Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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FOUR-TIME 500cc GRAND PRIX CHAMPION EDDIE LAWSON P102 INTERVIEW It seemed it wasn't as cor- porate as the MotoGP is now. No. It was out of control. We had a lot of fun. What's your opinion of current MotoGP compared to when you raced? I haven't been to any of the races, but from what every- body tells me, the paddock is a completely different thing. We used to all get together after the races. We'd go to somebody's motorhome. It was either Gard- ner's motorhome or Rainey's, Schwantz's or somebody else and it was a raging party until early morning. We did that every race. It was a lot of fun. Now I guess these guys don't even talk to each other. It was fun. We had a good time. You stopped in '92. Won the Daytona 200, then into Indy cars, correct? I had a brief go at it, but we had no sponsorship and all the wrong equipment, so unfortu- nately that didn't work out. If we had a good ride I think we would have done pretty well. Tell us about the super karts you and Rainey raced. We were just playing with that because Wayne Rainey's dad, Sandy, was helping us a lot. He worked on the karts and did the motors. It was fun for him and fun for us. When he passed we stopped doing that. What do you do these days? A lot of motocross and boating and running. What bikes have you got? I have a KX250F. I love that bike. I at least try to ride it once or twice a week at a motocross track. I'm based out of Lake Havasu, but we'll drive over to ride on the motocross track at Riverside, California. Do you keep up to date with the MotoAmerica series these days? I do through Wayne (Rain- ey), and of course, I watch the races. It seems like the series is coming back. If we can get some more back like it was and get some rivalry, which it seems like there is, that will be great. It would be nice to get Kawasaki and that red team (Honda) in there too as well, and then have all the manufacturers. What's your opinion of the current of generation of riders? I think there's a lot of room to grow. I think once the manufac- turers come in and things take off we'll get some of that Ameri- can talent again, I hope. Did you ever have one rider that stands out in your career in all the classes you raced in that was your biggest rival? When I went over to Europe the first year, of course, I had to race against Kenny and had to race against Barry Sheene. That was tough, all those guys. But then the next year, it was Fred- die (Spencer) who was the guy. Then of course there was Wayne Gardner. Then came Schwantz and Rainey. From the start to the finish, I had to battle some heavy hitters. You beat all of them, too. At one time. They beat me, too, unfortunately. A lot. It was good. CN Lawson raced super karts a number of years back with his old teammate and close friend, Wayne Rainey.