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P30 IN THE WIND AND BAYLE TOO! Motocross legend JeanMichel Bayle took part in the Honda press intro in the Czech Republic. ing. It's been a long time since I've attended motocross events, as I've spent more of my time at the road races." Bayle now prefers free riding his dirt bike around the many trails close to his home in southern France. "I ride at home a little bit, but not so much motocross," he said. "I ride on the trails, having fun, so it was nice to ride at a GP track, especially with the French journalists and my friends from the past. Mo- THE NEW UNADILLA S ince hosting motocross races in 1969, the Unadilla Valley Sports Center track has seen few changes to its historic racecourse. In an effort to provide better access for the spectators as well as a new challenge for PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF HONDA M otocross legend Jean-Michel Bayle was a special guest of the factory Honda team at the Czech Republic Grand Prix last weekend and then he participated in the press event for the new 2014 CRF250R where he actually rode again on the Loket GP track. A two-time Motocross World Champion, two-time AMA National Motocross Champion and former AMA Supercross Champion, Bayle also made his mark as a road racer, competing in the Grand Prix series with three pole positions and several top-six results. He was also part of a winning team in the Bol d'Or and the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours endurance races. "It's great to come back to the races and see what is going on, especially while following the team from the inside," Bayle said. "It's brought back for me a lot of memories of my racing days, as I was racing Honda all of my career in motocross, and it's nice to see the spirit is still there. The bikes are nice, and fun to ride, so for me it's been quite interest- the riders, track promoters Jill and Greg Robinson made the first significant change to the track in five years for this year's running of the annual event. One of the iconic turns of the track – perhaps one of the most tocross is physically so hard, and although I still know how to ride, my body doesn't follow so much anymore. The bikes are improving all of the time, but it's surprising the Honda still feels quite similar to before; with improvements in different areas from the bikes I rode. The sport is evolving with new tracks, and it's good for the show, as so many kids want to jump and there's a lot of promotion in the sport, but the show is a lot better than in my era." photographed turns in the sport – was taken out and a new giant "wall" berm turn was added in next to the famous Gravity Cavity section of the track. "We changed the layout of the track so that racers now jump 80 continued on page 32

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