After my 6-10 moto finishes for 6th overall in Norg, Holland, it put me in 10th place overall in the points standings, and my confidence was getting stronger. My viral/bacterial combo infection was still there. It took me pretty much all the next week to fully recover from the total exhaustion I experienced from Holland's sand race. If I remember correctly I didn't practice or train that week. During these times while sick I would do some very light callisthenic exercises and stretching in order to circulate my lymphatic system. This would help my immune system win the war going on inside my body.
After the race in Norg, Holland, Jeff (my mechanic) drove us back to his house in Genk, Belgium, where he got things ready so we could leave for the next race in Sweden. This track is still there today. It's called Barkarby, and is located just 15 minutes drive north of Stockholm. We left on Thursday following Graham and his wife Pam in their Mercedes pulling a travel trailer, and Francois in his Honda race truck. The truck was also a Mercedes, kind of like a van but three times as big and wrapped in Factory Honda's race logos and colors. We were still driving the white Dodge Van with one yellow and blue sticker on each side that read Honda Racing. We didn't mind, as it was getting us to the races. That day we drove to northern Denmark so we could catch the ferry to Sweden the next morning. We parked at the entrance to the ferry and slept in our trucks. This parking place was right next to a high-speed railroad track. The tracks were set deep with five-foot walls on each side, kind of like a subway stop. Early in the morning our alarm was the high-speed train. It was so fast that I could feel the entire van vibrating. I got up right away to drain my radiator and the train was still going by very fast. By the time it passed Graham, Francois, and Jeff were up and standing outside of their trucks. So for a joke I went out and stood on the tracks with my hand up in front of me, like a Nazis stop command. I yelled to the guys, "When the next one comes by I'm going to make it stop." I guess you had to be there, but it was pretty funny and gave us all a good laugh. Soon the ferry was loaded and we were on our way to Sweden.
I don't remember how long the ferry ride was or even how long it was from the ferry to the track, but I do remember a lot of things once we arrived at the track. By the time Graham and I walked the track it was late Friday afternoon and the mechanics had our pits set up. Soon it was time for sleeping again. It was still too cold for Jeff and I to sleep in the tent. François and Jeff slept in Francois' truck, which had two small bunks. Graham and Pam would sleep in their trailer. I would sleep in the van which had a divider wall with a bench seat for storage and sleeping. Before turning in for the night we were all hanging out talking and I mentioned that I hoped I would sleep better tonight. Francois said, "I have something that will make you sleep." By this time I came to know Francois well. Later he gave me a small white pill but it wasn't a whole pill. It was a little sliver of a pill, about a quarter of a small pill. I don't know what it was but I slept like a log and didn't know anything until the next morning. I got up and felt very rested and calm. This was good for me, because I had a tendency to be too anxious.
As always on Saturday there were two one-hour practice sessions, then two groups of 45-minute timed qualifying sessions. All but the top ten from the previous year had to qualify. It seems the rule should have been after the first race of the series the top ten from the previous race would not have to qualify. But I remember I always had to qualify so they must have allowed just the top ten from the previous year to be automatically qualified. I didn't mind. I could easily qualify and I looked at it as giving me more track time. That day I qualified second fastest in the first group. I don't remember the name of the rider who qualified just ahead of me, but I do remember he was on a Yamaha and his sister would marry DeCoster some years later.
With so much practice time on Saturday, no one in their right mind was going to stay out there for anywhere near the entire time. These long practices were more for giving the riders and mechanics time to make adjustments to the bike in order to have a better bike setup for each track in the series. With so many different type tracks in the 12-race GP Series, that was a big thing, always trying different chassis and suspension settings. Many times as Jeff would be changing things on the bike I would go out and watch some of practice. This particular time Graham and I were watching the second set of qualifying practice. We were noticing Neal Hudson (former 250 World Champ) who looked like he was just riding around rather slow. Graham and Neal were both from the UK and most likely had some heated competitions from the past. It seemed Graham didn't care for Mr. Hudson. Graham used to call him Neal Nob Hudson. I have to admit it did sound pretty funny in Graham's English accent. Just as Neal went by, Graham laughed and said look at Neal Nob Huston, he better get going or he's not even going to qualify. Right after that the announcer said Neal's lap time and it was the fastest of that qualifying group. We looked at each other in disbelief. But it was true. That's when I realized a gear taller and supper smooth, making it look easy, was a good way to ride.
