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/1496826
mer down and charge. I knew I would need to make up five seconds a lap and that's what my pit board was telling me. About halfway through the last lap he had no clue I was com- ing, and I passed to get the points I really needed. "Before the second moto I asked what the plan was and my trainer Dean Miller and mechanic Steve Stasiefski and Stig Petersen [suspen- sion technician] said we didn't have one. I was like, 'What?! We don't have a plan!?' As it turned out, I didn't really need one as my first moto charge seemed to have impressed the crowd so much that I switched 60,000 locals to my side! Vromans got the holeshot, but before it became serious, he slid out and that was pretty much it. I rode in either sec - ond or third, and I think it was Hakan Carlquist who won both motos." Lackey finished out the sea- son with 228 points, Vromans 217. A DECADE IN THE MAKING As many motocross historians well know, Lackey was stand- out among his American peers for his insistence on pursuing his career on the Grand Prix circuit in Europe. "I had a good sponsor at the time who put me on some CZs, and I had the chance to go over to Europe in '71. But that wasn't what got me thinking about racing over there. It was actually when I had watched CNIIARCHIVES P120 It's situation where if you look for trouble, you're definitely going to find it. If I'm leading him throughout the entire race, that's going to give those spectators a lot more reason to do what they've done in the past. With him being in front of me all the way, they're happy. That's what they want to see, so they're go- ing to leave me alone and watch him and the race. Then, on the last lap or last half a lap, you make a surprise move, pass him, and surprise the spectators at the same time. Then they don't have any time for any reactions or to do anything that could cost me one point. And with the point spread the way it was, we couldn't afford to give away even one point: We were going to do the smartest, safest thing we could. It certainly paid off. When did you know you were World Cham- pion? As you took the checkered flag in the second moto? It wasn't before that. Like I said, with that place and the length of time, many things can happen that could drop you before you get a victory. I wasn't going to be totally sure until that bike crossed the checkered flag in the second moto. In the second moto, I was just riding around, and I knew if everything went good with the bike and nothing breaks, that I was World Champion. But I knew it wasn't over yet. I was still nervous and waiting and waiting until I crossed the line and that was it. The people went nuts, too. It was great. Coming into the final race, the Luxembourg fans weren't thrilled about Lackey battling a Belgian, Andre Vromans, for the title, but at the end of the day (and championship), many of them appreciated what he had just accomplished.