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/1445547
second to Doug Polen in the AMA 600cc Supersport race at Loudon. Ski ended the year sixth in Supersport. 1988 was a breakthrough year, as Sadowski scored his first and second AMA National wins, back-to-back at Loudon in 750cc and 600cc Supersport. Suddenly Ski was a hot prop- erty, unfortunately there were not many paying seats in AMA road racing in the late 1980s. After some more great perfor- mances in '89, including a 750 Supersport win at Road Atlanta and his first Superbike podium that same weekend, Sadowski finally scored that much- cov- eted factory ride in 1990 with Vance & Hines Yamaha. Fans remember the intense Ben Spies/Mat Mladin intrateam rivalry of the mid-2000s, but that intensity paled in comparison to the V&H Yamaha rivalry between Ski and teammate Thomas Stevens. Sometimes the battle between the two boiled over off the track. After the Daytona Supersport race in 1990, Sadowski (with hel- met on) head butted Stevens (with no helmet) and yelled "You're a dead man!" after Stevens swerved on the banking heading for the finish trying to draft leader Jeff Farmer and, in the process, hit Sadowski hard enough that it knocked Ski off the bike at top speed. Somehow, holding on to his bike with one arm, Ski man- aged not to crash. Team owner Terry Vance had to grab Sadowski and take him back to the team transporter to calm him down. Ski and Stevens clashed again at Brainerd when they crashed together on the last lap, last turn of the 600 Supersport race while battling for the lead. Fortunately for Ski, he came back just a few hours after the Daytona Supersport altercation and won the Daytona 200. It would prove to be the biggest victory of his career and it resulted in one of the most jubilant victory lane celebrations of the race's history. Sadowski would also win the AMA 600 Supersport title in 1990. It was the zenith of his career. After finding his Daytona 200 purse was less than what winners made there 15 years earlier, Sad- owski tried to form a riders' union to battle for higher purses, but when only 30 riders in the pad- dock sent him the $10 member- ship fee, he knew the effort was doomed. After his factory Yamaha ride, Ski bounced around and could never quite land a full-time fac- tory ride again. In '92 he raced a limited AMA Superbike sched- ule with greatly scaled back Yoshimura Suzuki squad. He occasionally found a fill-in ride, once for the factory Honda team, but mostly ran his own programs. He found success in the Formula USA Series, be- coming the first two-time champ of that series in '97. Then after breaking his leg in '95, the company producing TV for the AMA Superbike Champi- onship asked him to fill in and do some expert commentary. Turns out Ski was very good in the broadcast booth, and it launched a new career in the sport that lasted a decade. Interestingly, after TV he landed in China con- ducting riding schools. Both of his sons, Matt and Davey, raced professionally. "Dave was a great racer, and super aggressive on the track," said former Cycle World and Mo- torcyclist Editor Brian Catterson. "He definitely got everything out of every bike he ever rode. He was a smart guy, too, always interest- ing to talk to, which made him an excellent race commentator." One thing is for certain, they broke the mold after making David Sadowski. CN CN III ARCHIVES P110 Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives to battle for higher purses, but when only 30 riders in the pad dock sent him the $10 member ship fee, he knew the effort was doomed. Ski bounced around and could tory ride again. In '92 he raced a limited AMA Superbike sched Yoshimura Suzuki squad. He occasionally found a fill-in ride, once for the factory Honda team, but mostly ran his own coming the first two-time champ of that series in '97. '95, the company producing TV for the AMA Superbike Champi His 1990 Daytona 200 victory was the biggest win in Sadowski's racing career. PHOTO: HENNY RAY ABRAMS