Back to the first practice of the morning. This was a rather hilly track with good dirt, one nice long tabletop, and two double jumps. These were the first doubles I had seen in Europe and they were pretty big and far apart. The way they were built and considering the bikes we were racing, if you were to come up the least bit short it was very likely you would endo. I was somewhat familiar with doubles from racing SX in the states, so it didn't take me long to jump them. Most of the riders didn't jump them, even many of the top ten from last year's series. I was liking that as it would give me an advantage. After the first practice was over some of last year's top ten riders went to the promoter and wanted him to take the doubles out. The riders didn't want these doubles to become popular in the GPs as it would add more danger for the racers and their careers. I think they were smart and I admire them for sticking together to make that happen. By the second practice the doubles were gone.
The first big doubles that I can remember appearing in the states were two sets in a row at the Houston Astrodome SX back in 1978. Now right before my eyes they were trying to sprout in the GPs. To understand the situation with doubles at the time you have to realize this relatively new obstacle was still in the experimental stages, even in the states. No one really new how to build a good take-off and landing for doubles. A landing jump...what's that? Each jump was pretty much like a takeoff jump. Like I said earlier if you came up short you were going over the bars.
To my knowledge, in the states the riders never got together and went to the promoter in order to have doubles or triples, for that matter, fixed or taken out. And believe me when obstacle-clearing type jumps started to appear, they were plenty dangerous. I remember one particular set of doubles at the Los Angeles Coliseum SX in 1980. There were a set of two doubles in a row on a fast straightaway. In order to clear them you had to be pinned in fourth gear on a 250, probably on a 250 works bike. The first one wasn't too bad, but the second was. The landing was peaked just like the takeoff jump. I was hesitant to try it but some of the other riders were doing it. When I finally tried it in the main event my rear wheel clipped the top of the peaked landing and I almost endoed big time. It felt like Mr. Toad's wild ride with myfeet off the pegs, and that was the last time I tried it. In the states, whatever the promoters put out there, there would be one or two riders who would start jumping it. Then it would become a contest in itself for the other riders to jump it. In Europe, most of the riders, especially the top riders, were a little older and more experienced. They weren't going to allow dangerous jumps to be added to the tracks they raced on. The same type of rider camaraderie was present in road racing as the riders stuck together and protested dangers on their race tracks. Not so with the young guns of SX and motocross in the states. It was do or die, every man for themselves. Maybe some day, but U.S. motocross riders sticking together and having a unified voice is still not present even today in 2015.
After Saturday's practices were finished it was time to get things organized and put away for tomorrow and figure out what we were going to do for dinner. Most times we cooked something at the track. Restaurants were not popular like in the states. It was too much trouble to take the van from its parking place in the pits and find a good restaurant out in the middle of nowhere. Like with most riders, once you parked on Friday you were there until Sunday night after the races. After dinner we passed the time and soon it was time for bed. I didn't think I would have any trouble sleeping that night so I stayed away from Francois' sleeping aid, whatever it was.
The next morning was another nice, rather warm, sunny day. This track wasn't really hard-packed, and it wasn't soft, either. It would be good for my production bike's power and I was feeling the best I had all year. The start was a long straightaway into a right/left chicane, then continued counter-clockwise around the fast, hilly track. It was a little on the wet side during the morning practices but with a day of sunshine ahead, things were looking good. The memory of water trucks escapes me but there must have been some way of watering these GP tracks. I don't remember dust ever being an issue.
