Cycle News

Cycle News 2013 Issue 50 December 17 2013

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/229152

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 117 of 211

VOL. 50 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 17, 2013 a big deal.' I talked to Angie, she said she would sit out to work on Scotty's bike. We accomplished what we needed to do and then we put Angie back on her bike for the last two races. All in all, it turned out to be a good win-win situation for Scotty and for our team." In Smith's case, having three other teammates may have proved to be an advantage since it provided him with four times as much data as a single bike team and helped make his tuning decisions easier. He was also able to avoid much of the drama that usually goes with multi-bike teams by racing straight up whenever the Viper bikes were paired against each other. "There is no drama inside our pit area," said Smith. "We have a good time and we race heads up. If this was a one-man show John wouldn't have won any time he raced against me but he beat me three of the six times we raced. I think that shows that when we race each other the best man wins. When we race, you have to let the clutch out on time, get tucked, and hit all the shift points. I'm happy to have a team that races like that." Smith's championship run in 2013 represented a far cry from the 2012 season, when Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson teammates Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines nearly ran the table with 15 wins in 16 races en route to a 1-2 finish in the points. A major rules revision, which cost the Vance & Hines team its exclusive four-valve V-twin engine package, was designed to level the P119 playing field. Heading into the season, Smith, like many other Pro Stock Motorcycle racers, was well aware that the new rules represented perhaps his best chance to contend for another title. Ultimately, parity reigned in the class as seven different riders claimed victories and 13 reached at least one final round. "When we went to the first race in Gainesville and I was the number-one qualifier, I knew right at that point we were going to be really good for the year." Smith said. "You don't start thinking about the championship til you get five or six races in. After the third race I was 10th in the points and I realized that we had a lot of work to do if we even wanted a shot at being in contention, but we knew we had the power and Smith launches his Viper Motorcycle Co.backed Buell.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Cycle News - Cycle News 2013 Issue 50 December 17 2013