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/1515496
that guy who made sure every- thing moved well and kept oper- ating, without being hands-on in the middle of everything." He also made sure everybody was having fun. Crew chief Stu- art Shenton recounts one of his many pranks, supplying Ameri- can Suzuki rider Scott Russell with a pair of seemingly elegant grid girls in Brazil. Much to the red-blooded Deep South rider's dismay, they were transvestites. Taylor could employ humor with devastating effect. A journalist wrote doubting rising star Max Biaggi's sexual orienta - tion. Taylor confronted him, "Did you write that Max is gay?" The response was flustered. "No, no. Just that there was a rumor go - ing around the paddock he was gay." Taylor replied, "Well, there's a rumor going around the pad - dock that you're a [explicit]." Sponsor-gathering was a spe- cial skill. Over the years, among many others, he recruited Skoal Bandit, Rizla, Men Only and Pepsi into motorcycle racing sponsor- ship, as well as inheriting Lucky Strike for a significantly prosper- ous spell, then securing Spanish telecommunication giant Tele- fonica. However, after he had secured a good deal with con- dom manufacturer Durex, this was rejected by Suzuki in Japan. Family planning didn't suit the fun image they wanted to project, they believed. They chose ciga - rette sponsorship instead. Taylor had also worked with the Yamaha Pro-Am series of the early 1980s, putting him in con - tact with a generation of riders. over a relentless four years in not only recovering four of the stolen bikes but also the arrest and conviction of former me - chanic Wilf Needham. There was also the episode with Anthony Gobert, who pre - deceased Taylor by a matter of weeks and who Taylor sacked in 1997 after the Australian had failed numerous drug tests. Taylor's racing involvement had begun in the 1970s, work - ing for a public relations firm contracted to Suzuki and nurse- maiding publicity master Barry Sheene. During this time, he made valuable racing and com - mercial contacts. Long-time friend and ally, former GP racer Stu Avant, saw it firsthand. "He could bring money when it was needed. He had the nous to make presenta - tions and to understand corpo- rate money. He could negotiate on a commercial level and man- age by delegation. "Nothing ruffled him. And if it did, he'd pass it on." Kenny Roberts Jr. had a similar observation, describing Taylor's management style as "nonchalant." Kevin Schwantz, the most important rider of all, admired the fact that at the track, he let the rider, mechanics and engi - neers deal with everything. "If we didn't have a good session, it was me and the team and the engineers that talked… not me and the team manager. "The important part of team management happens away from the tracks, and Garry was Thereafter, Taylor enjoyed the life of a retired gentleman on the rural Kent-Sussex borders, indulg - ing in country pursuits, including the sport of clay-pigeon shooting, at which he was an expert. Taylor's boyhood ambition had been to join the army, but asthma stood in the way. He brought military methods to rac - ing—discipline, organization and effective delegation combined with genuine top-down com - radeship. Team celebrations were often riotous affairs, while his loyalty and support of team staff inspired loyalty in return. Esteemed race engineer Stuart Shenton, crew chief to Kevin Schwantz, said: "Garry was always a gentleman when it would have been very easy to be something else. After working at Honda, which was all business, the atmosphere with Suzuki was more family-oriented. He was very good at looking after the guys. There were plenty of hiccups, but Garry handled it so smoothly. He did a lot of stuff ef - fortlessly, without people realizing how hard he was working, and I very, very rarely saw him angry." It was not universal peace and joy, however, even apart from the usual vicissitudes of racing. In 2002, five iconic GP-winning racing Suzukis were stolen from the Edenbridge workshop, includ - ing bikes raced by Barry Sheene, Schwantz, Scott Russell and Kenny Roberts Jr. Taylor, working hand in glove with the Kent police as well as the international classic collect - ing community, played a key role P112 CN II IN THE PADDOCK