Earlier I talked about two double jumps that were later taken out. There was another possible big gap jump on the back of the track. It was a natural valley-like area. There was a fast straightaway (fourth gear) into a sudden steep downhill about 30 feet deep. Then it leveled out for about 120 feet to a steep uphill about 30 feet high on the other side of this valley. There was even a small jump just before the downhill into this valley. It was begging for someone to jump it. There was an angle involved, so you would have to jump a little to the left, also. I kept thinking about it in practice but never tried it and no one else did either. If you came up short you wouldn't be racing that weekend, maybe not racing for a long, long time. Even if you did clear it and land just right it would be a hard flat landing, especially on those old bikes. The way all the riders were doing this section was to go speeding down the straightaway, brake hard, hit the small jump and land on the 30 foot downhill. It would be way faster to just nut up and clear it. I didn't chance it in practice but thought if I needed to for a top finish in a moto maybe I would pull the trigger and go for it.
Through François and Graham I was getting to know the Honda team members pretty well. There were the Honda Team manager and a suspension technician (mechanic), François, Graham, and Andre Malherbe. Then there was Andre's Finnish mechanic, whose face, character, and large frame of 6'4 and well over 220 lbs, I remember well. but his name I don't. I do remember the name of his attractive, blond, Finnish girlfriend (Tina). Tina's job at the track was to take lap times for the team riders (Graham and Andre). I wasn't really on the team but she took my times as well. Tina was always easy to find during practices so we could stop and check our times with her. She was really good at it and always had them neatly written in a notebook. My times were good in the one hour free practice. Next would be the mandatory five-lap timed practice for starting positions. I don't remember my times and starting position but they were good and inside the top 10.
The GP races have a long history in Europe. They were considered a top sport in regards to the general public and especially race fans. For example, many of the spectators were upper-class business people, and it wasn't uncommon to see some spectators dressed in suits. As the time was approaching for the start of the first moto there was an energy in the air of excitement and anticipation. We were the only show in town, so to speak. There were no other classes, no other races to be held that day. Just the 40 riders out of the 90 entries who had qualified to race the two 40 minute plus 2 lap motos. The tracks were always rough with a lot of natural bumps, braking bumps, and acceleration bumps, made from the 90 riders through all the practices and qualifiers. And the tracks weren't groomed like they are today. Sure the start area would be groomed, but the rest of the track would usually be left as it was. The bumps at the beginning of practice were still there from previous races. If enough time had elapsed, grass would be growing on the track. This was a good thing as the grass would quickly get mulched into the soil within the first several laps. This Barkarby was no different. It was rough and it was fast.
We were called to staging for the first moto. Soon we were lined up. The 30 second board was up, sideways and the gate dropped. After the long start straight and chicane I found myself in the top five with a good start. I think it was Hakan Carlqvist in the lead. Through the 40 plus 2 lap moto I rode smooth and consistent with a solid finish.
We had about an hour to an hour-and-a-half between motos, then it was the same process for the 2nd moto. If memory serves me correctly, the 2nd moto starting positions were still given by timed practice, not what you placed in the 1st moto. Either way I would get a good starting position for the second moto. The second moto went pretty much like the first. Good start and another good finish. I don't remember what I placed in the motos but I do remember that I placed fifth overall for the day. I wish I had more details to tell you about the motos but there's nothing coming up in the old memory banks. Now people and especially Honda knew last week's sixth overall on the sand track in Norg Holland was no fluke. Now I was on the radar.
Oh, and about that potential big valley jump on the back of the track? Well, I'm sitting here today writing this blog to tell you that the need to jump it didn't present itself. Not I or anyone jumped it, at least not that weekend. You thought I was going to have a heroic story about how I jumped it, didn't you? No, I was just letting you know what goes through a racer's mind sometimes. We are constantly observing lines and obstacles, always looking for faster ways around the track. Then there is the risk and reward factors. In this case my brain figured the risk outweighed the reward. It wouldn't have made any difference in my results so there was no point in taking the risk. Sure, it would have been cool, and I would have received a lot of attention for it, but the risk verses reward surely wasn't worth taking. Sorry, I can't find any photos from this race.
