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/128612
sha pe. Bob Hanna h also came to the tea m th at yea r, a nd the th ree of us d id a n incred ible a mou nt of testing . The 198 2 Hon da bike was unbeliev a ble, and then the 1983s 's howed up and we wer e u ncomforta b le . 1 re mem be r we were out in He sper ia , Californ ia , rid ing one day . Th e t rack wa s very sandy a nd very ro ug h. 1 was si tti ng up o n a r id g e wit h all the Japanese e n gi nee rs watch ing Bob Hannah swap all ar o u n d , and 1 remarked to th e m, 'I ca n 't rid e this thing .' A fe w mi nutes late r, Bob came in and ju s t sat there. Nobody was really say ing a nyt h ing , so Jo hnn y sai d, ' We ll , Bob, looks l ik e yo u picked t he wro ng year to s wit c h to Honda .' Ther e wa s com p lete s ilence. With every im portant engi neer th e re , it was th e wro ng t im e to sa y s o m e th ing like t hat, b ut th a t wa s typ ic a l J ohnny. "Eve ntua lly we got the bikes work ing , and that wa s when Cliff Wh ite came to work as m y mechanic . All of us had a great "tra ini ng ca m p ," and we went to th e opening ro und at Ana he im . I wa s m o re th a n re ady to go , a nd I got a g rea t s t a rt. Meanwh ile , Hanna h ha d gotten a last-place start, while Ma goo [Chandler ] looped ou t. I wa s u p fr on t wit h Broc G love r of Te a m Yama ha and thinking , 'This is cool.' I knew I wa s fas ter th a n Broc , and I pu t p res s ure on him and he got out of shape in the whoops . I took the le a d , and all the momentum shifted to me. It was th e slowest I've ever gone a nd won a ra c e . When it was over, everyone was saying things like , 'You were so s mooth and fast.. .' I wa s ooz ing co nfide nce a n d t he n went to Se a ttle wh er e I went 2 -2 over the two n ights of rac ing ." Alt ho ug h Bai le y wo u ld n ot wi n another superc ross un til Wa shingt on D.C o n Ma y 14 , he rema ined a st on ishing ly consistent. A mon th later he won a ga in in F o x b o ro , Ma s s a c hu · s etts . And a t th e series' final round o n Augu st 6 in th e Pasadena Ros e Bow l, he did just wha t he had to , defeating a fam iliar nemes is named Mark Barnett to win th e 19 83 AMA Supercr oss Champ ionsh ip . Final s c ore : Baile y , 420; Barnett, 418. But Ba ile y 's vic to ry march d idn 't s t o p th ere . Th e 19 8 3 AMA 250c c Nation al Cha mpi on shi p Se ries had s ta rted in la te March with Hannah ta king a c om m a nd ing win at Sacra m ento , California . And wh ile Ba ile y k n e w he was no match fo r the re m a rka b ly fit a nd determ ined Han nah , h e did e veryt hi n g req u ired to keep hi m in sig ht . "W h e n t he Nati onal s start ed, I knew ther e wa s no way in he ll I could beat Bo b Ha n n a h be cause h e wa s thr ee seconds a lap faster tha n me in a ll the pra ct ic e se ssions, " m uses Bailey . "J us t befo re th e season started , Cliff, m y dad and m y s elf d e cid ed I would just do my be st a nd be cons is t ent. But B ob c r ashe d hal fw a y .4!!I!~if!i!:: .. :~::~o §LJPERTICKET ~OOO FOR ONLY § '00 YOU'LL IiET A TICKET mALL OF THESE EVENTS, PWS SUPPORTINJURED RACERS AHAIDIE1IY T7lI.XJC§ '~~ 50 NATIONAL MQTOCI!lDS5 §ERIES RND:~ DIE HAN5TOWN IHO I DLH05!!i CJ...A§§IC see THE StARS OF HAY '~ ' MOTOCROSS; CARMICHAEL. VOHLAND. WINDHAM.. t.ARCX::CO COMPETE FOR A $30.()(X) PURSE AT THtS LEGE NDARY EVENT YOU'LL RECEIVE: A 3 DAY GE NERAL ADMISSION TICKE AND PIT PASS ,fVTERfVA.TlONAL SLJPERB,I(E CLA!Ii§IC A T L.A5I.JJ\lA JliECA". Jl.JLY 7-9 LAGUN~ M MSECA RACEWAY OLDHIGHWAY40 M TO C CLE DAYS O RY AT . see THE FA STE SUPERBIKE RACERS IN THE WQRL ST MIGUEl DUHAMEL DOUG C HAND LER. BEN BOSmoM AND M ORE I Y O U'LL RECEIVE: A SATURDAY GE NERAL A DMISSION PASS OLD HR6HWAY4DMOTDRCVCLE OAlo'!Ii AT DONNER 5«11lA1t131 AI.JGLIST .a-.3 SCE MUlTIPl.£ MOTORCYOING EVENTS OVER TWO DAYSAT BEAUTIFUL DONN ER SKI RANCH N EAR lAKE T AHOE Y OU'LL R ECEI V E: A UGUST 12 & 13 A 2 DAY ALL AC CESS PASS PACEIWRENDI-HEAD.CDM DIRT 7RAD( §ERIE§ ROlJND ' 0 THE §ACRAMENTD M ILE §EPTE1IIfBER ~3 see THE FASTESTDIRT TRACK rMCERSIN THE WORLD RACE BAR TO BAR 14 0 M ilE PER HOlJR AROUND THE CAl EXPO MILE D IRTmACK CAL.£XPO BOX OFRCE 916-263·3049 Y OU'LL RECE IVE: ,, ;-("tl "ii iT BASS TICKETS A RESERVED GRANDSTAND PASS ~-' 916-923-2277 AlH'A SPE EDHIAY A£4TIOA£4L Cl#A""PIOIVSHI SEE THE FASTEST SPEEDWAY RACERS IN THE COUNTRY. BAmE n OUT FOR A S10 .0 00 PURSE O N AlCOHOL POWERED soocc MOTORCYCLES 'MTH NO BRAKES I GOLD C OUNTRY YOU'LL REC EIVE: FAIRGROUNDS AUDu-RN. CA .. A GRANDSTAND PASS (53 0) 8 "7S -RACE ONLY 200 VIP SUPERTICKETS AVAILABLE: CALL 714 751-7433 TO O R D ER YOURS! c ue I e n e .... S • MAY 10, 2000 37