FEATURE
SPEED IN GRAND PRIX RACING
P70
Sarron: "You had to condition
your mind before you get there.
Once you get there, it's too late.
You had to be prepared for the
worst. It's as simple as that."
Conquering your fear brought
advantages, the Frenchman con-
tinues. "On fast tracks, even if
you didn't have the best bike, if
you were a little more brave…you
could be faster there. It's a little
bit the same as racing in the wet
[conditions in which Sarron reli-
ably excelled]. If you can domi-
nate your fear even on a fast bike
in the wet… it's the same pro-
cedure in your head. Condition
yourself to go fast. Because it
also scary in the wet, to go close
to the limit, especially in the fast
turns."
For Mamola, fresh from the
"I vividly remember that as
probably the best race I ever had,
as far as scaring the s*&t out of
myself and enjoying every minute
of it." -Steve Parrish
U.S., the daunting tracks were
just the way it was. "Kenny Rob-
erts took me round, showed me
some dangerous places. Back
then there was a lot of danger:
in the winter Marlboro Series
in Australia and New Zealand
the Wanganui street circuit ran
through a cemetery. Also in the
USA: the old Laguna Seca, River-
side, on the banking at Daytona.
We were pushing 200 mph, 25
to 30 years ago. When you think
about that, with the brakes you
have… but you don't think about
it, until now."
Danger was just a matter of
fact. Parrish: "You decide wheth-
er or not you'll take the risk, I
guess. I was only 23 or 24 and
I didn't see many risks. I saw a
piece of tarmac with a checkered
flag at the end of it."
For Mackenzie, "fear in your
20s is not a problem. All you're
thinking in your selfish rider's way
Mamola leads his
teammate Mike
Baldwin onto the 1.1-
mile Mistral Straight
at Paul Ricard in
France in 1986.
