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/128606
exploratory rides on basically stock DR-Zs "But now I've been riding the bike for three months, and the more I've ridden it the more I'm coming to enjoy it. Now I've got it down pretty good and to be honest I wouldn't even want to go back to a two-stroke bike like an RM. I'm real happy with the DR-Z, and can do just about anything with it that I could with an RM. "I have no regrets about riding the four-stroke now, and don't even second-guess about what it would be like to ride a two-stroke." A noted open-class two-stroke specialist, the small-but-stocky Kiedrowski draws parallels between his time on snarling factory KX500s to now riding the four-stroke. "I was always pretty good on the 500s," Kiedrowski offers, "and the four-stroke demands a similar style, and that's something I've really enjoyed about the new bike. "I like the power we're getting out of the DR-Z, and it's making real good power now, and I'm looking forward to getting the most out of the bike as the season goes on." Welcoming Committee Kiedrowski is the latest in a line of former pro motocross converts to the GNCC scene. Current two-time GNCC champ Rodney Smith who Kiedrowski is now teamed with at Suzuki, along with Steve Hatch - was one of the first to make the switch permanently, after making his name in the World 250cc Motocross Championship in the late '80s and early '90s. Team Green Kawasaki's Fred Andrews also cut his teeth in pro motocross, while former AMA 125cc National Motocross champ Guy Cooper is no stranger to the knuckle-dusting tight and twisty 10mile loops of the GNCC series. "The big thing about racing the GNCCs is that a lot of the guys in the scene that I'll be racing against are older," explains Kiedrowski. "So I'll be one of the younger guys, and that's giving me a good base to start from and work my way up through the off-road scene. "It's a whole lot different than motocross, in that you don't just go out and pound laps around a motocross track to get ready for it. There's a whole lot more involved, and the intensity of racing flat-out for almost three hours, with fuel stops and pit stops along the way, is real demanding. "But I like all that, and I'm looking at doing this for four or five years, so I'm in for the long hauL" First Blood And what does the former National MX champ think of his mid-life career change now that he's got the 2000 season opener at Okechobee under his belt? "we ran ninth overall first time out, and I'm pretty happy with that," said Kiedrowski. "I had some troubles at Okechobee and fell down and got stuck a couple of times, and then lost a hell of a lot of time getting the bike restarted, so things could've been a little better. "But I feel good and I feel like I'm in good shape. Some of the guys are a little faster than me in certain places, but then at Okechobee there were a lot of fast guys who may not ride the whole series. "I'm looking at it from a championship standpoint, and I think that as the season goes on and I get more up to speed with everything, I'll be feeling confident about how everything will wind out." CN Q A H Kiedrowski can win this year's GNCC championship, he will become the first rider to win both a National MX tiUe and a National off-road tlUe. they decided to explore the possibility of Kiedrowski riding it. "Shane and I had always stayed in touch over the years after I stopped racing," Kiedrowski explains, "so when we started talking about racing the new DR-Z, it all worked out pretty easily." At first Kiedrowski thought he could keep up his electrical work while going racing on weekends, but the deal soon developed into a full-time commitment. "With all the testing and development work we've done these past few months getting the new bike ready, it's just demanded I tackle it full-time," says Kiedrowski. "We've made a lot of advances through this time, and right now the race bike we have is a whole different animal to the first DR-Z I rode." Initially Kiedrowski found the thumper a very different machine to ride compared to his previous staple diet of high-performance two-stroke factory motocrossers. "To tell the truth, at first I felt it wasn't such a good situation," says Kiedrowski of his initial II: U II: • e n e _ S • MARCH 29, 2000 33