By the time we were all packed up and ready to leave the purse money was ready to be paid out. After I received my purse money we were quickly back on the road in order to catch another ferry across the Baltic Sea to the next round in Finland. Sorry, couldn't remember or find the name of the track. Does anyone know? I think it starts with an H.
Next month I'll continue my GP stories from Finland...
After the race in Norg, Holland, Jeff (my mechanic) drove us back to his house in Genk, Belgium, where he got things ready so we could leave for the next race in Sweden. This track is still there today. It's called Barkarby, and is located just 15 minutes drive north of Stockholm. We left on Thursday following Graham and his wife Pam in their Mercedes pulling a travel trailer, and Francois in his Honda race truck. The truck was also a Mercedes, kind of like a van but three times as big and wrapped in Factory Honda's race logos and colors. We were still driving the white Dodge Van with one yellow and blue sticker on each side that read Honda Racing. We didn't mind, as it was getting us to the races. That day we drove to northern Denmark so we could catch the ferry to Sweden the next morning. We parked at the entrance to the ferry and slept in our trucks. This parking place was right next to a high-speed railroad track. The tracks were set deep with five-foot walls on each side, kind of like a subway stop. Early in the morning our alarm was the high-speed train. It was so fast that I could feel the entire van vibrating. I got up right away to drain my radiator and the train was still going by very fast. By the time it passed Graham, Francois, and Jeff were up and standing outside of their trucks. So for a joke I went out and stood on the tracks with my hand up in front of me, like a Nazis stop command. I yelled to the guys, "When the next one comes by I'm going to make it stop." I guess you had to be there, but it was pretty funny and gave us all a good laugh. Soon the ferry was loaded and we were on our way to Sweden.
I don't remember how long the ferry ride was or even how long it was from the ferry to the track, but I do remember a lot of things once we arrived at the track. By the time Graham and I walked the track it was late Friday afternoon and the mechanics had our pits set up. Soon it was time for sleeping again. It was still too cold for Jeff and I to sleep in the tent. François and Jeff slept in Francois' truck, which had two small bunks. Graham and Pam would sleep in their trailer. I would sleep in the van which had a divider wall with a bench seat for storage and sleeping. Before turning in for the night we were all hanging out talking and I mentioned that I hoped I would sleep better tonight. Francois said, "I have something that will make you sleep." By this time I came to know Francois well. Later he gave me a small white pill but it wasn't a whole pill. It was a little sliver of a pill, about a quarter of a small pill. I don't know what it was but I slept like a log and didn't know anything until the next morning. I got up and felt very rested and calm. This was good for me, because I had a tendency to be too anxious.
As always on Saturday there were two one-hour practice sessions, then two groups of 45-minute timed qualifying sessions. All but the top ten from the previous year had to qualify. It seems the rule should have been after the first race of the series the top ten from the previous race would not have to qualify. But I remember I always had to qualify so they must have allowed just the top ten from the previous year to be automatically qualified. I didn't mind. I could easily qualify and I looked at it as giving me more track time. That day I qualified second fastest in the first group. I don't remember the name of the rider who qualified just ahead of me, but I do remember he was on a Yamaha and his sister would marry DeCoster some years later.
With so much practice time on Saturday, no one in their right mind was going to stay out there for anywhere near the entire time. These long practices were more for giving the riders and mechanics time to make adjustments to the bike in order to have a better bike setup for each track in the series. With so many different type tracks in the 12-race GP Series, that was a big thing, always trying different chassis and suspension settings. Many times as Jeff would be changing things on the bike I would go out and watch some of practice. This particular time Graham and I were watching the second set of qualifying practice. We were noticing Neal Hudson (former 250 World Champ) who looked like he was just riding around rather slow. Graham and Neal were both from the UK and most likely had some heated competitions from the past. It seemed Graham didn't care for Mr. Hudson. Graham used to call him Neal Nob Hudson. I have to admit it did sound pretty funny in Graham's English accent. Just as Neal went by, Graham laughed and said look at Neal Nob Huston, he better get going or he's not even going to qualify. Right after that the announcer said Neal's lap time and it was the fastest of that qualifying group. We looked at each other in disbelief. But it was true. That's when I realized a gear taller and supper smooth, making it look easy, was a good way to ride.
