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the Europeans racing in America
and how they were so differ-
ent. And really, I just thought if
they could do it, so could I. So,
my earliest plan was to head to
Europe, win a title and have the
best party ever!"
Of course, of the many techni
-
cal advancements that did help
change the face of the sport,
key among them were the Steve
Simon's-designed upside-down
forks that graced the front of
Brad's bike and almost lost him
his ride for using.
"Yeah," Brad recalls, "Suzuki
was not happy about my us-
ing non-production forks. In
fact, they had kicked Steve out
of the pits and tried to fire me!
Although Vromans and I were
teammates, Suzuki wanted him
to win riding a factory bike and
not a Lackey Suzuki. I actually
rode out of my own separate
truck. When they threatened me
about using the fork, I reminded
the team guys that we were on
the verge of beating team Honda
for the first time in years and if
they would rather have me win
the title with the Simon's fork or
lose—and they said they would
rather lose! But for me, I didn't
have any more time for losing in
my career, so they stayed on."
"Looking back, I really think
I squeaked it out during the
golden age of the sport before
everything changed so much.
Just thinking back to all the R&D
that was going on trying to make
those janky bikes competitive,
right now I don't think it would
be half as much fun or exciting."
When asked if after a decade
of racing in Europe he eventually
did throw himself a big party, Brad
replied in the affirmative. "You bet
I did! It was held at the Concorde
Pavillion, and I even invited Danny
LaPorte. My sponsor at the time
was St. Pernod, so they supplied
all the booze and I hired the band
Poco who had a number-one hit
at the time to play for $12,500.
Overall, the party cost me $30,000
and yes, it was all worth it!"
THE AWARD
"Receiving the Dick Hammer
award from the Trail Blazers Mo-
torcycle Club means a lot to me
because those guys are really
a SoCal club with an emphasis
on flat-track racing. I know the
Dick Hammer Award is huge for
them and the fact that it repre
-
sents a rider's effort versus just
championship wins makes me
especially proud. For them to
reach out to me is a big deal and
I'm hopeful that my award will
bring with it a deeper look into
the sport of motocross."
As the room at the Carson
Center erupted into cheers when
Brad climbed the stage to ac
-
cept his award, it was clear that
another well-deserved party was
about to begin!
CN
Lackey receiving the Dick Hammer
Award at the Trailblazers' Banquet.
PHOTO: KIT PALMER
Even in Europe, Bad Brad
had many fans.
