Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 P133 To this day McCarty looks back on his years teaming with Hannah as perhaps the most fun of his career. "We had a great relationship. He was a dynamic personality. We both liked to have fun," McCarty admits. "We worked hard and played hard, that kind of thing. We got away with a lot more than you could get away with today, but I think everybody can say that. We're still great friends today." Surprisingly McCarty said some of the more memorable moments during that period of his career were a few of the lesser-known events that Yamaha was involved in. "The motocross and Supercross champion- ship were fantastic times there's no denying that," McCarty explained. "But some very special times were the Olympiads we did way back when. Those special team type events, the birth of Supermoto (with the ABC Wide World of Sports Superbikers made-for-TV competition) or when Yamaha came out with the Banshee; setting that program up to do the Baja 1000 when it went from Ensenada down to La Paz. I'd never been to Baja, Mexico, but I was the guy in charge. It was fun to win that. We had 22 pit stops down the road, the pre-running, the pre-testing, everything we had to do to ensure we would win. Those were amazing times." It was about 20 years ago when McCarty left the day-to-day mechanic work to pick up the manage- ment mantle, but he has a hard time remembering precisely when that transition took place because even after Yamaha made him a boss they couldn't keep him away from getting his hands dirty working on the bikes, something he enjoys so much. McCarty worked with so many great riders over the years, he was reluctant to try to name some of his favorites, but when pressed he said, "That list is long," he said. "I mean Doug Henry was very special for me, Bob Hannah was certainly very spe- cial, Josh Hayes is very special to me. You know guys I worked with for multiple years, because you develop this closer-than-just-a-job relationship with them. It's not that any of the other guys are any less, it's just maybe that they weren't there as long, so you don't have that depth that years of working side by side gives you." One thing Yamaha can be applauded for is they've stuck with racing through thick or thin. When the downturn in the economy came many manufacturers bailed, especially from road rac- ing, but McCarty helped find ways to do busi- ness differently and continue to keep Yamaha in the game. McCarty, for one, still ardently be- lieves in the old adage of "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday." He's seen the evidence. "I think it's been a good thing for Yamaha and the consumers that we've stayed involved," Mc- Carty says. "Staying in racing has helped the R1 be one of the best-selling sport bikes around and the R6 has been dominant on the track and in the showroom. The YZ250F is the same scenario. With Yamaha there's a lot more to the story than just winning on Sunday, you have to promote and do the rest of it—in between the race and the sales floor. If you don't make it part of the company's DNA then there can be a big disconnect and then you're just racing to race and what you see on the track isn't what you get on the showroom. For Yamaha those things are all connected and they work quite well together." McCarty is typically modest when talking about being inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. "I've never done this job for the accolades or fame," he said. "I've always worked in racing because it's what I love to do. I consider myself lucky to be able to work in motorsports for such a great company. It's been a team effort and I'm humbled to be honored in this way." CN RACING BOSS Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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