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/128625
We tho ug ht we were sig ning for Honda , a nd then we ju s t d id the Kawasaki dea l, and then Hon d a wa s pr etty m ad , a ctua lly . It'll work ou t fo r th e better. BobbV Bonds BY CHRIS J O NNUM h e re ' s no t a lo t t o see in Ma ric opa , a true po dunk town off highwa y 166 we st of Bakersfield, Ca lifornia. Maricopa , that's th~ geographic al focus of much of the MX ind ustry's gossip' of late . Why? Because that's the hometown of Bobb y Bonds, who just turned 16 , and is a bo ut to make the transition from to p a ma teur to rook ie pro. After getting his son his firs t b ike at age three, Brian Bonds started h itt ing the road with young Bobby , often s taying in tents to save rnon e y, Th e younger Bonds proceeded to win s ev er a l amateur championships , and wa s recently setting the amateur scene o n fir e und e r th e tutelage of Hond a a nd FMF before brea king h is wrist a nd then signing a dea l with Sp litF ire /Pro Circu it Kawasaki. T Q Te ll me about you r wrist. A out, but it's been three days now, and it feels pretty good already. I've already got almost all m y movement back. I m ight ride a National this year, though. The la st two , probably. I b rok e my wris t twic e in a row . The firs t one was in Veg as [a t the World Minis], Ap ril 29 . We iI.,.r--......n ....Iiifi:-.,... . .~:r~...- Q Wha t do yo u expect o ut of your rookie year? -=-----J ' F irs t off , exp erie nce . And th en I h op e t o d o at least A =-7:--.. . ., t o p five in S u p er cross . I k now I can do good . And then in Na t iona ls , I' m ho ping top five , too. I'm jus t hoping I can do good . I kno w I ha ve th e s p ee d; ev e ry thing ' s th e r e , and I' m jus t h opin g t o put everything togethe r and be smart. And n ot get injured - tha t's lik e my numbe r-one priorit y. HOW did your Pro Circuit deal come about? lt' s kind of weir d. We were pretty lt seems li k e mu c h jus t lo o k ing for the Honda people are givthing . The who le deal was go ing fo r ing m ore and more Bobby Bonds was set to ride this year's Lo retta Lynn's Championship, but the hot prospect from Honda this year. Then th e y [Pro Circuit] attent ion t o rookies. Maricopa, Califomia,was i n s u c h high demand that Pro-Circuit and Kawasaki couldn't wait to sign h im just ca me u p and sta rted tal king to us, to a Pro contract before the Loretta's rac e. Pastran a wa s a big a nd everyt hing they said sounded pret name bef ore he ty good . Then it just kind of de veloped turned p ro , and a into me s igni ng for them , which is kind of great. went to the Vegas hospital . and they. said it wasn 't lot of people are talkin g a bout you. Do es that put a b ro k e n. Then we came back here , ana th ey said lot of pressure on you? Not re a lly. I pu t more pr essure on m ys e lf than Was t he re any friction caused by yo ur swi tch? there were like two cracks. So I got a cast, but got out of the cast and was pushing way too ha rd too any ody else do es. I do it for me> and it's all Ac t u a ll Y, yeah, but you lo o k at their earl y , and I broke both bon es aga in . I'm going to about me. The other pressure, it's there. but I don 't [FMF/Honda 's] team. and they haven't won too totally ta ke it easy this time, and let it completely really think about it that much . I race for myself, and much on a 125, at all. and Pro Circuit has a great heal and get all better before I start riding again . It' s I want to win more than anything , so that's the prestrack record. I just thoug ht it would be a be tter idea. pretty good , actually . It was pretty stiff when I got it sure I see. Q A Q Q A able Player of the 1999 Loretta Lynn 's Amateur Nationals . Displaying an extraordinary a mount of sk ill and fortitude, Travis used the event as a type of bridge from phenomenal and happy-go -luck y amateur to highly paid big-time profess ional. For it was mere wee ks after Loretta's that the kid from Navy Town USA (Annapolis, Ma rylan d) s igned on the dotted line for Rog er DeCoster and Team Su zu ki. Now , 365 days late r, it can be sa fe to say th at he is now th e most po pu la r and h igh ly ra te d you ng and box vans, s upport the event to the