Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

~ ..' .....' .....' ..... -...... .. :.~ . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : ~.' ....: '.: .~ ~ ::'.: .~ .: .~ ~. :: :~' ... ... . :::' : :: . ... . ; " 0 := .:.:::.:.' :::=::::::::::: : . : .:.:.:.:. . : , :.:.: ' :: . . ••.•.................... ••............•.....• . . . .. . . . . . . .::;:::::::::::::::::: ..:.:-:-:-:-:<.:-:.•................. . :.. . . ~;U: : 2: : ·::::::-::·~W ::::.iii..:.1:.: 1 " Motocross. How can I say it ? Mot ocr oss... you go to win. Noth ing else , ju st to win . When I finish a night of racin g I'm really drained. I don 't mean physically ; I st ill have a little energy left, but ment all y, emotio nally drained. It really takes a lot o ut of me. It is t hat t ot al con centr ati on of all you r energy and thought to get t o th e check er ed flag first . D..;. . i i: ll~~ ~ i~i·~: m tt:=mm t to be a man? j:::/:}):::. By Alice Rhea "Bu t t he desert , t hat is something else. Th e desert if for fun. I come out here an d rea lly relax . I have as much fu n Saturday while I'm pract icing as I do racing o n Sunda y. An d th e Sat urday night cam pfire th ing is really neat. difference b etw een .. A n ot her motocro ss and desert is t hat if I do n't win at Ascot , and by win I mean first place, I really get bu mmed out . But in the desert I can finish secon d or third in my class or even break down and still c "o '" e, N .... en lft~ilt?:::::· really feel good about the race . Th e desert is su ch a personal th ing. Nobody really knows how you did except yourself. In desert racing, I know wh eth er I've don e my very best and if I have, it was fun. Of course, it is a lot mo re fu n if I win ." Jeff Wright should know wh at it is like t o race motocross. J eff earn ed the most poi nts of all at Ascot in 1971. And h e cho uld know what it is like to race desert , having won Four Aces M.C. Moose Run ju st a few weeks ago. Jeff was first overall on a 175 cc Puch; the first time a desert race has even been wo n o n such a small displacement bik e. A great many peopl e do n't believe in pushing their kids into racing. Dick Wright , Jeff's dad , is one of th ose people. But it wasn't a matter of pu shing J eff, it was more one of trying to hold him back. " I used to race d esert myself," Dick recalls, "And I bought Jeff a Yamah a 80 for Christmas the year he was 11. It was fun t eaching Jeff to ride and we trailed to gether for about two years, but then he got to wh ere he co uld outrun me ....." J eff finally talked his dad into letti ng him race. In Decemb er of 196 7 J eff raced Dad's Hod aka in th e Buzzards M.C. Stat e Cham pions hip Hare Scrambles an d sur prised him b y finishing second Trail Novice . Dick tr ied to lure J eff away from th e thrill of desert raci ng b y giving him the glamor ous jo b of ph ot ograph er for his coverage o f desert races for Cycle News. J eff pu t up wit h it for a wh ile, but by mid-summer he cou ldn't ta ke it any longer. He bought his own Hod aka and by the end of th e year h e was a Tr ail Exp ert. Just about th is time Jack Byers and Rob Belt of St eens, Inc. saw Je ff ride a couple of races and in J anu ary, 1969 , at the tender age of 14, J eff was sponsored. Mounted on a St eens Hodaka, Jeff brought home seven Trail Exp ert first trophies place for Jack and Rob. By 1971 J eff Wright was a well-known rider. Jeff competed in desert , mo tocross and Gran ds Prix , winning races in both the trailbike and light weight divisions. By the end of 19 71, Jeff had won more poin ts tha n an yone else at Ascot. That alone is a real head -puffer, even wit hout the $7 50 prize he received from th e powers-that-be from th e CMC. Now Jeff had several offers of sponsorships . Decisions to make...bikes to tes t...offers to consider. ' Puch obviously made th e most attractive offer. J eff says it was bec ause th ey could mount him on a 125, 17 5 and lat er th is year...a 25 0 Puch . In November J eff sta rte d racing them. J eff picked up his new 125 Puch one Friday night , loa ded it and the 175 and headed for Hopetown and Dirt Diggers M.C. 13th Annual Grand Prix . Jeff got it on and fin ish ed first 125 ...Great show...th e spo nsors are happy , J eff is .. .. .. .. C. - U '.:.:. Is 17 too young N ~ :~:}}~{:.::~. Jeff Wrigh t en .... happy, Dad is hap py. J eff rested for 15 minutes b etween races th en clim bed on the 17 5 Puch , turned it all th e way up and won t hat one too! Ou t at th e smoke bo mb durin g a recent race a mem ber of 100 's M.C. remembered how Jeff used t o ride. "Is he st ill as crazy as he used t o be ?" he asked . "Je ff used to go by me like he was o n fire . Th en I'd pass him whil e he was picking up his bike. Prett y soo n, here would com e that craz y Jeff Wright kid again, and prett y soon I pass him again while he was picking up his bike . Well, J eff hasn't slowed down any, he ju st learned to k eep it upright while moving that fast. T om Ruddy t unes J eff's bikes and makes sure all th e minor repairs and routine maint enance are taken care of. " I tried working on the bik e myself once," Je ff said, " but I really don 't have the patience t o do it right and then I'd be riding alon g thinking abo ut what was going o n inside th e moto r, or d id I get that bolt or this nut on tight eno ugh and next t hing yo u know I'm not paying attentio n to the race anymore and I la nd on my head. No more of th at ." With a string of wins as impre ssive as Jeff has. an d with his cal m, matu re attitude about life, it is hard to believe il,at J eff is still in high schooL He will graduate this June and talked ab out the future : "Oh, for sure colle ge. Business administration, I guess. I woul d like to have my own (mot orcycle) shop some day . But for right now, th is summer, I'm ju st going to tak e it easy. I'm going to t ake a few weeks and go somewhere." .J eff won't say wher e. "J ust bum arou nd and rest. " And th en..;" And then I'm really going to get serious ab out racing. Puch will have the new 250 here in April I hope, and I'll ride that .in the desert until it gets reall y hot, then switch back to motocross fo r the summ er. th en back t o th e desert." Between racing and studying, Je ff doesn't have much tim e for anything else. Of course, he makes time for Elaine Barker , h is girl, and luckil y, Elaine likes mo torcycle s. Well, th ere is Jeff Wright the motorcycle racer. And what about Jeff Wright the man ? Yes, a man, despite his youth . J eff is a prime example of the results of the close relationship a father and son can develop th rough motorcycling tog ether. Between Jeff's paren ts and the desert , Jeff has matured remarkab ly. He is self-assured , responsible, and polit e. Jeff's assurance saves him &om being shy , but he is soft -spoken and has a quick charming smile. At seventee n, J eff has won more honors than a lo t of men will earn in a lifetime and yet he remains u nspoiled. J eff has his whole life ahea d of him and he looks at his future bright -eyed and smiling. .

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