Back to the first practice of the morning. This was a rather hilly track with good dirt, one nice long tabletop, and two double jumps. These were the first doubles I had seen in Europe and they were pretty big and far apart. The way they were built and considering the bikes we were racing, if you were to come up the least bit short it was very likely you would endo. I was somewhat familiar with doubles from racing SX in the states, so it didn't take me long to jump them. Most of the riders didn't jump them, even many of the top ten from last year's series. I was liking that as it would give me an advantage. After the first practice was over some of last year's top ten riders went to the promoter and wanted him to take the doubles out. The riders didn't want these doubles to become popular in the GPs as it would add more danger for the racers and their careers. I think they were smart and I admire them for sticking together to make that happen. By the second practice the doubles were gone.
The first big doubles that I can remember appearing in the states were two sets in a row at the Houston Astrodome SX back in 1978. Now right before my eyes they were trying to sprout in the GPs. To understand the situation with doubles at the time you have to realize this relatively new obstacle was still in the experimental stages, even in the states. No one really new how to build a good take-off and landing for doubles. A landing jump...what's that? Each jump was pretty much like a takeoff jump. Like I said earlier if you came up short you were going over the bars.
To my knowledge, in the states the riders never got together and went to the promoter in order to have doubles or triples, for that matter, fixed or taken out. And believe me when obstacle-clearing type jumps started to appear, they were plenty dangerous. I remember one particular set of doubles at the Los Angeles Coliseum SX in 1980. There were a set of two doubles in a row on a fast straightaway. In order to clear them you had to be pinned in fourth gear on a 250, probably on a 250 works bike. The first one wasn't too bad, but the second was. The landing was peaked just like the takeoff jump. I was hesitant to try it but some of the other riders were doing it. When I finally tried it in the main event my rear wheel clipped the top of the peaked landing and I almost endoed big time. It felt like Mr. Toad's wild ride with myfeet off the pegs, and that was the last time I tried it. In the states, whatever the promoters put out there, there would be one or two riders who would start jumping it. Then it would become a contest in itself for the other riders to jump it. In Europe, most of the riders, especially the top riders, were a little older and more experienced. They weren't going to allow dangerous jumps to be added to the tracks they raced on. The same type of rider camaraderie was present in road racing as the riders stuck together and protested dangers on their race tracks. Not so with the young guns of SX and motocross in the states. It was do or die, every man for themselves. Maybe some day, but U.S. motocross riders sticking together and having a unified voice is still not present even today in 2015.
After Saturday's practices were finished it was time to get things organized and put away for tomorrow and figure out what we were going to do for dinner. Most times we cooked something at the track. Restaurants were not popular like in the states. It was too much trouble to take the van from its parking place in the pits and find a good restaurant out in the middle of nowhere. Like with most riders, once you parked on Friday you were there until Sunday night after the races. After dinner we passed the time and soon it was time for bed. I didn't think I would have any trouble sleeping that night so I stayed away from Francois' sleeping aid, whatever it was.
The next morning was another nice, rather warm, sunny day. This track wasn't really hard-packed, and it wasn't soft, either. It would be good for my production bike's power and I was feeling the best I had all year. The start was a long straightaway into a right/left chicane, then continued counter-clockwise around the fast, hilly track. It was a little on the wet side during the morning practices but with a day of sunshine ahead, things were looking good. The memory of water trucks escapes me but there must have been some way of watering these GP tracks. I don't remember dust ever being an issue.
Earlier I talked about two double jumps that were later taken out. There was another possible big gap jump on the back of the track. It was a natural valley-like area. There was a fast straightaway (fourth gear) into a sudden steep downhill about 30 feet deep. Then it leveled out for about 120 feet to a steep uphill about 30 feet high on the other side of this valley. There was even a small jump just before the downhill into this valley. It was begging for someone to jump it. There was an angle involved, so you would have to jump a little to the left, also. I kept thinking about it in practice but never tried it and no one else did either. If you came up short you wouldn't be racing that weekend, maybe not racing for a long, long time. Even if you did clear it and land just right it would be a hard flat landing, especially on those old bikes. The way all the riders were doing this section was to go speeding down the straightaway, brake hard, hit the small jump and land on the 30 foot downhill. It would be way faster to just nut up and clear it. I didn't chance it in practice but thought if I needed to for a top finish in a moto maybe I would pull the trigger and go for it.