hilt in an effort to win the favor of tha t diamond in the rough who will, hopefully, one day represent their company in the sold -out stadiums and sprawling , spectator-lined national tracks of America . Which brings us back to Travis Pas tran a . One year ago, almost to the day, Travis - the kid that laun ched his Suzuki RM125 into San Francisco Bay at the ESPN -produced X Games less th an a month before - became the Most Va lu- Ilw@[b@fJ@fJ(J@ [bll[JfJ[Ji10 iiJriJD&J71@C!!J[? [J!J&J71!J@ [JfJ&JD [x)@w (j[J @&J[fiJi)@ 71@ W 08 @ The fact that the world's biggest motocross race is held at a dude ranch may strike a few people as a bit odd, but the series of events, which actually brought the Loretta Lynn's e ven t to life, are rat her interesting . While traveling back from Ponca City in 1981, the Coombs family, by the tip of a friend, pulled off of Highway 40 and into a town ca lled Hurricane Mills, Tennes see . Extending their summer vacation by a few days, the family decided to set up camp at a place called the Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch. The next morning, Dave Coombs decided to go on a run through the ca mpgrounds . While running, he beca me enchanted by the ranch's pleas ant surroundings and overall tranquil atmosphere. At that point, the idea of a race came to him and he immediately went looking for Loretta Lynn herself. Upon meeting the country music legend, Coombs, a former professional musician himself, brought up the name of a musician he used to work with named Jo dy Payne. As fate would have, Lynn also knew of the musician and an immediate friendship was struck up. Not long after, and with the support of Loretta Lynn, her husband Mooney, the AMA and Kawasaki, a race that would forever change motocross was born. 26 AUGUST 9 , 2000' c ue I e newvs motocross racer in the world. While most people , whether they be a fa ctory te a m manager or magazine ed itor, view Loretta 's as that last stop to "the show," th e truth of the matter is that the event (and what it stands for) runs much deeper than tha t. Hold ing true to Dave Coo m bs ' orig inal vis ion , Lo rett a Lynn 's wa s created to b rin g fam ilies together in an ad hoc vacation enviro nment where it is not all about the racing , All week long a litany of special events, including a fishing co ntest, talent show, chili cook-off, softball tourna ment, dodge ball ch a llenge, tug -of-war, RC car race a nd fa s h io n show keep everyone present in the teeming venue occupied, happy and entertained. So relaxed and enjoyable is the event that a number of factory riders, whether on their own accord or at the req uest of their employers, find their way back to Loretta 's to visit friends , si g n a utographs, shake ha nds a nd visit the place that he lped deliver them to th e fame and fo rtu ne of be in g a professional racer. Last August, Ricky Carmicha el, John Dowd , Ezra Lusk , Nick Wey , Brock Sellards, and a host of others , returned to Loretta 's to ride, relax, toss horses hoes and play basketball, However, d esp ite all the fun a nd games, the harsh truth of the matter is tha t only 30 riders will leave Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, a class champion. And while one or two of them will continue on - if they are truly de termined (and a little bit lucky) - to win an AMA National o r Supercross , everyone e lse will ne ve r m a ke it as a profess ional. And th ere 's noth ing wrong with th at. Because just like the 1230 other riders that will make a run at their dreams in Te nnessee, everyone will go ho me with the white racing bib they went to war in. And in the ye ars to come, while they are working to ho ld down a jo b, bu ilding a successful career or creati ng a family , their eye s m a y come ac ross that bib an d back will come the memories; the memories of trying their best to suc ceed a t something they loved . And whether they won or lost doesn't really matter, it's t he lesso ns they le a rn e d wh ile co m peti ng , le s s on s th a t they apply to their every day lives tha t truly make the difference - a nd m a de it all wo rt h wh ile . T h a t , mo re t han anythi ng , is what the Loretta Lynn 's Amateur Nat ionals hav e come to symbolize . CN