cc Grand Prix team back toge the r. In 2000, Olive r returned to the 2S0cc Grand Prix class on ly to lose the championship to Chuck Sore nso n by five points , despite winning seve n of the nine races. In 200 I, it was much the same. Although he wo n seven of 10 races , he lost the title to Jimmy Filice by a single point. In 2002, Oliver struggled to finish sixth in the cham pionship w ith four wins, motivat ing him for his pe rfect II -for-I I 2003 season . Afte r such a successful career w ith so many wins in his beloved 2S0cc class, the re was no one who was affecte d mo re by the elimination of the class for the 2004 season than O liver - it was his bread and butter. After a full season away from full-time racing, we decided to catch up wit h Olive r and find out how life after racing is treati ng him. W ha t have you been doing with yourself since the end of 2003? A Well, riding now mo re than eve r! There is a lot of ~i d i ng in the Mystery Scho ol classes, about six hours each school day. Q QHW O A is t he Mystery Schoo l going? lt's continuing to grow and getting more accepted by the public as an alternative learning method. Learning in the dirt is such a good , quick way, because you can make mistakes and not hurt yourself or the bike. It allows yo u to kee p going and rea lly speeds up the process. O ur goal is to teach eac h of o ur students how to control a motorcycle that is sliding both whe els at the same time . Whe n they understand and begin to ride with that kind of tr ue bike control, their abilities with a motorcycle just skyrocket. The y go back to the track or street and com plete ly cha nge thei r approac h. The results are faste r lap times and increased confidence on the street. It's coo l to hear back fro m our stu dents and how they improve . They go to the other road racing schoo ls and really shine because they have such a strong foundation of basic riding skills to build on . W ha t were your feelings when the AMA announced that it was killing the 250cc Grand Pix class? I felt it co ming fo r a wh ile. T he AMA told us a year before hand, so we had ample warning. T he funny thing is, not too many ot her riders really said much about it until it was too late. Then they got mad. I did all my lobb ying fo r the class in 2002, and afte r that, it was too late to change anything. So, I just enjoyed my last year in 2003 without much fuss about it. Q A Q was it a good opportunity to retire, or did you have interest in riding a different class? O h, both I guess . I mean how do you top winning I lout of 1I race s? But that success co uld lead one to think that since you have it all down so well, w hy not carry that mo mentum into another class? A W hat made you so successfu l in the 250cc Grand Pri x class? A I think I under~tand the 250 really we ll, but I understand myself even better and I built the bike arou nd me . I changed the chassis to fit my body. I cha nged the suspe nsion to suit my strong points. I tailored the e ngine powerband to suit my emphasis on exit drives that would carry me dow n each straight. Then , over the years, I learned the best way to jet the bike and set up the gearbox to maximize all of the above . My bikes were fast, but mo re importantly, they were set up so we ll that I co uld wring every last bit out of them lap afte r lap. Q did you consistently w in by su ch massive margins? That's just from good setup and running a pace that would satisfy me . Q A Q H OW As mu ch as you wanted t he 250cc cla ss to continue , don't you think your runaway victories had a lot to do w it h why the AMA stopped the cla ss? Did it ever cross your mind to make a race of it , or did you still actually believe t ha t winning by a ton would get you a ride e lsewhere? A Well, I get that question a lot. You see, I love a tight ~ace, and in some eve nts the last few years I did have close competition that I had to beat w ith good strategy, or sometimes just on guts and determination. A lot of people forget my FUSA days for Team Marlbor o Roberts, w hen I had to race the big bikes on my 250 that was always close racing. But w he n I cou ld, I would www.cyclenews.com run away, not to show off o r to ruin the race, but to do what I was paid to do - ride as hard as possible. It's just drilled into my mindset to always try my hardest, to give everyt hing and to not leave an ounce of e ne rgy back in the pits, to expend it all in the race. Whe n you 're ou t front you stay out of tr ouble, manage the pace as you need to , and control the event from start to finish. Really, that attitude is what got me on the facto ry Yamaha team in 1998. They saw my dete rmination on my private Supersport Yamaha 600 that was tuned by Jeff Myers in 1997. Q was racing still fun for you in 2003, or had it become just a form of income? A No , it was the most fun I ever had. You see, racing ~ucks in a lot of ways - the driving, the mote ls, the set up and tear down of the tent, e tc. But riding the bike ... man, that' s where it's at. And whe n you can master it like I had at that point, when you know it's almost over, you just savor every moment on the track. I'll e njoy that seas on for a long time. CYCLE NEWS • NOV EMBER 17, 2004 17