Through François and Graham I was getting to know the Honda team members pretty well. There were the Honda Team manager and a suspension technician (mechanic), François, Graham, and Andre Malherbe. Then there was Andre's Finnish mechanic, whose face, character, and large frame of 6'4 and well over 220 lbs, I remember well. but his name I don't. I do remember the name of his attractive, blond, Finnish girlfriend (Tina). Tina's job at the track was to take lap times for the team riders (Graham and Andre). I wasn't really on the team but she took my times as well. Tina was always easy to find during practices so we could stop and check our times with her. She was really good at it and always had them neatly written in a notebook. My times were good in the one hour free practice. Next would be the mandatory five-lap timed practice for starting positions. I don't remember my times and starting position but they were good and inside the top 10.
The GP races have a long history in Europe. They were considered a top sport in regards to the general public and especially race fans. For example, many of the spectators were upper-class business people, and it wasn't uncommon to see some spectators dressed in suits. As the time was approaching for the start of the first moto there was an energy in the air of excitement and anticipation. We were the only show in town, so to speak. There were no other classes, no other races to be held that day. Just the 40 riders out of the 90 entries who had qualified to race the two 40 minute plus 2 lap motos. The tracks were always rough with a lot of natural bumps, braking bumps, and acceleration bumps, made from the 90 riders through all the practices and qualifiers. And the tracks weren't groomed like they are today. Sure the start area would be groomed, but the rest of the track would usually be left as it was. The bumps at the beginning of practice were still there from previous races. If enough time had elapsed, grass would be growing on the track. This was a good thing as the grass would quickly get mulched into the soil within the first several laps. This Barkarby was no different. It was rough and it was fast.
We were called to staging for the first moto. Soon we were lined up. The 30 second board was up, sideways and the gate dropped. After the long start straight and chicane I found myself in the top five with a good start. I think it was Hakan Carlqvist in the lead. Through the 40 plus 2 lap moto I rode smooth and consistent with a solid finish.
We had about an hour to an hour-and-a-half between motos, then it was the same process for the 2nd moto. If memory serves me correctly, the 2nd moto starting positions were still given by timed practice, not what you placed in the 1st moto. Either way I would get a good starting position for the second moto. The second moto went pretty much like the first. Good start and another good finish. I don't remember what I placed in the motos but I do remember that I placed fifth overall for the day. I wish I had more details to tell you about the motos but there's nothing coming up in the old memory banks. Now people and especially Honda knew last week's sixth overall on the sand track in Norg Holland was no fluke. Now I was on the radar.
Oh, and about that potential big valley jump on the back of the track? Well, I'm sitting here today writing this blog to tell you that the need to jump it didn't present itself. Not I or anyone jumped it, at least not that weekend. You thought I was going to have a heroic story about how I jumped it, didn't you? No, I was just letting you know what goes through a racer's mind sometimes. We are constantly observing lines and obstacles, always looking for faster ways around the track. Then there is the risk and reward factors. In this case my brain figured the risk outweighed the reward. It wouldn't have made any difference in my results so there was no point in taking the risk. Sure, it would have been cool, and I would have received a lot of attention for it, but the risk verses reward surely wasn't worth taking. Sorry, I can't find any photos from this race.
By the time we were all packed up and ready to leave the purse money was ready to be paid out. After I received my purse money we were quickly back on the road in order to catch another ferry across the Baltic Sea to the next round in Finland. Sorry, couldn't remember or find the name of the track. Does anyone know? I think it starts with an H.
Next month I'll continue my GP stories from Finland...
2/18/2015 3:42pm
View replies to: Racing the 500 GPs (Part 5)
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